Local elected officials, a Houston-based businessman and DraftKings officials gathered at Golden Nugget Casino Thursday to cut the ribbon on the new Sportsbook space.

The ceremony took place inside Blue Martini Lounge the day after both Golden Nugget and L’Auberge Casino Resort opened sports betting on their properties. The casinos were the fifth and sixth sports betting licenses that Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns issued.

Securing sports betting was an effort three years in the making, according to Golden Nugget General Manager Greg Hennagin. He said a permanent, 12,000-square-foot facility to house sports betting should be ready by the summer 2022.

Sports betting is another amenity to attract Texas residents to the casino, with more than 80 percent of its business coming from the Beaumont and Houston areas, Hennagin said.

“It’s incredibly special,” he said. “We’re so glad it’s finally come to fruition.”

Jim McIngvale, also known as “Mattress Mack,” said having sports betting close to Houston means he won’t have to fly to Colorado, Las Vegas or New Jersey.

“I imagine I’ll be here at the Golden Nugget quite often,” he said.

Before the ribbon cutting, McIngvale placed a $60,000 bet in favor of the Texas A&M Aggie football team, which squares off against the Ole Miss Rebels Saturday.

“My father grew up in Starkville, Miss., and went to Mississippi State,” he said. “So, he would be proud of me knowing I bet on the Texas Aggies. We look forward to a lot of Texans coming over here and enjoying sports betting legally.”

Senate President Page Cortez, R-Lafayette, talked about getting state lawmakers to approve his legislation earlier this year that regulated sports betting in the 55 parishes that voted for it.

“It was one of the easiest and most difficult bills,” he said. “(It was) easy because the people wanted it (and) difficult because there were so many players involved. It was like managing your own football team. In the end, we got it done.”

Cortez also thanked Johns, a former District 27 state senator from Sulphur, for his work in the Legislature and as gaming control board chairman in getting sports betting ready in time for the current NFL and college football seasons.

Johnny Avello, director of race and sports operations for DraftKings, said he never expected to expand sports betting from Las Vegas to Louisiana. DraftKings is in 18 states and growing, he said.

“I’m really happy about where this is going,” he said. “There’s more (sports betting) content now than there’s ever been.”

Calcasieu Parish Police Jury President Brian Abshire said bringing sports betting to Southwest Louisiana will bring a huge economic driver for the area.