Circa Sports formally christened its first retail sportsbook outside Nevada on Wednesday, with Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher making an appearance at The Temporary at American Place in Illinois.
The Waukegan location – situated between Chicago and Milwaukee – began taking wagers Friday as Circa expanded into its fourth state since launching sports wagering from its Nevada headquarters in 2019. The Illinois Gaming Board authorized Circa to begin taking bets for both retail and mobile sports wagering, making it the 13th overall location in the state to accept in-person bets when including the three off-track betting locations PointsBet has through Hawthorne Race Course. Circa also now has one of eight mobile books in the No. 2 market for betting handle in the U.S.
“I love having a retail counter because it gives people a reason to come visit,” said Circa Sports CEO and President Derek Stevens in addressing the crowd that came out to The Temporary. “When we first had a chance to meet up with [Senior Vice President] Alex [Stolyar], [President and CEO] Dan Lee, and the Full House crew, it was very apparent that we were going to make something happen and we were able to come together.
“We’re excited to work with you, we’re excited to bring these jobs to Waukegan, so thank you, and we look forward to working with you guys for a long time.”