- Having pro sports 12 months a year a big boon for casino travel
- Golden Knights a Stanley Cup betting favourite this year
- Groundbreaking for new Las Vegas MLB stadium set for this June
Las Vegas travel has been in the headlines of late, with news that casino revenue fell sharply in February, a particularly tough scenario since Vegas hosted the Super Bowl the same month – declines in baccarat, table games, and one less day in the month blamed as factors. Strong hotel bookings were reported for March and April, though.
Lora Green is one of the managing partners at Casino Marketing Group in Toronto, an exclusive service, where her company puts together white glove, exclusive trips for her network of high-roller gamblers to luxury casinos like Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Her company was founded in 1978, and they have over 4,500 clients in their database. The people that come to her value her knowledge and experience when it comes to Las Vegas, her contacts, her discretion, and her track record of building customized experiences for gamblers.
However if there’s one thing that’s positively impacting her business, she says, it’s been the expansion of professional sports in Las Vegas – starting with the Vegas Golden Knights on the NHL in 2017, then the Oakland Raiders of the NFL moving to Vegas in 2020. Next up is Major League Baseball’s Oakland A’s, set to relocate to Las Vegas in 2028 along with a new $1.75 billion stadium. Groundbreaking is set for June.
Raiders, Golden Knights Are a Draw
It helps that the Vegas pro sports teams are good. The Golden Knights recently won a Stanley Cup and are a solid bet to go far in the NHL playoffs again this year, which are about to start (11.00 at Bet99 to win the Cup, after the Dallas Stars, at 7.40, the Florida Panthers at 9.00, the Colorado Avalanche at 9.50, Carolina Hurricanes at 10.00, Edmonton Oilers at 10.00, and Tampa Bay Lightning at 10.00, in terms of shortest odds).
The Raiders? Well, they finished well out of the playoffs this past NFL season, at 4-13, but Hall of Famer Tom Brady is an owner, and they offer up one of the best live betting football experiences anywhere in the NFL, at Allegiant Stadium.
Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas
Golden Knights a Cup Favorite
“So [live sports] would help get them to Vegas. And then they’ll stay at our property, and they will gamble Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, whatever their game of choice. But that would get them to Vegas number one. It’s part of the lifestyle. There’s been a huge increase in our business, because now there are professional sports in Las Vegas stadiums.”
The Caesars Palace casino experience screams luxury – 185 table games, 1324 slot machines, 18 screens with a bevy of sports options to watch, plus a Race & Sportsbook.
The relocation of the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas will be interesting to watch. The Golden Knights’ first season was 2017-18, yet they had a Stanley Cup win by 2023 – impressive, in such a short window, considering how difficult it is to win that trophy. Everybody talks about the high-energy event that is a Golden Knights’ home game.
Las Vegas Sells Itself
That said, Las Vegas does sell itself, Green adds.
“Sometimes getting them there, during winter, when it’s not Super Bowl, can be tough,” she says. The pools don’t open until April. The A’s moving to Vegas will help fill out the April through October calendar, handing the baton off to NFL and NHL season, will be a boon. And we must not forget the annual Las Vegas Grand Prix Formula One race along the Strip, which happens in November.
Located in the heart of Las Vegas, the track takes in the famous strip and passes Caesars Palace, the Bellagio and the Venetian. Fans are not only guaranteed a seat close to the action, but there’s a real party atmosphere here too. This year the race takes place on a Saturday night under the Vegas lights, making it one of the stand out races of the year.
The only challenge there – because the race is at night, to accommodate European time zones, it takes business out of the casinos. After the hockey games, they’re back at the casino by 10 p.m. NFL games of course are Sunday afternoons. Perfect. Baseball will feature day games – but the heat will be an issue, of course. Those building the new stadium say, while not having a retractable roof, an under-bowl HVAC system (focusing on cooling the seating areas directly) will help keep the stadium cool.
THE 2024 @F1 WORLD CHAMPION 🔥#LasVegasGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/vZuhjDyW7Q
— F1 Las Vegas (@F1LasVegas) November 24, 2024
Las Vegas Casinos: Golf
So boys’ gambling trips to Las Vegas will become even more palatable, especially if you’re also throwing in a round of golf while you are there. Get educated on when it’s best to play though, factoring in the heat.
Or maybe head down the strip to watch the Golden Knights take on the Los Angeles Kings, or Dallas Stars, or the other team that’s in town.
Top image of Caesars Palace/Caesars Entertainment
I am a 50-something Torontonian who loves everything about my city. It’s been my home, my playground, for my entire life. I went to school here. I met my wife here. I own real estate here. I love writing about the transformation of my city on the world stage, which hasn’t been anything short of dramatic. That continues on, as I write this. I write on the real estate scene. I write on travel and fashion. I like following the world of luxury watches.
But I love writing about cars – check that, luxury cars, a level of superior, engineering sophistication, high performance and style, that transports you not just from one destination to another but also out of whatever you are going through on a particular day, whatever mood you are in, all to another head space. It’s complete and total exhilaration, head to toe.
Check out my stories, and email me direct at mkeast@regardingluxury.com
