The Palms casino has been in operation since 2001 and in that time period the casino has never been allowed to take NBA bets at their sports book. That is until now. This past Thursday the NBA board of governors voted unanimously to allow the Palms, run by the Maloof family, to accept bets on NBA games except those that involve the Kings NBA Team.

The reason for excluding the Kings teams is that the Maloof family owns the team and it would be unfair to accept bets for their team. Joe Maloof stated: “We went to the board of governors committee and while back and asked them to lift the ban at the casino. We gave them some reasons why we thought it was a smart move and why it would be beneficial for us and everyone involved. Everyone agreed it was an antiquated law.”

It was about six to eight months ago that the Maloof family approached the NBA and the committee stated they would discuss the matter at the first available meeting, which was this week. Team president John Thomas and Gavin Maloof were present during the meeting.

Joe Maloof also stated that the reason for wanting to offer NBA betting was competitive fairness. He stated it allows their casino to be on a level playing field with other casinos in the city. Joe explained that if a customer wanted to place a sports bet on an NBA team that customer would have to leave, go to another casino and might not come back.

Joe Maloof also stated that he does not expect a huge amount of profits to come from the new wagers but that it will make betting more convenient to the customer.


- 2008-10-24