Opens First-Ever Sports Book and Sports Viewing Lounge By Brian Weis

Opens First-Ever Sports Book and Sports Viewing Lounge

Ultimate Golf Buddy-Trip Destination Strengthens Guest Offerings for 2020

By Brian Weis

French Lick Resort, one of America's greatest golf-resort destinations for group and buddies' trips recently unveiled new world-class accommodations and exciting entertainment amenities in its 51,000 square-foot, single-level French Lick Casino.

The new six-story Valley Tower, a 71-room hotel located adjacent to the resort's spacious Event Center and French Lick Casino, made its debut in November and is near the casino's new, first-ever Sports Book and nearby luxurious sports viewing lounge. The finely-appointed Valley Tower features connecting-room options as well as 12 suites that are configurable in one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom combinations. Adorned with modern décor, Valley Tower rooms provide a new look and a complementary option to guestrooms at the resort's historic French Lick and West Baden Springs Hotels.

The Sportsbook, operated in association with leading online gaming and sports betting company Rush Street Interactive (RSI), offers betting on a wide array of sporting events including professional football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, college sports and more. Wagers can be placed at the betting counter with a live sportsbook ticket writer during sportsbook hours of operation, or at a sports betting kiosk 24 hours a day.

The adjacent, brilliantly-designed sports-viewing lounge features a pair of state-of-the-art 14-feet-long by eight-feet-high LED video walls that anchor the lively sportsbook viewing area. Along with 18 additional TV monitors, the sportsbook also includes eight self-serve betting kiosks, and up to three staffed over-the-counter betting windows to accommodate guests.

The new Valley Bar, located just off the Valley Tower lobby, is the resort's only 21-and-over eating establishment with a menu featuring light fare including appetizers, sliders, wings and hearty soups. From the drink menu, guests can choose from nearly 20 regional craft beers, along with domestic brews, signature and traditional cocktails, and a selection of wines. Rustic décor and plenty of big-screen TVs make this a cozy new spot to meet up with friends during the day and after hours. Two event rooms are available for larger groups to rent.

"With as much history and welcoming space as this hotel has had for decades, it's exciting to open the Valley Tower, Valley Bar along with the new Sports Book and spacious sports viewing area in the French Lick Casino," says French Lick Resort direct of golf Dave Harner. "So many of our golfing groups consist of huge sports fans, so we think they're going to make the Valley Tower and the new Sports Book area, their preferred place to relax and enjoy all the fun French Lick Resort has to offer."

French Lick Resort has been awarded status as both a "Top 100 Resort in North America" by GOLF Magazine as well as the Golf Digest's Editors' Choice Award as one of the "Best Golf Resorts in the Midwest." Since the early 1900's, golf has been an integral part of this resort area. Tom Bendelow designed the first course there in 1907 followed by the great Donald Ross ten years later. In 2009, Pete Dye created a visually stunning masterpiece, which has quickly become one of the most highly acclaimed courses in the country. Both the Donald Ross and Pete Dye courses are ranked among the Top 100 in America's Greatest Public Courses and are currently ranked as the No. 1 and 2 Courses You Can Play in Indiana.

Golfing groups visiting French Lick Resort, one of USA Today's "Top-10 Historic Hotels in America," should watch for special golf packages in the Valley Tower which offers many double and connecting rooms and sits close to the resort's nine-hole Valley Links course.

Valley Tower and Valley Bar are both part of a $17 million addition geared toward providing resort guests more variety and options during their stay. The additional rooms added to the original 686 guestrooms at French Lick Resort's two historic hotels (443 at French Lick Springs Hotel and 243 at West Baden Springs Hotel) and bring the resort's overall capacity to 757 rooms. ADA-accessible rooms and pet-friendly rooms are also available in the new Valley Tower.

Already the largest employer in Indiana's Orange County, with 1,700 associates, French Lick Resort is adding approximately 100 new jobs to expand its workforce for the resort additions. The sports bar and new guestrooms are the latest major capital investment the resort has made over the past 12 years, following the opening of French Lick Casino in 2006; the adjacent Event Center that underwent a $20 million expansion in 2015; and the nearby Exhibition Hall that recently underwent an extensive renovation.
For more information on visiting French Lick Resort, check out www.frenchlick.com.

Revised: 01/10/2020 - Article Viewed 23,876 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.