A new arena for Michigan sports fans is now open: The Onyx Sports Book has opened inside the Turtle Creek Resort & Casino.

Rick Mahorn, former Detroit Pistons Bad Boy, was on hand to cut the ribbon Wednesday morning.

Gamblers can now put their money on their favorite teams and bet on the money line or points spread. The resort partnered with William Hill to offer a legal avenue for people to bet on their favorite sports.

“For so long, if you wanted to make a sports bet you had to do it illegally, through a bookie or an offshore sports book or something, so it’s really important to us to bring a legal option to northern Michigan to make a sports bet,” said Dan Shapiro, VP of Business Development and Strategy at William Hill.

The road to this ribbon cutting was a long one, and lots of legal issues had to be worked out at the state level to allow this facility to open.

“Michigan finally got it passed, there was a group of congressmen that wanted to see it happen and they got it finally passed last year,” said Grand Traverse Resort & Casinos CEO Mike Shrader. “Here we are, we finally made it, and everybody’s happy, it’s a good deal.”

William Hill and the team is also working on expanding their mobile sports betting and online offerings.

“If you bet here at turtle creek you know you’ll get paid, you know you’ll get fair odds and we’re going to provide a great experience for you,” said Shapiro.

The sports book also offers game watching areas – plus a bar and food service.