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LAS VEGAS (AP) – Every February, thousands of football fans from around the world gather at Las Vegas casinos to bet on the Super Bowl winner, the MVP, the first scorer and hundreds of others results. They encourage, boo and hold their breath as they watch every moment of the match in sports betting, VIP parties and other gatherings.
If they are lucky, they make long queues to cash in.
This excitement brings Las Vegas hundreds of millions of dollars and, for the first time on Sunday, it will face legal competition outside of Nevada, the casinos of seven other states having opened sports betting since the US Supreme Court issued a relevant ruling in May. But the betting dollar race does not worry officials or casino operators. This Super Bowl, they say, will run as usual.
Their confidence stems from the magnetism of Las Vegas: historic casinos, exceptional hospitality and catering, not to mention a growing list of world-clbad entertainment options that create the Sin City atmosphere that attracts millions of people every year. People rarely come to this desert oasis exclusively to bet.
"People come to Vegas for four or five hours around the Super Bowl, but they come a lot more to fill the remaining 48 hours in the city for the weekend," said Jay Rood, head of sports betting operations for MGM. Resorts International. "I really do not think Vegas, or Nevada, has anything to fear for the future – I think it will only increase our customer base and probably get more people to our door."
Tourism officials are expecting 306,000 people to travel to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl weekend, with an estimated economic impact of $ 426 million. Figures from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority represent an increase in the economic impact of $ 1.4 million over the previous year, with roughly the same number of visitors.
The players have bet a record $ 158.6 million on the big game of nearly 200 Nevada sports betting, more than $ 20.1 million more than in 2017. But these bets do not bother. yielded a profit of about $ 1.2 million, some partially reporting losses at six and seven figures. because of a mysterious bettor who seems to have a lot of pockets.
Nevada's effective monopoly on sports betting came to an end last spring, when the Supreme Court overturned a federal ban on this form of gambling. The casinos of seven other states – Rhode Island, Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New Mexico – accept bets on the New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Rams. And by 2020, the list could be longer, with lawmakers in two dozen states considering allowing sports betting.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, in charge of promoting the destination, estimates that 93.5% of the 147,000 or so available rooms in the city will be booked this weekend.
"In addition to the weather conditions that are better than most areas of the country, we have so many other amenities that you can create a whole weekend," said Jacqueline Peterson, Head of Communications for the Authority. . "Yes, you can sit and watch the big game and have a good time, but before and after we have the best clubs, bars and restaurants in the world, and some incredible shows are happening in town this weekend."
Lady Gaga, American rock band ZZ Top, George Strait and Van Morrison are part of the planned shows.
MGM Resorts expects that the majority of its properties on the Las Vegas Strip will be sold out. Rood said that he had already taken several six-digit wagers and that he was hoping to get three or four bets exceeding $ 1 million each. He expects Rams' fans from nearby southern California to start running in Las Vegas by Friday afternoon.
MGM and the Westgate Las Vegas casino-hotel had the Patriots as Thursday's favorite at one point.
The Westgate Las Vegas casino-hotel also expects to be at full capacity. He will host a rally for 1,200 of his VIP clients, a private event for more than 2,000 people and a party for about 1,500 people, open to the public on the stage where Elvis Presley has already played. A satellite betting station will be placed centrally to allow partygoers to bet without losing much of the game.
Long-time Las Vegas columnist Jay Kornegay believes Nevada punters will set another record this year. He added that some of the biggest bettors had arranged to transfer money ahead of the match, with 80-85% of all bets being historically made in the last two days before the match.
"It's an important weekend for us, and when I say we, I'm talking about the city of Las Vegas because we have to organize our best show for them to keep coming back, not just for the next year's game, but for the whole year, "said Kornegay, vice president of Westgate's sports betting and racing operations. "Everyone is on the bridge all over the city."
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Follow Regina Garcia Cano on Twitter at https://twitter.com/reginagarciakNO
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