The New Caesars Palace Sports Book
Watching football in Las Vegas has been growing more rapidly than most other sports. There are a few reasons for this. First, and foremost, is that more money wagered on football in Nevada than all other sports combined. Football betting revenue includes college football but the NFL accounts for the majority of football revenue. However, gambling isn’t all that’s driving the popularity of watching football in Las Vegas today.
The growth in the popularity of football is greater than other sports, in part, because of fantasy football. Fantasy football (daily and season-long) continues to grow in popularity. Watching football in Las Vegas used to be more intense because gamblers had money on the line. Now, people from all over the country feel invested when they’re watching the games and it’s borderline stressful to watch the games.
The interest in watching NFL games in Las Vegas is well beyond gamblers and sports fans. People from all walks of life have fantasy football teams and want to see the action. This has led to overcrowding of sports books which has lead to new ways to watch football in Las Vegas.
Watching football is no longer secluded to the sports book. You can watch the games at many bars and restaurants now. The bars and restaurants are sometimes so crowded that you’ll have a minimum tab on your food and beverage. There are days where you can’t just sit and sip a single drink for hours while watching the games. People are sometimes willing to pay good money for that seat.
The minimum spend could be as low as $25 per person and could be as much as hundreds fo dollars. The prices depend on time and location. Football is so popular that some of the sports bar/restaurants will be sold out on NFL Sunday’s. Sometimes you’ll only be able to secure a seat if you reserve seats in advance. Lagasse’s Stadium at The Palazzo and Blondies at Planet Hollywood are often sold out in advance on Sunday morning and afternoon.
Guaranteeing a seat to watch the games is sometimes more important that waking up early to beat the crowds to get a seat in the sports book. This season Caesars Palace started a reservation system for their sports book. Coincidentally, they recently upgraded their sports book viewing experience with new screens and new chairs. If you want to watch the games at you’ll have to commit to a minimum beverage purchase of $75 or $300. You can find more details here.
There are still plenty of sports books in Las Vegas that offer free seating to watch football games. However, those seats are first come-first served. If you’ve been visiting Las Vegas for a while then you may remember that there was a time where you could walk into the sports book a few minutes before kickoff. Today, you’ll probably have to get to the sports book nearly an hour early to secure a seat.
The Mirage offers plenty of free seating for anyone. They also offer the option to reserve a couch if you want to pay money for a guaranteed seat. The free seating will be gone quickly but once your couch is reserved, you no longer have to worry about the early morning hustle. This is a convenience that more people are finding worth the money.
Free seating in sports books isn’t entirely going away, but it may be shrinking. This year the world famous Westgate SuperBook introduced a VIP package for football. For $5,000 you and up to 4 friends can watch the games in style with unlimited food and drink. They’ve also introduced a $5 per person charge to watch the games in the theater. The $5 entry fee comes with a free beer, which costs around $5. They still have ample free seating, but the fees are slowly creeping in.
Caesars Entertainment doesn’t have the same kind of reservation offer at their other sports books. Not yet. Expect to see this kind of reservation policy expand to other sports books in the future. If people are willing to spend money reserving chairs, couches and tables then the bar, restaurant, and casino operators will continue to charge for it. This is just the beginning of
This is just the beginning of casinos, bars and restaurants upcharging to watch football in Las Vegas.
