California Tribal Casino Debuts Kid-Friendly Ninja Course and Trampoline Park

A California tribal casino some 70 air miles southeast of Sacramento in Tuolumne is making a big bet on keeping its resort bustling in 2024 with more family-friendly draws.

California tribal casino Black Oak
Elevate is a new standalone family-friendly entertainment center located at the Black Oak Casino Resort in California. The facility brings an array of new kid-appropriate fun to the destination southeast of Sacramento. (Image: The Union Democrat)

The Black Oak Casino Resort is owned and operated by the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians. Ahead of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the tribe opened its casino’s newest attraction — a 20,000-square-foot family fun center called “Elevate.”

The facility provides entertainment for all ages. Guests can tackle a ninja warrior course, jump around on an indoor trampoline park, play dodgeball, throw axes, golf on indoor simulators, and perform high-flying slam dunks.

Elevate officially opened its doors on Dec. 20. The facility is open 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the weekend.

We aim to provide a fun entertainment experience that elevates the entire family,” a statement from the tribal casino read. “A place where not only visitors but our local community of all ages can come together and experience family fun.”

Tuolumne County residents with proof of residency receive a 10% discount on admission to Elevate. For non-residents, the family-friendly attraction offers an array of passes. A 90-minute “jump pass” to the trampoline area starts at $23 for guests aged seven and older. Guests aged six and under get in for $18.

Added Reasons to Visit

Like so many casinos across the country, Black Oak is presumably trying to add destination value by way of non-gaming amenities, as casinos continue to spread in the US and legal gaming outlets are more widely available. The Black Oak property is the primary economic engine of the tribe, which operates slot machines and table games through a Class III Indian gaming compact with the State of California.

Black Oak opened in 2001 with slots and a small restaurant. It’s undergone significant expansions since, with the resort today offering nearly 1,200 slots and 22 table games on a 50,000-square-foot casino floor. About 325 machines are located on a smoke-free second floor that measures around 11,000 square feet.

Elevate isn’t the tribe’s first non-gaming investment in the resort.

Along with its 18-hole championship golf course that it purchased in 2019, the Black Oak Casino Resort in January 2005 opened a 53,000-square-foot “Family Fun Floor.” The facility features a 24-lane bowling alley and an arcade.

Resort Expansion Planned

The Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians has plans to further expand its casino resort. Though the tribe is for now staying mum on specifics, tribal leaders say the investments will include upgrades and expansions to the current resort.

Along with the aforementioned gaming and entertainment, Black Oak features a 148-room hotel with five full-serve restaurants, plus a convention and event center. An accompanying 85-space RV park has full power capabilities with restrooms and showers, a dog park, and a catch-and-release fishing pond.

The Black Oak RV park is a popular stop for recreational motorists, as the resort borders Yosemite National Park and Gold Country.

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Amazon Prime Sports Betting Network Debuts on Free Streaming Platform

Amazon Prime’s newest streaming channel is a 24/7 sports betting network airing on the Freevee platform.

Amazon Prime sports betting SportsGrid Freevee
The SportsGrid Network studio. SportsGrid Network launched on Amazon Prime’s Freevee streaming platform this week. The network is focused on sports betting and runs 24/7. (Image: SportsGrid)

Amazon Freevee, formerly IMDd TV, was rebranded and debuted under its new identity last April. Amazon acquired IMDb, an online database of credits for movies and television productions, in 1998.

Freevee is a free streaming service featuring movies, television, and original shows. Along with on-demand programming, Freevee offers live entertainment channels.

Freevee’s newest channel comes from SportsGrid, an online website and sports radio network focused on the convergence of sports and gaming. The SportsGrid Network on FreeVee is the world’s first and only FAST (free ad-supported streaming channel) network.

It is an exciting day for the SportsGrid executive team to partner with Amazon Freevee and Prime Video services offering their millions of users access to the best destination source for sports betting news, real-time data, and expert commentary. We look forward to the Amazon partnership to innovate and develop new tools to engage and redefine the sports viewers betting experience,” said Louis Maione, president and co-founder of SportsGrid.

The SportsGrid Network launched Wednesday, February 8. The channel seeks to serve the global sports wagering audience with exclusive programming and real-time coverage of both pregame and in-game sports betting odds and line movements.

Amazon Considering Own Bet

Last December, Amazon revealed that it’s contemplating dipping its toes into the sports betting space with its own standalone app focused on the emerging gaming sector. The goal of the mobile application would be to allow Amazon to better capitalize off of its sports rights, which are highlighted by the company’s NFL “Thursday Night Football” package.

Amazon Prime is the exclusive broadcaster of “TNF” through the 2033 season. There was a bit of a learning curve for consumers this past season, however, as ratings for the Thursday games were down 15% in 2022 — or about two million fewer viewers per game. Since Amazon Prime is a subscription service, the NFL requires that Amazon allow the games to air on broadcast networks in the local markets of the teams playing.

Amazon’s “TNF” declines outpaced the league’s weekend and Monday Night Football games, which also experienced year-over-year ratings losses. The NFL’s 272 regular-season games averaged 16.7 million viewers across television and digital platforms — about 3% lower than in 2021. Despite the slight setback, NFL ratings were the third-highest since 2016 in 2022.

Along with “TNF,” Prime also has rights to Premier League soccer and some New York Yankees games.

DraftKings Partnership

Integrating its own sports betting product could help Amazon Prime increase its “TNF” audience. Amazon is paying the NFL $13 billion over 11 years to serve as the exclusive home to “TNF.”

In September, Amazon announced DraftKings as an official sponsor of the weekly games. DraftKings odds were integrated into the weekly kickoff games.

This Sunday is Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. The Eagles are slightly favored, and Amazon’s Alexa believes a bet on Philly is a good one.

When prompted to predict an outcome, Alexa is currently telling users, “This gameĀ is going to come down to one thing: defense. My prediction? The Eagles and their defense are going to soar to their second Super Bowl win. Fly Eagles Fly!”

The Eagles last won the Super Bowl in 2017 with a 41-33 win over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

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