Las Vegas Spent Decades Deprived of the Super Bowl. Now It Could Bring in $700 Million (2024)

big profits

After years of the NFL trying to distance itself from Sin City, industries in the region —from betting to brothels —are about to cash in

Try to shake it off, Swifties. The players are gonna play-play-play on Sunday, but Las Vegas learned how to parlay pro football’s big game into big crowds and bigger profits long before the Strip landed Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium.

From street vendors selling $40 T-shirts to resale brokers getting more than $30,000 a ticket for the best remaining seats, the Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs is estimated to draw 330,000 people to Las Vegas and pump as much as $700 million into the economy. Service workers and security companies are working overtime — and in a community reliant on gambling and tourism, even a tiny piece of the action can mean a lot.

For decades, casinos and the community’s legion of sports bars have promoted parties for every pocketbook— to the official chagrin of the NFL commissioner and his attorneys. The league, which was started by bookmakers and their friends, got the vapors at the very mention of “Super Bowl” and “Las Vegas” sharing the same marquee.

That stance rapidly changed in 2018 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, which essentially limited legal bookmaking to Nevada. Suddenly, the idea of legalizing, regulating — and taxing — an activity already practiced by millions became politically palatable. Today, 38 states and Washington, D.C., have legal sports betting, and the NFL is in partnership with casino corporations and online sports. Hey, no deal is bad if you get a piece of it, right?

But if Las Vegas was already cashing in on the Super Bowl, then just how much bigger can actually hosting the event be? Even with the celebrity icing of Taylor Swift and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce on top?

The math is simple, Gaughan Gaming Sports Book director Vincent Magliulo says. “Allegiant Stadium holds 65,000 people. That means most of the 330,000 people coming to Las Vegas won’t be watching the game from inside the stadium.”

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Those throngs of free-spending tourists are staying extra days, while corporations are pouring into town to entertain their best clients. Unlike in previous years dominated by weekend visitors, hosting the Super Bowl means a full week of events and promotions. “Hosting the Super Bowl fills the entire city at a height that we don’t see, really, on a normal Super Bowl week,” Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO and President Steve Hill says.

Small businesses are also benefiting from the NFL’s Business Connect program designed to help local diverse business owners compete for Super Bowl vendor contracts. “Not every service industry here is an industry that is going to directly participate in the Super Bowl or the events surrounding it,” Hill says, “but any time you raise the economy in the community, it reverberates at some level throughout the community.”

Sports bars and the casinos’ super-sized betting books will burst at the seams on Sunday, but tourists face higher room rates and costs for food and beverages even before they place their first wager. Casino bargain guru and Las Vegas Advisor publisher Anthony Curtis says you have about as much chance finding discount accommodations this week in the gaming corridor as you have of winning a date with Taylor Swift.

“I’ve always felt being in a Las Vegas sports book or bar is better than being at the game, and that doesn’t change just because the game is here,” Curtis says. “Aside from those things, which are essentially free, there’s not much in the way of bargains, rooms or otherwise.”

The biggest winners on Super Bowl Sunday will almost surely be the Las Vegas sports books on a day when the expanding nation oflegal bookmakers are expected to handle a record $1.5 billion in wagers, according to the American Gaming Association. Illegal gambling on the game is expected to exceed $23 billion.

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Given the increased frenzy of having the Super Bowl on the Strip, estimates from multiple sources say Las Vegas books should easily exceed last year’s $153 million in wagers. Bookmaking hall-of-famer Magliulo, who like many in his profession has watched in amazement at all the changes in the industry, estimates the handle might go as high as $200 million. That would set a record in Las Vegas for the event.

The 49ers remain a slight favorite. With 19 legal-sized pages of proposition wagers, which offer a chance to bet on everything from which team will win the opening coin toss to which player will score the first touchdown, there are plenty of choices available. When the payouts and collections are finished, historically the Las Vegas books have averaged a slightly better than seven percent profit on Super Bowl wagers.

“There was a time when we, as a city, couldn’t even advertise,” Magliulo says. “We couldn’t buy one of those 30- or 60-second spots from the networks to run an LVCVA commercial. But now the game is here. The best way I can sum it up is, it’s a confirmation. The NFL, the respective leagues, and even the NCAA have realized what we’ve known all along, that Las Vegas is as premiere an event-driven destination as anywhere in the world. Nobody can put on an event like we can.”

In Las Vegas, Super Bowl weekend traditionally brings a dramatic increase in public and private security. Local law enforcement has greatly increased its presence and that includes the Metro Police Department Vice unit, which increasingly focuses on sex traffickers. Although visitors might be astonished given all the professional sexual encounters available in Las Vegas by phone and app, prostitution is illegal in Clark County.

But 88 miles north on US 95 in Nye County, the metaphorical red light is always on at the Alien Cathouse, where sex workers who call themselves the Cosmic Kittens beckon travelers in from the two-lane highway that runs through one of the nation’s least-populated areas. One of 19 legal houses in the state, the Alien employs up to seven sex workers depending on customer traffic.

Operations manager Dee Dee says she hopes to see everyone busy for when the Super Bowl after-parties begin. “I’ve seen other events bring an upswing in visitors at times, so I’m waiting to see what happens this year,” she says. “It could be interesting.”

Then, like so many Nevadans rooting for the home team — Las Vegas, that is — even Dee Dee can’t help sounding a little like a member of the chamber of commerce.

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“We definitely wish Las Vegas all the luck operating this event,” she says. “It should be a good one, and I hope to see a few people come up our way afterward.”

Around these parts, everyone wants a little piece of the action.

Las Vegas Spent Decades Deprived of the Super Bowl. Now It Could Bring in $700 Million (2024)

FAQs

How much money did the Super Bowl bring into Las Vegas? ›

The game was expected to draw about 330,000 visitors to Las Vegas and drive an economic impact of $600 million to Southern Nevada, according to estimates from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Average nightly rates at hotels across Vegas were estimated to hit $573 from Feb. 9 to Feb.

What is the financial impact of the Super Bowl in Las Vegas? ›

Pre-event projections suggested the event would leave a net impact of $799 million, a figure that encompasses $515 million in spending by visitors plus the ripple effects of that spending across the economy. The spending impacts were projected to produce $62 million in state and local taxes.

How much money was gambled on the Super Bowl in Vegas? ›

With Super Bowl 58 between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers taking place at Allegiant Stadium, the game shattered state records for total money wagered on the Super Bowl. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, $185.6 million was wagered on the 2024 Super Bowl at the state's 182 sportsbooks.

What was the outcome of the Las Vegas Super Bowl? ›

Patrick Mahomes rallies the Chiefs to second straight Super Bowl title, 25-22 over 49ers in overtime. LAS VEGAS (AP) — Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid have made the Kansas City Chiefs a dynasty.

How many people will the Super Bowl stadium in Las Vegas hold? ›

Super Bowl 58 will be held at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. This marks the first time Las Vegas and the state of Nevada will host the Super Bowl. The stadium opened in 2020 and can seat 65,000 fans at full capacity.

Who is paying for Allegiant Stadium? ›

Some reports gave a budget of $2 billion, which also included $100 million to build a separate Raiders practice facility. The financing for the project came in the form of $750 million in public funding and $1.1 billion from the Raiders.

How much will Las Vegas make from the Super Bowl 2024? ›

From street vendors selling $40 T-shirts to resale brokers getting more than $30,000 a ticket for the best remaining seats, the Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs is estimated to draw 330,000 people to Las Vegas and pump as much as $700 million into the economy.

How much did the Super Bowl stimulate the economy? ›

Millions of additional tax dollars will go to the State of California. These anticipated economic impacts are associated with approximately 2,200 to 4,700 new jobs in the LA region – many in the event production and hospitality sector, as well as contracts for regional businesses.

How much did the Super Bowl stimulate the US economy? ›

Total economic impact was US$ 1.3 billion in 2023. The Super Bowl in 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona, achieved the highest economic impact in history. Fan experience activities beyond the game attracted 300,000 people.

Has Las Vegas lost big on the Super Bowl? ›

Nevada sportsbooks lost money on the Super Bowl only twice since the control board has kept records on the game. In 1995, sportsbooks lost almost $397,000 when the 49ers beat the San Diego Chargers 49-26. Almost $70 million was bet on the game.

Was the Super Bowl a success for Las Vegas? ›

Every indication says Super Bowl 58 in Las Vegas was a massive success. The economic and marketing success of the Super Bowl has prompted many to speculate about when the city would host another one.

Who owns the Las Vegas Bowl? ›

Owned and operated by @espn_events. Home of the Vegas Kickoff Classic, @srs. distribution. inc Las Vegas Bowl and @vegasshowdown.

How is the economy in Las Vegas in 2024? ›

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — From the housing market to huge windfalls from world-class sporting events, 2024 is shaping up to be a banner year for the Las Vegas economy. “I think 2024, from an economic point of view, has a lot of reasons for hope,” said local economic expert Mike PeQueen with Hightower Las Vegas.

Who does Las Vegas have for the Super Bowl? ›

By Eric Mullin • Published February 2, 2024 • Updated on February 2, 2024 at 4:38 pm. The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will face in a highly anticipated Super Bowl LVIII matchup. Here's a look at some numbers behind the big game. A Super Bowl in Sin City.

What was up with the grass at the Super Bowl? ›

Its only public comment was a statement issued after the game: "The State Farm Stadium field surface met the required standards for the maintenance of natural surfaces, as per NFL policy. The natural grass surface was tested throughout Super Bowl week and was in compliance with all mandatory NFL practices."

How much money is brought in from the Super Bowl? ›

Revenue varies per year, but on average, the Super Bowl generates around $500 million in total revenue.

What was the largest Vegas bet on the Super Bowl? ›

The Super Bowl thriller between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas set betting records at Nevada sportsbooks.

Who paid for the Las Vegas Stadium? ›

Allegiant Stadium cost nearly $2 billion to build.

The Raiders received financial help from the city of Las Vegas to accrue the funds, gathering about 40 percent of the cost from public funds, according to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal back in 2020.

How much did the new Las Vegas football stadium cost? ›

Allegiant opened in 2020, the result of a prolonged (and painful) campaign to lure the Oakland Raiders to Sin City. The facility was built for a total cost of $1.9 billion, including what was then a record for public subsidies for an NFL stadium ($750 million).

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