Potawatomi Casino Hotel in Milwaukee announced today that it will open a permanent sportsbook at the northwest corner of the first floor of the casino, replacing the 500-seat Northern Lights Theater and the Fire Pit Sports Bar & Grill. A poker room is also planned for that area.
The Fire Pit Sport Bar & Grill closed at the beginning of the year at the complex, formerly known as Potawatomi Hotel & Casino.
The sportsbook at Potawatomi Casino Hotel will include a full bar, eight high-definition televisions and one large LED screen showing major sporting events.
The casino will also place kiosks for betting on sports off of the skywalk on the second level.
There will be a total of 17 kiosks for sports betting between the two locations, open 24 hours a day. Both locations will provide odds boards.
In 3 to 6 weeks, a temporary sports betting area will be set up at the former Topgolf swing suite, located next to the Fire Pit Sports Bar, which closed during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, the Forest County Potawatomi Community reached a deal with the state allowing the tribe’s casinos, including its Milwaukee casino, and affiliate locations to offer event wagering on sports and non-sports events.
“This is a transformational time at Potawatomi Casino Hotel,” said Dominic Ortiz, Potawatomi Casinos and Hotels’ CEO. “For more than three decades, we have served as a leader in tribal gaming. With the addition of sports betting, we’ll be providing our guests with even more options and welcoming new visitors to the property and the Menomonee Valley.”
Construction of the sportsbook comes in the midst of Potawatomi Casino Hotel’s $100 million renovation to its second level, expected to be completed in phases during the summer and fall of this year.
The casino’s move to close its Northern Lights Theater comes as Madison-based FPC Live plans to build an indoor concert venue complex next to Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee and as an indoor concert venue is also planned as part of the planned Iron District development downtown.
