New Rivers Casino sportsbook to boast 2 50-foot-long TV screens

Rivers Casino on Thursday unveiled renderings of an expanded, permanent sportsbook planned for the North Shore casino.

The $5 million construction project is expected to open this fall, according to a statement from Rivers.

The casino opened the temporary sportsbook in December, offering legal bets on sports including football, baseball, hockey, boxing and basketball.

Since then, the Rivers sportsbook has become one of the highest-performing in the state.

It brought in the largest handle — $7.9 million of the statewide total of $35.4 million — of the state’s eight sportsbooks in May, according to figures provided by the state Gaming Control Board.

The new sportsbook will be located in the 5,500-square-foot area formerly occupied by Levels Lounge, according to a statement from Rivers. It will include club chairs and seating for about 195 guests, along with two 50-foot-by-7-foot LED monitors and 24, 86-inch flat-screen monitors.

There will be 18 self-service betting kiosks and six betting windows.

Also on Thursday, Rivers received a green light from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to move forward with full-time operation of its online and mobile sportsbook app, BetRivers.com.

Rivers launched a two-day test period Tuesday.

The app, which is only available for Android devices and desktops for now, offers the same features as the on-site sports betting kiosks located at the brick-and-mortar sportsbook.

Users must be at least 21 years old and located in Pennsylvania in order to place a bet.

Parx Casino, also located in Philadelphia, launched its online sports betting operation this week as well.

The Rivers sister casino, Philadelphia-based SugarHouse, launched online sports betting in May.