FSR Magazine
Tom’s Watch Bar Taps Sports Betting Craze to Build New Kind of Fan Experience
By Ben Coley
June 24, 2025
The brand likes to build venues across from sportsbooks.
Tom’s Watch Bar CEO Brooks Schaden has seen some creative sports bets in his time with the brand.
A popular one is guessing what color Gatorade will be poured onto the coach who won the Super Bowl. Another, more specific one involves betting on whether the baseball ends up in the infield grass or the clay area around the pitcher’s mound after an inning is over. And for basketball fans, there’s the bet on whether LeBron James will retire at the end of the season.
“You hear little pockets in the crowd cheer for something when there’s nothing really going on. ‘What was that?’ And it’s usually they got some bet or a running back just crossed a certain number of yards and so people are cheering for things completely unrelated to the outcome of the game,” Schaden says.
The U.S. sports betting industry earned a record $13.71 billion in revenue last year, up from 2023’s previous record of $11.04 billion, according to the American Gaming Association’s annual report. The organization also stated Q4 2024 was the highest quarter ever at $3.66 billion. The prior high mark was set in Q4 2023. As of late June, nearly 80 percent of states have some form of legalized sports betting.
Tom’s Watch Bar, which prides itself as one of the premiere venues to enjoy sports, has seen firsthand how sports betting has increased fan engagement. Each location has more than 100 TV screens, and customers have the option of over 50 beers and 100 cocktails.
“We like to joke, it’s the one place you’re allowed to sit there with other people and stare at your phone, and it’s acceptable because you’re watching your stats and watching your bets,” Schaden says.
Sports betting plays a role in how the company designs its space. For instance, the brand has noticed customers paying attention to a growing number of sports. If a guest is at the Denver location on a Sunday in the fall, the Denver Broncos game will most definitely be on the biggest screens. But it won’t necessarily be on every TV.
“We very intentionally lay out our TVs to curate them so you can watch lots of games,” Schaden says. “And so we’ll have the Broncos game, but people are watching whatever football games, but also what other sports are going on. And so I think [sports betting] is increasing people’s engagement across multiple games, but also multiple sports. And they’re engaging differently because they’re betting on different things. So you might be a Broncos fan and you’re cheering for the Broncos, but your other bet is for your fantasy league quarterback, or you’ve got a bet on the passing yards for Patrick Mahomes in another game. You don’t even necessarily care who wins, but you’re just kind of watching other things.”
Tom’s Watch Bar does display spreads in its venues. It’s also experimented with different groups and programs that highlight specific games and show the spreads. Some of those efforts tie into affiliate-style models. For example, it may show spreads alongside a QR code that links to a promotion with a sportsbook like DraftKings or FanDuel.
That said, the types of bets available now have exploded. Because there are so many betting options, and screen space is limited, Tom’s Watch Bar has found that guests mainly look at what’s displayed for general information—like who’s favored in a game—rather than as a guide for placing bets. Schaden says most people are using their phones to place bets because they can access a full range of stats and options. The American Gaming Association data supports this trend. The organization said 30 percent of all commercial gaming revenue in 2024 came from digital sources. That’s up from 25 percent in 2023 and 13 percent in 2021.
Schaden has seen anecdotal evidence that sports betting has helped keep people in seats for a longer time.
“Typically years ago, you might have seen at the end of a Broncos game, if they’re getting blown out, people might start trickling out,” Schaden says. “But I think you see people stick around because they’re not there just watching one game. They’re watching multiple games.”
Casinos have also become a big part of Tom’s Watch Bar’s growth strategy. Schaden explains many of them built these large, traditional sportsbooks—20,000 square feet in some cases—but now, with mobile betting, people don’t need to physically go into those spaces anymore. The brand comes in and works with casinos to reimagine the layout. The idea is to keep the sportsbook and the betting functionality, but build a vibrant sports bar around it. The foot traffic then helps drive overall visitation in the casino.
Tom’s Watch Bar’s location at New York-New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is across from the sportsbook. The brand often sees customers place a bet and then immediately walk over to its sports bar to watch the game.
At the end of the month, Tom’s Watch Bar will open a new store at ilani Casino Resort in Ridgefield, Washington. The larger 7,509-square-foot venue is connected to the casino’s sportsbook. The company is also currently developing two or three more of these integrated sportsbook-sports bar concepts, and in discussions with 10 to 20 other casinos around the country exploring similar ideas.
“People want to come out and be with us because they want to be a part of that community,” Schaden says. “And so finding other ways that you can engage with other people, that’s the other big way I think we’re seeing sports betting impacting what we do and how we want to interact. It’s another touch point for us to engage with fans, whether we’re involved directly in the betting or not. It’s just another way for us to engage with that community and for people to engage with each other.”
Tom’s Watch Bar is on track to open seven or eight units this year, bringing it to around 20 venues. Next year, it expects to add another nine or 10. The growth isn’t isolated—it’s happening all over the country, driven by the rise of entertainment districts and loosening restrictions around sports teams investing in real estate near their stadiums/arenas.
Media Contact:
Marisa Breese, ICR
tomswatchbar@icrinc.com
