Lead photo by August Phlieger on Unsplash
Coming off the Super Bowl, Las Vegas residents and tourists have plenty of sports action to dive into this spring with the arrival of March Madness at sportsbooks and arenas and the return of professional baseball.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS
The Las Vegas sports scene in March is dominated by college basketball. It starts with live college basketball, with both men’s and women’s conferences holding their tournaments in the city to kick off in March.
- The Big West Conference men’s tournament will be held March 15-16 at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson.
- The Western Athletic Conference will hold its men’s tourney March 15-16 at The Orleans Arena.
- The Mountain West Conference, which includes UNLV, will hold its men’s tournament March 15-16 at the Thomas & Mack Arena. The Pac 12 will hold its men’s tourney March 15-16 at T-Mobile Arena.
- Those tournaments are the precursor to the NCAA holdings its March Madness basketball tournament that starts in full on March 21 with games nationwide that begin as early as 9 a.m., local time, and finish more than 12 hours later. That resumes on the same schedule on Friday and a full day of games on Saturday and Sunday.
THE FIRST WEEKEND OF MARCH MADNESS
The first weekend of the three-weekend tournament brings the most visitors to Las Vegas. Sportsbooks host watch parties, some of them free and others where they charge people each day for a reserved seat.
Casinos serving Las Vegas residents in the suburbs and off the Strip to those on the Strip and downtown will host parties and special events.
Houston, Purdue and defending champion Connecticut are the three favorites.
With the women’s tournament starting on the same weekend, there will be a lot of interest in Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, who has become a must-watch superstar. LSU and its star Angel Reese also draw interest as her team will look to repeat as champions after being Iowa last year. South Carolina has been the heavy favorite all year.
Gone are the days when Nevada was the only place to legally bet on the NCAA Tournament, with 37 states legalizing sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized it. That slowed the interest in coming to Las Vegas and going to watch games in sportsbooks among residents because it’s such a big event.
SPORTSBOOK WATCH PARTIES
SOUTH POINT HOTEL, CASINO AND SPA
Jimmy Vaccaro, bookmaker and sports marketing director at South Point, said March Madness is in step with the Super Bowl and rivals it in terms of betting during the first four full days of the tournament. It’s grown over the years as the tournament field has expanded and now has 68 teams.
“We will have three ballrooms filled up with 3,000 people each and the sportsbook (that has 100 seats),” Vacarro said. “I get people with March Madness because it’s four days and make room reservations three to four months out because they didn’t want to get shut out. March Madness is a welcome sight. Sports betting is getting bigger and bigger. At one time, we were the only people taking bets on the NCAA Tournament. The expansion has not knocked us out of the box. I think it helps in the long run. They see how fun and entertaining it is.”
Unlike other casinos, South Point doesn’t charge to watch the games in the sportsbook or ballrooms.
March Madness extends for three weekends and culminates on a Monday with the championship game, bringing people to sportsbooks, but not as many as the first weekend with fewer games. The second weekend has four games on Thursday and Friday nights and two games each on Saturday and Sunday. The Final Four has two games on the third Saturday.
“So many people said they like the second weekend because it’s not as crazy,” Vacarro said of the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight.
Jeffrey Benson, director of operations at Circa Sports, which has sportsbooks in three downtown casinos, including Circa Las Vegas, D Las Vegas and the Golden Gate, said March is great for fans because there are the conference tournaments that bring people to Las Vegas to watch games in person and spend time at the sportsbooks.
“People are coming out for conference tournaments and March Madness, so there is a hotel, food and gaming component,” Benson said.
Circa Resort and Casino
Circa has the largest sportsbook in the world and is a destination for downtown Las Vegas. It also has the Stadium Swim with games on the big screen at its pool, which is a big attraction.
People reserve spots in the sportsbook and Stadium Swim in advance of the tourney.
“We will be selling every single piece of inventory in the sportsbook with the grandstand seats and reserved seats in the middle that are purchased under the Circasports.com website under the reservation tab,” Benson said. “In both of our ballrooms at D and Circa, we will have free watch parties and do a big blowout event at Stadium Swim as well. When you think about the sportsbook, pool and both of the ballroom venues and the numbers of different bars we have, there will be a lot of places for people to watch games.”
Visit https://www.circasports.com/
Westgate Las Vegas
John Murray, executive director of race and sports at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook that caters to tourists and residents, said the excitement builds on Wednesday of the first week of the tournament as people arrive in Las Vegas. They set up mobile accounts to place bets rather than stand in line.
“Thursday and Friday are our two busiest days of the year, and Saturday is busy, and by Sunday, it slows down,” Murray said. “March Madness is much more of a whirlwind and busier for employees than the Super Bowl is. March Madness was made for sports betting. You can bet on different games all day long. You can bet at halftime, and even if you lose, there’s another game about to start.”
Westgate will have a viewing party at its International Theater, where Barry Manilow performs, and a viewing at its Cabaret Theater, and the best place to watch is the main sportsbook area.
“Make sure you make a reservation early because a lot of people want to watch the game there,” Murray said.
Tickets are sold to view the games at the International Theater on Thursday and Friday while the Cabaret is free. Balcony tickets are $110 a day, while floor tickets are $120 to $140 on Thursday.
The sportsbook has first-come, first-serve seating in the first row, while others require a minimum spend of $200 and Thursday is sold out. There are also tables at its adjacent deli that go for $1,000 in spending. VIP booths at the sportsbooks are $4,000 for a minimum spend and seats in front of the booths go for $2,500.
Boyd Gaming
Boyd Gaming, which operates Coast Casinos, will feature tournament seating at two of its properties near the Strip, the Gold Coast and The Orleans.
The Gold Coast will offer tournament games at its Nevada Ballroom. Premium reserved seats are for a table of 10 for $1,500 a day for a food and beverage package. A single seat that includes breakfast and four drink tickets is $150 per person per day. For a lower level, a reserved table of 10 costs $800 a day and requires a minimum of three days. A single seat is $80 per day and also requires a minimum of three days. To reserve your seating, email jidelsaeeua@boydgaming.com.
At The Orleans, the Mardi Gras Ballroom will be open March 21-23 with free admission with food and beverage specials.
Station Casinos
Station Casinos’ newly opened Durango Resort is offering reserved seating in its sportsbook on March 21-23 starting at $150 per day.
MGM International
On the Strip, MGM Resorts International said it won’t have paid seating at its sportsbooks.
However, the HyperX Arena at the Luxor will host a watch party on March 21 and 22. Tickets are $135 per person a seat and include a range of seating options and five drink tickets. For those seeking a more elevated setting, tables and VIP rooms can be reserved. Groups from two to six can reserve tables with prime viewing of the Arena’s LED video wall. Fans can view the game tableside on the first level of the Arena. Tables are placed front and center and can seat up to four guests. Located on the first level of the Arena, guests can catch all the action with high-top tables for up to three guests.
Seated on the second level of the Arena, prime views are available at the high-top tables for groups of up to six. Limited seating is available at both bars. Private VIP rooms accommodating up to 10 guests can be reserved, including lounge seating and multiple TVs.Depending on group size, guests can request consoles and PCs to curb commercial break boredom with video game play.
Interested guests can email vip@alliedesports.com to reserve a table or VIP room or get a ticket by visiting https://www.eventbrite.com/e/march-mayhem-watch-party-at-hyperx-arena-tickets-807318149317.
Allied
Austy Champion, brand ambassador for Allied, said the $135 tickets sell out quickly, with Las Vegas becoming more of a sports destination.
“We have one of the biggest screens to watch in the most intimate views,” Champion said.