Westgate Superbook, long one of the country’s best-reputed independent sports betting shops, soon will become another piece of the Caesars Sportsbook family, the latter announced Tuesday.
Pending regulatory approval, Caesars will take over race and sports operations at Westgate prior to the kickoff of football this year and will operate the book under the name “Westgate SuperBook, powered by Caesars Sportsbook”. Caesars will continue to run the Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, one of the premier NFL handicapping contests in the U.S.
“The Westgate SuperBook is one of the most recognizable sportsbook destinations in the world, and we are proud to partner with Westgate on the next chapter of its evolution,” said Eric Hession, President of Caesars Digital, in a release. “By powering the SuperBook with our sportsbook platform, we’re combining a legendary sportsbook environment with a modern betting menu and added convenience that reflects how sports fans want to wager today.”
Caesars plans to expand Westgate’s wagering menu to include Same Game Parlays, more parlay offerings, and live in‑play wagering, in-person and on the app. The operator also plans to add self‑service kiosks throughout the property.
Westgate Superbook a Las Vegas icon
Westgate’s decision to outsource its sportsbook ends a four-decade stint as a house-run shop known as a home for sharp bettors. Legendary Las Vegas bookmakers and SBC Sports Betting Hall of Famers ran the operation, including Art Manteris, Tony Miller and Jay Kornegay. They built the shop’s brand over decades, with John Murray taking the reins when Kornegay retired from running day-to-day operations in 2024.
First opened under the Las Vegas Hilton brand in 1986, the Superbook features one of the largest physical sportsbook footprints in the state.
“Our SuperBook has been a defining part of the Las Vegas sports betting landscape,” said Cami Christensen, President and General Manager of Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. “We are incredibly proud of that legacy and thrilled to partner with Caesars Sportsbook to take it to the next level, combining decades of history with innovation, scale, and an even more dynamic guest experience.”
Its SuperContest allowed casual players to compete with some of the world’s sharpest bettors in handicapping the most-watched sports in the U.S. The SuperContest “will remain an integral part of the SuperBook experience,” Caesars said in the release.
National Superbook expansion fizzled
Following the 2018 PASPA decision that opened up the U.S. sports betting landscape, Kornegay and the Superbook team attempted a national expansion to multiple states in partnership with Paragon Gaming.
That expansion never gained significant traction beyond Nevada, though. Superbook gained licensure in eight states outside Nevada, but ultimately pulled out of all of them by earlier this year.
“After reviewing the numbers, it made sense for us to cease national operations,” Kornegay told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in late 2024.
Beyond the fierce competition fueled by multimillion-dollar marketing budgets from national brands like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM and Caesars, the company could not take advantage of its greatest asset in the SuperContest. The federal Wire Act restricts interstate sports betting transactions and prevented Superbook from running a national contest for bettors.
