September 18
After stating it would be open in time for the NFL debut, the sportsbook at the Onyx Sports Bar and Grill by William Hill in Traverse City, Michigan, finally opened today after missing its originally planned start date.
On Thursday, the Onyx Sportsbook tweeted that it was officially opening at 3 p.m. Friday at Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel in Traverse City. The new Michigan casino sportsbook will also have a satellite location at the Leelanau Sands Casino and Lodge.
LIVE SPORTS BETTING NOW AVAILABLE! Our fully-staffed sports book by @WilliamHill at @TCCasino is equipped with two betting windows, self-serve kiosks, over 20 HDTV's, and more! Additional self-serve kiosks are available at @LeelanauSands. https://t.co/fXhjP1ZN9z pic.twitter.com/33NLcJ9tvl
— Onyx Sports Book by William Hill (@onyxsportsbook) September 18, 2020
Bettors can place wagers inside the Onyx Sportsbook at the wagering windows or at self-serve kiosks. Additional self-serve kiosks are available throughout the casino and at Leelanau Sands Casino.
The official opening of the Onyx Sportsbook has been a longtime coming for bettors in the Traverse City area. The initial announcement from William Hill in February, and billboards off M-72 and social media posts dating back to Aug. 17, all pointed to the Onyx Sportsbook opening in time for the start of football season. But the NFL season opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texas on Sept. 10 came and went without the sportsbook operating.
“We are finalizing all internal approvals at this time and we hope to open sports betting soon at Turtle Creek and Leelanau Sands casinos,” Michael Schrader, CEO of Grand Traverse Resort and Casinos, said in a statement to the Traverse City Record Eagle on Sept. 9. “We appreciate everyone’s patience during this process.”
Turtle Creek was Michigan’s 23rd casino to gain a retail sports betting license once Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a package of gambling expansion bills into state law in December 2019.
The Onyx Sports Bar features 20 HDTVs, two betting windows and pool tables. The book functions similarly to William Hill’s other establishments, where a bettor checks off the rotation number on a sheet of paper and presents it to the writer inside the cage.
With its official opening, the Onyx Sportsbook by William Hill became the seventh casino to offer sports betting across the state. The others are:
Michigan online sports betting, casinos and poker could also be arriving by November.
There are numerous Michigan casinos who have partnered with sportsbooks, but official opening dates have yet to be revealed:
