Is Boomer’s Sportsbook planning to come to Nye County?

Boomer’s Sportsbook officially launched this past summer and just six months into its operations, this sports betting company is seeing success and eyeing continued expansion, with Tonopah on the verge of becoming the newest home for the growing business.

“Tonopah is such a neat place and the Mizpah is so iconic,” Boomer’s Sportsbook founder Joe Asher remarked. “I’m looking forward to getting it going!”

Asher has deep knowledge of the sports betting industry, having spent many years as a leader in the sector and having owned a previous sports betting company, Lucky’s Race and Sportsbook, as well.

When William Hill Sportsbook entered the U.S. market, the company acquired Lucky’s and took Asher on as its CEO, a position he held until 2021, when Caesars Entertainment purchased William Hill. Then Asher moved over to IGT, an international supplier for the gambling industry, before ultimately deciding to get back into the sports betting business.

“I think there’s room for competition, room for a little guy to come in and charge less and really focus on good service. That’s what we’re trying to do,” Asher told the Pahrump Valley Times. “We opened for business August 1 in Elko and a couple of days later in Las Vegas and Henderson. We subsequently opened up in Carson City and North Las Vegas and the hope is, Tonopah next.”

Asher said the opportunity to expand into Tonopah arose when he was directed to the Cline family, owners of the Mizpah Hotel and Mizpah Club Casino, who were considering adding a sportsbook to that casino.

“I got ahold of Ramsey Cline and it kind of happened from there,” Asher explained.

As to what sets Boomer’s Sportsbook apart from the existing operations in Nevada, Asher said it comes down to three key things. “Number one, it’s the only independent sportsbook in the state. Every other sportsbook is owned and operated by a casino operator and that’s been the case ever since Caesars purchased William Hill, which had been an independent operator,” Asher detailed.

“The other piece to this is, folks like Caesars and William Hill and Circa and MGM, they now have operations in a whole bunch of different states. We, on the other hand, are 100%, entirely Nevada-focused. Every single employee in the company lives in Nevada. We’ve had opportunities to work in other states, but we’ve turned them down because we want to keep this Nevada-focused,” he continued.

“Then, for the customer, we’re really focused on a couple of key things. We’re competing on price by offering a lower-cost product to consumers. The margin that we’re charging is lower, the payoffs on parlays are higher, we’re offering a diverse wagering menu with a variety of bonuses and promotions,” Asher added. “For instance, one promotion we started is for Golden Knights games. If you bet on the Knights to win and they end up losing, but Jack Eichel scores a goal, you get your wager back in bonus bets. We try to keep it exciting, try to keep it differentiated.”

Finally, customer service is a big part of the operation, with Asher noting that Boomer’s Sportsbook has its own brick-and-mortar call center in Las Vegas, eliminating the need to interact with a chat bot or have one’s call sent to a call center overseas. “If you have any issues, whatever it is - people forgetting their password or they have a question about something - they can call and speak to a real-life person right here in Nevada,” Asher concluded. “That’s really the overall picture: offering a great product, the best price in the market and good customer service.”

Though there are many “Boomers” associated with sports and some assume it must have been named for one of them, this company was actually named in honor of Asher’s rescue dog, who passed away on Thanksgiving Day 2024. “He made it to 17 and that’s a good run! Hopefully Boomer’s Sportsbook will have a good run too,” Asher enthused.

Approved to open in Tonopah by the Nevada Gaming Commission last month, Boomer’s Sportsbook is now awaiting licensing through Nye County itself, after which the sportsbook will begin taking bets in Tonopah.

But it’s not just on-site betting; customers have the ability to download the Boomer’s Sportsbook mobile app and bet from anywhere in the state. However, all Nevadans utilizing mobile sports betting are first required to visit a physical location to sign up, one of the driving factors behind the company’s expansion. The more communities in which it operates, the bigger its customer base will be.

Boomer’s Sportsbook is set to hold a ribbon cutting to celebrate the opening of its Tonopah location tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 4, just in time for Super Bowl weekend.

Looking to the future, Boomer’s Sportsbook is eyeing Pahrump for even more expansion.

For more information visit BetWithBoomer.com

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com