Ohio is now just days away from launching legal sports betting via mobile apps, kiosks and retail sportsbooks on Jan. 1.
To ring in the new year, Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati has a sports-themed New Year’s Eve party in the works, open to those 21 and older.
Sports betting in Ohio officially kicks off at midnight, and the casino’s Hard Rock Sportsbook plans to begin taking bets at 12:01 a.m. with plenty of festivities planned.
The party will gather a who’s who of Cincinnati sports
If you want to be one of the first to place a bet IRL at Hard Rock, you’ll be in line behind Pete Rose, who will be placing the first bet at 12:01.
But the queue could be longer and filled with familiar faces. Cincinnati sports celebrities including Joe Mixon, Marty Brennaman, Bronson Arroyo, Anthony Munoz, Jim Breech, David Fulcher and Mary Wineberg will be on hand and are expected to make appearances throughout the night.
Food will be available at the New Year’s Eve Gala Buffet, which runs $49.99 per person, or at the casino’s restaurants. The buffet runs from 5-10 p.m. and features snow crab legs, prime rib, Italian and seafood items, soups and desserts.
VIP tickets still available for Joe Mixon’s private party
A private New Year’s Eve party hosted by Joe Mixon coincides with the sportsbook launch and party at Hard Rock. General admission tickets to the event are sold out, but some VIP Experience packages are still available.
The VIP Experience package gets you and five friends in the door and into your own seats in the VIP section. A bottle of booze from a curated selection and an assortment of mixers are included for your group.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. See more info on Hard Rock Cincinnati’s website.
Sportsbook, sports bar and mobile app
Both the Hard Rock retail sportsbook and Hard Rock Sportsbook Ohio online sportsbook app were among the 28 sportsbooks the Ohio Casino Control Commission fully licensed this week.
The Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati retail sportsbook will include a new sports bar located next to the Cincinnati casino’s guitar entrance. The sportsbook will offer betting on all major sports plus golf, tennis, auto racing and more. The space will be decked out with TVs for watching the action, multiple betting windows, and live stats and scores on tickers and odds boards.
Patrons will also be able to utilize the Hard Rock sportsbook app starting at midnight. The app is available now and already operates in six states.
