Turning Stone Ready to Open New Sportsbook Lounge and Social Hangout

Posted on: December 5, 2023, 08:38h. 

Last updated on: December 9, 2023, 01:14h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Turning Stone Resort Casino in upstate New York will debut its new sports betting space later this month in part of the tribal destination’s $370 million overhaul.

Turning Stone Oneida Nation sports betting
NY Rec & Social Club opens at Turning Stone Resort Casino later this month. The sports betting space is part of the Oneida Nation’s $370 million overhaul of the tribal resort in upstate New York. (Image: Turning Stone)

Owned and operated by the Oneida Nation, Turning Stone on December 18 will open its newest venue, NY Rec & Social Club. The sports betting lounge and hangout space will combine sports wagering with modern nightlife and casual dining.

The sportsbook component will be branded “TS Sports” after the Oneida Nation dissolved its sports betting partnership with Caesars Sportsbook. The tribe and Caesars Sportsbook established the affiliation in January 2019.

Tribal officials say the NY Rec & Social Club will include a sportsbook counter, self-wagering kiosks, and a three-story “media tower” with video displays, 60 televisions, foosball, shuffleboard, darts, and billiards. Several casino table games like blackjack and craps will also be offered.

A bar and full-service restaurant will satisfy guests’ thirsts and bellies. NY Rec & Social Club will replace the Lava Nightclub in the Exit 33 wing of the casino.

Tribe Goes In-House for Sportsbook

The Oneida Nation began taking sports bets in July 2019 after the state gaming commission finalized its rules for sports wagering. New York legalized sports betting after the Supreme Court in May 2018 struck down a federal law limiting such gambling to Nevada.

New York’s gaming compacts with its three upstate tribes allow them to operate slot machines, table games, and any other Class III game as defined by the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. 

New York expanded its sports betting industry by welcoming online commercial sportsbooks to the state, effective January 2022. Tribal sportsbooks remain limited to in-person wagering. The state’s four upstate commercial casinos additionally offer retail sports betting.

Since the Oneida Nation had no experience operating sports gambling in 2019, the tribe partnered with Caesars Sportsbook. Nearly five years later, the tribe goes in-house for its TS Sports operations.

“Today, as the organization’s marketing partnership with Caesars concludes, TS Sports will continue to be operated and overseen by Turning Stone Enterprises and will offer guests the same depth and breadth of wagers they have enjoyed for years,” a statement provided to Casino.org read. 

“Caesars has been a valuable partner in our efforts to establish our sportsbooks as the most exciting places for fans to watch the big game and place their wagers,” said Turning Stone Enterprises CEO Ray Halbritter. “The launch of TS Sports will help us continue this tradition as we further evolve these venues and the experience they offer.”

TS Sports will replace Caesars Sportsbook operations at Turning Stone, Oneida Nation’s YBR Casino in Chittenango, and Point Place Casino in Bridgeport.

Turning Stone Renovation, Expansion

NY Rec & Social Club is just a small part of the tribe’s $370 million makeover of Turning Stone, its primary economic engine. The investment was announced in July and is focused on making the Verona casino resort a more appealing convention destination.

The largest expansion project since the casino opened as a bingo hall in 1993, Turning Stone is adding a 30,000-square-foot events space, a 2,000-space indoor parking garage, and constructing a new hotel with 258 guestrooms and suites. The overhaul also includes renovating the casino’s 825 current hotel rooms.

Turning Stone is also building an on-site medical center for the casino’s approximately 4,500 employees and has contracted Robert Trent Jones Jr. to build a new practice area at the resort’s three championship golf courses.