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Pete Rose to place first sports bet at Hard Rock Cincinnati
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Pete Rose and Ohio sports betting will forever be intertwined, so why not just lean all in at this point?
As first reported by WLWT, the legendary Cincinnati Reds hit king will officially place the first bet at Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati on Jan. 1, 2023, at 12:01 a.m. Ohio sports betting will launch throughout the Buckeye State at that time.
Hard Rock Cincinnati receives sports betting licenses
Earlier in the week Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati received conditional approval for its Type A (online) and Type B (retail) sports betting licenses from the Ohio Casino Control Commission.
“We are very excited to launch sportsbook on Jan. 1. It will be great for Ohio and great for Hard Rock,” George Goldhoff, president of Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati, said at the meeting.
Rose will place the first bet at the casino when it officially opens its sportsbook in the New Year. Rose, of course, was permanently placed on baseball’s ineligible list since Aug. 24, 1989, amidst accusations that he had place bets on baseball during his time as a player and a manager. Rose has maintained that he only bet on his team when he managed the Reds and only bet on them to win, though there has been evidence brought forth that claims he bet on games when he was still an active player in 1986.
Rose placed the casino’s inaugural first bet on a hand of blackjack at its grand opening on Oct. 29, 2021.
Rose will not be the only Cincinnati sports celebrity to appear at the sportsbook’s grand opening, according to the WLWT report. He’ll be joined by Hall of Fame broadcaster Marty Brennaman, Reds’ legend Tom Browning, Bronson Arroyo, Olympic gold medalist Mary Wineberg, and Bengals legends Anthony Munoz, Ickey Woods, Jim Breech, and David Fulch.
Launch on track for January 1
Ohio sports betting will launch online, at retail sportsbook, and at sports betting kiosks throughout the state on Jan. 1, 2023, at 12:01 a.m. The Ohio Casino Control Commission has conditionally approved 21 out of 23 online sports betting applicants for licenses. The SPIRE Institute and Stark Enterprises are the only two applicants to not have a ruling on their online licenses yet.
SPIRE Institute is a 750,000-square-foot facility that serves as world class event and wellness complex. It offers training programs for Olympians, elite youth athletes, professional athletes and Paralympians. It also hosts the SPIRE Academy, which serves as a boarding school for high school students and recent graduates.
The commission has also conditionally approved 20 retail sports betting applicants out of 27 total applicants. The Spire Institute, Stark Enterprises, Ravencrest Partners, Harry Buffalo, Phantom Fireworks, Cedar Downs OTB, and Lori’s Roadhouse are the remaining seven applicants waiting for their hearings.
The following online sports betting operators (and their partners) have been approved for operation in the state as well:
- BetMGM (MGM Northfield Park)
- PointsBet Ohio (Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley)
- DraftKings (Hollywood Casino Toledo)
- Barstool Sportsbook (Hollywood Casino Columbus)
- FanDuel (Belterra Park)
- Caesars Sportsbook (Scioto Downs)
- Hard Rock Digital (Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati)
- Betfred (Cincinnati Bengals)
- bet365 (Cleveland Guardians)
- SuperBook (FC Cincinnati)
- Tipico Ohio (Crew SC)
- BetRivers (Hollywood Gaming Dayton Raceway)
Regulatory Writer and Editor for XLMedia. Sports. Gambling. Not necessarily in that order. Follow him on Twitter @rlinnehanxl