Gila River Resorts and Casinos has announced its first-ever partnership with a professional athlete.
Wild Horse Pass, Lone Butte, Vee Quiva and Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder announced their alliance early this week. Crowder will act as a brand ambassador for the gaming and entertainment franchise. A fourth Gila River gaming enterprise, Santan Mountain, is slated to open later this year.
Dominic Orozco, president and chief marketing officer for Gila River, sees many similarities in how Gila River does business and how Crowder handles himself on the court. Orozco said in a press release:
“Jae Crowder is a bossman, and we are honored to have him as our first-ever brand icon. Gila River is celebrating its new resorts designation in a big way with Jae. His talent, drive and vision with his business manager, Josh Mason, is unmatched. We are excited to welcome Jae as our new teammate to the Gila River family.”
Crowder spoke of his belief in the brand Gila River has created and cited his faith in them as a major reason he chose to be part of this union.
“I have a vision of growing with Gila River as we have a lot of things in common. Being an athlete at the highest level with one of the best teams in the NBA, it is important to grow my local relationships with people whom I am comfortable with and believe in.”
The former Marquette Golden Eagle will host the Summer Oasis Pool Party at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler to celebrate the partnership. This concert series will include celebrity DJs on the final Saturday of each month from May to September.
As the Suns prime to make a deep postseason run, sports bettors can find Crowder prop bets at Arizona sportsbooks.
Crowder’s quiet playoff start
Crowder and the Suns hit the road tonight for a bout against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The series started with Phoenix as heavy favorites, but the tides have turned after Suns star Devin Booker suffered a hamstring injury at the end of game two. The Pelicans went on to win the game, knotting the series at one game apiece, and Booker is expected to miss games three and four minimally.
In Booker’s absence, there will be plenty of offensive output required from the rest of the team, as he led the Suns in regular-season points per game at 26.8.
Crowder scored one point in game one and five points in game two. His game three projected points scored is 9.5.
Expect Crowder to get more shots offensively without Booker orchestrating Phoenix’s offense.
