Casino Queen Riverboat rebrand
A recently struck deal has seen the Casino Queen Riverboat rebrand their whole operation with Sports betting giant DraftKings.They will also be opening a sports betting location at the casino as well as providing mobile sports betting.
The Casino Queen Riverboat rebrand will be the first time a casino within the U.S. has carried the DraftKings’ name. They previously only provided mobile and retail sports betting for casino operators. Now, they hope to attract bettors from across the river in Missouri, where sports wagering isn’t yet legal.
The Casino Queen
Casino Queen is owned by realty investment firm Gaming and Leisure Properties with the operations owned by its casino employees. They have managed to achieve this structure since the sale of the business to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan for $170m in 2013. This was the first deal of its kind in the United States.
The facility itself is a 38,000-square-foot casino boat with four restaurants, a waterfront hotel, and an RV Park. The property has views of the St. Louis skyline including the Arch across the Mississippi.
DraftKings
Despite the name change, DraftKings doesn’t plan on making any major changes to the property’s operations. CQ Holdings, the holding company for Casino Queen have announced that Terry Hanger as their president. Terry will succeed Jeff Watson, who was in the role since 2012 and recently resigned to become an associate judge on Illinois’ 20th Judicial Circuit.
In the new role, Hanger is liable for all daily operations including regulatory and labour relations. With 18 years of experience at Casino Queen, Hanger previously was a top dog before the promotion. In 2000 he joined the organisation as their director of knowledge technology and has held various roles there. Originally from Bellville, Hanger has previously held positions at Emerson, Walgreens Co. and BJC HealthCare.
CQ Holdings had estimated revenue of $150.4 million in 2017 and has about 800 employees, per Business Journal research. In their recent regulatory filling, DraftKings claimed that they have pencilled a multiyear deal with Casino Queen.DraftKings went public earlier this year and in May reported revenue of $88.5 million within the first three months of 2020. This was a net loss of $68.7 million from previous results.
Betting Legislation Changes
The partnership between Casino Queen and DraftKings comes hot off the heels of a change in Sports betting legislation that was passed by JB Pritzker in the Illinois Gov in 2019.
Others that followed include Argosy Casino Alton in Alton who opened a sportsbook in March 2019 and Collinsville horse track in Fairmount Park also has plans to launch a sports wagering operation in other sports betting operations launching this year.