*This story was updated on August 23, 2022
No longer do you need to go directly to a casino to get the sportsbook experience in Michigan.
Caesars Sportsbook Lounge Powered by Emagine has officially opened its doors at Emagine Royal Oak.
Michigan sports bettors can now enjoy big screens and stadium seating while making their wagers.
What is the Caesars Sportsbook Lounge?
Located at Emagine Royal Oak at 200 N Main St., the Caesars Sportsbook Lounge Powered by Emagine is a movie theatre setup for sports betting.
The visual display is over two stories in height and 40 feet in width. Emagine uses LED screens and a 5.1 cinema sound system. Up to eight different sporting events can be on display at one time. A total of 56 seats are available each day.
Available on a first-come, first-serve basis, admission is free to the sports lounge. Patrons are welcomed with heated, leather, power-reclining seats that includes a table large enough to hold laptop computers and snacks.
The room is equipped with WIFI for patrons to use the Caesars Sportsbook MI app to place their wagers. Servers are on hand to take any food or drink orders as well.
“Our commitment to building innovative entertainment experiences for our guests led us to the creation of the sports lounge at Emagine Royal Oak,” said Anthony LaVerde, CEO, Emagine Entertainment. “Partnering with Caesars is a major milestone in our ongoing commitment to being the most innovative theater chain in the country.”
Emagine will have a focus on in-state sports each night, but also include the major national events. For a list of what will be playing each night, visit the Sports Lounge page. Private reservations are also available for group watch events.
To be clear, there are no betting counters or kiosks at the sports lounge. Visitors are free to use their Caesars Sportsbook mobile betting app to place wagers at the converted theater.
Special Caesars promo offer for opening
To celebrate the rebranded opening of Caesars Sportsbook Lounge Powered by Emagine, Caesars Sportsbook is offering a special promotion.
New users aged 21 years and older in Michigan can earn a $25 Free Bet and an Emagine Food and Beverage Voucher worth an estimated $29.50. New users will just need to make a first-time deposit of at least $20 into a new account while using the promo code “EMAGINE.”
The voucher can than be used at Emagine Royal Oak in the Caesars Sports Lounge.
Caesars Sportsbook Lounge history
Emagine Entertainment opened up its first Emagine Sports Lounge right before 2021 closed at its movie theater complex in Royal Oak.
In April, Emagine partnered with Caesars Sportsbook, with plans to rebrand the theater to Caesars Sportsbook Lounge Powered by Emagine.
LaVerde noted when the sports lounge first opened that, “Emagine serves over 11 million guests a year. That’s an attractive opportunity to generate additional users on a gambling app.”
With the partnership, Caesars Sportsbook Lounge gives the sportsbook an opportunity to host fan engagement events and offer promotions to Emagine theatergoers.
“We are excited about this partnership with Emagine Entertainment and applaud their ingenuity in creating a Sports Lounge in a movie theater,” said Eric Hession, co-president of Caesars Digital, in a statement. “This concept should provide an exciting environment for people to enjoy a televised sporting event and for us to connect with new customers while also rewarding our existing loyal customer base.”
Royal Oak is first of several planned locations
Emagine Royal Oak is the first to kick off this new venture. However, Emagine has plans to expand the idea to other locations throughout Michigan.
“I would love to see it at every location. But certainly all of our larger facilities,” LaVerde said. “Royal Oak is the closest to Detroit and just has really great demographics when we looked at most likely sports gamblers in the metropolitan area that would be interested in something like this. Royal Oak really checked every box. So it was the ideal facility to try it out and see if it worked. Thus far, it’s been spectacular.”
Emagine had the wheels in motion to start the Sports Lounge once sports betting was launched in Michigan prior to the pandemic. While things were understandably slowed down because of COVID-19, Emagine never lost sight of the idea.
“It actually had been a concept we were working on pre-COVID, and because of the pandemic, cash was precious as we were shut down, so we actually put the project on hold,” LaVerde said. “Then as governmental agencies allowed our business to reopen, we picked the project back up and completed construction roughly a month ago.”
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