FanDuel Sportsbook is going to take Valley Forge Casino by storm. And it’s bringing former Philadelphia Eagle Brent Celek along.
The FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Casino will officially launch at noon local time on Wednesday, March 13. This is, of course, pending the successful completion of two days of PA Gaming Control Board (PGCB) testing.
Celek gets to place the first bet. There will also be a ribbon-cutting ceremony featuring the following FanDuel and Valley Forge personnel:
- Valley Forge Casino Resort General Manager, David Zerfing
- Boyd Gaming Senior VP of Operations, Bill Wright
- FanDuel Group Senior Director of Retail, Jeff Lowich
The grand opening will feature light food and beverages in addition to the festivities and celebrity appearance.
Details on the new sportsbook
If you’ve been to the FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands, you can expect a similar look and feel in King of Prussia. The sportsbook will occupy an 1,800 square-foot space on the property. You can easily locate the book by the main entrance of the building.
Within the sportsbook, you can expect:
- Seven teller windows
- 29 TVs and odds screens
- Two sports tickers
- Seating for up to 30
Hours for the new sportsbook are as follows:
- Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. – 1 a.m.
- Friday from 10 a.m. – 2 a.m.
- Saturday from 7 a.m. – 2 a.m.
- Sunday from 8 a.m. – 1 a.m.
FanDuel Group CEO Matt King spoke about what to expect from FanDuel’s newest home:
“Opening the FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge Casino Resort is the start of FanDuel Group’s retail sports betting expansion in partnership with Boyd Gaming. Our experience operating the top sportsbook in New Jersey at the Meadowlands Racetrack will serve us well as we enter Philadelphia and compete for customers in an area with some of the most passionate and knowledgeable sports fans.”
Keith Smith, CEO of Boyd Gaming, had similar high hopes:
“In less than a year, FanDuel has established itself as the leading sports-betting brand in a competitive New Jersey market. We look forward to bringing their market-leading product to Valley Forge, and are confident the FanDuel Sportsbook will serve as a powerful draw for new and existing customers throughout the Philadelphia market.”
Rapid turnaround time for retail sportsbook launch
For those following Valley Forge Casino’s progress, things are moving very quickly. Just this past Wednesday, FanDuel received PGCB approval as an official sports betting provider.
By comparison, Kambi received its approval at the end of November. Kambi’s partner Rush Street did not launch its two sportsbooks until Dec. 15. Its other partner, Parx Casino, opened Parx Sportsbook on Jan. 10.
Obviously, the scope of each of these launches vary, so the comparison is not apples to apples. It does seem regulators are getting expedient about retail sports betting approvals though. Wednesday is also when Parx’s off-track betting facility Valley Forge Turf Club received PGCB approval. It should open before the opening rounds of March Madness.
FanDuel Sportsbook at Valley Forge a first in many categories
This newest sportsbook is the first one under FanDuel’s partnership with Boyd Gaming. The two partnered up in August 2018, shortly after the SCOTUS decision on PASPA. The deal gave FanDuel access to 10 different states via Boyd properties, including Pennsylvania.
While FanDuel helped Boyd open sportsbooks at Mississippi properties, they are not branded FanDuel just yet. As such, this is the first FanDuel-branded property for Boyd.
This is also the first PA sportsbook besides Hollywood Casino to not be located in a major city. Valley Forge Turf Club will follow, giving the Valley Forge area two sportsbooks compared to Pittsburgh, which still only has Rivers Sportsbook.
This will bring the total number of sportsbooks in the state to seven.
