Station sports books taking UFC action for first time
- Nov 11, 2016
- 2 min read
For the first time since the Fertitta brothers sold their majority interest in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Station Casinos has started offering bets on UFC events.
“This is it. UFC 205 (Saturday) will be our first time that Station casinos will be taking action on UFC,” said Jason McCormick, sports book director at Red Rock Resort. “We weren’t super aggressive after the paperwork was finalized to start booking bets, but our guests were asking for it.”
The sale of the UFC was announced in July and completed in August. Massive sports marketing company WME | IMG, which also represents UFC fighters and the UFC itself, bought the company from UFC President Dana White and Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.
Because the Fertittas also own a controlling interest in Red Rock Resorts, the parent company of Station Casinos, Nevada gaming regulators had asked that Station sports books not take bets on UFC events.
McCormick said the ban definitely cost him business.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Every single event that was held on those Fridays and Saturdays I would estimate that 50 to 100 guests here at Red Rock would want to bet and we’d have to say ‘Sorry, we don’t take action on UFC.”
McCormick said the ban also meant his and other Station sports books were losing out on bets for other sports.
“UFC is very popular in general and very popular with sports bettors. If we weren’t offering these fights our guests would disappear on a Saturday and make those wagers somewhere else. And most likely they would go back to those places (with their tickets from the fight) and place bets on NFL games on Sunday or Monday. So we were losing those guests when those events occurred.”
Now that the ban is gone, McCormick said he’s excited about UFC and especially about UFC 205. The main event Saturday at Madison Square Garden has featherweight champion Conor McGregor challenging Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight title.
“Obviously, when you talk about bettors in general, some guys and girls have their favorite sports they’re into,” he said. “But when you talk about bets on special events like this weekend, when you have a guy like Conor McGregor, who is the face of the UFC trying to win a second belt in a different weight class for the first time, it’s something you want to be a part of.”
“When it comes to events like this, it’s like the Super Bowl. Even if you’re not a football fan, you’re going to bet, whether it’s in an office pool or whatever. And if you’re in Las Vegas, it’s natural to wager on those things.”
However, McCormick said, even outside of special events such as UFC 205, he expects UFC betting to do well.”
“I think it is fighter specific,” he said. “But I think the UFC has a huge fanbase and large wagering fanbase. It’s one of things I’ve seen over the years. When we couldn’t offer bets, we used to do lot of UFC viewing parties at our properties and those events would be packed.”
Because of that popularity, McCormick said Station sports books will be offering wagers on almost all UFC events. “There’s just a natural UFC fanbase that’s going to bet every event on the board,” he said. “Every event.”
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