Super Bowl in Las Vegas Trip Report – Sports Books, Prop Bets, Big Crowds, and Living “Life on the Line”

Super Bowl in Las Vegas Trip Report – Sports Books, Big Crowds, and Living “Life on the Line”

Super Bowl 47 festivities arrived in Las Vegas this past weekend and with it came a record-breaking day for Las Vegas sports books, enormous crowds, an exciting NFL game, and a red carpet movie premiere. I was fortunate enough to experience first-hand the excitement in Las Vegas for the “Big Game” and let me tell you, aside from actually going to the stadium and watching the Super Bowl live, there is no better place than Sin City for catching the big game.

Saturday

Cosmopolitan and The Cantor Race & Sports Book – Upon arriving in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon, I made my usual must-stop for a burger at Holsteins Shakes & Buns at The Cosmopolitan. The Cantor Race and Sports book directly across from my favorite Vegas burger joint was brimming with activity, so I made my way in to bet on a horse race from Santa Anita and catch the end of the Oregon vs. Cal basketball game. It was great to see the sports book so lively 24 hours prior to Super Bowl kickoff.

Life on the Line Red Carpet Event at LVH – After a delicious late lunch and a good time at the Cosmopolitan, it was time to head over to The LVH for the screening of Life on the Line, a new documentary about betting sports for a living in Las Vegas. Many of the Vegas sports book “Sharps” were in attendance – Teddy Covers and Steve Fezzik to name a couple.

A great documentary with good insight into the lives of professional sports bettors and their affinity for beating the spread as well as their pompous attitude towards the “square” or recreational sports bettor. The entire movie can be downloaded via The Las Vegas Advisor website.

A quick look at the line (the human line, not the odds line) for making a Super Bowl bet stretched about 30-40 deep early Saturday evening but was moving. The line was rarely a short one during the whole weekend at The LVH, but the sports book staff did a nice job moving the line along.

After the movie, we headed downtown for the rest of the evening and the Super Bowl atmosphere on Fremont Street was alive and well as Ravens and 49ers jerseys were everywhere. The Golden Nugget sports book is where we hung out for a good portion of the evening catching NBA and College basketball. The Golden Nugget sports book is a postcard of an old school Vegas book with some of the best high definition screens in town. We will have a full review of the Golden Nugget Sports Book posted soon.

Super Bowl Sunday

LVH – Super Bowl Sunday was here and it was time to get every remaining bet in as the line at The LVH was now about 100+ deep in the late morning. The line for making a bet stretched from the sport book area all the way to the casino, but to the LVH staff’s credit, the line continued moving as nearly 20 windows were open with ticket writers feverishly typing in customer’s bets.

As far as my bets went, the play on the 49ers -4 was a loser, but luckily, the prop bets (went heavy on Frank Gore) worked out. Here are the plays from Super Bowl at The LVH:

49ers -4 Loss

Will Frank Gore score a TD? Yes -130  WIN

 

Frank Gore TD in 1^st Half? Yes +160  LOSS

Frank Gore 82.5 rushing yds Over 82.5 -110  WIN

Ray Lewis Tackles/Assists Under 10.5 -110  WIN

David Akers FG Over 1.5 -110   WIN

Lemichael James first run Over 3.5 yards -110  WIN

The Big Game Party in The LVH TheaterWe have said it before and we will say it again; there is no better place to watch an NFL game in Las Vegas than the 1,500+ seat LVH Theater and the Super Bowl was no different. The atmosphere in the theater was a festive one – almost like being in the stadium itself and without any power outages. And, I can only imagine if this is how the closed circuit TV boxing events (think Ali vs. Frazier) were back in the day before pay-per-view and the internet.  All in all, a great job by The LVH and a sports viewing experience every football fan should try if they can make their way to Las Vegas during Super Bowl weekend in the future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LVH Staff  In speaking with Jay Kornegay, LVH Sports Book Director, earlier in the week as well as a conversation with Rosemary Rocco, LVH Race & Sports Administrator on the day of the event, customer service is a huge priority at The LVH.  Taking care of the throngs of customers amid the craziness of Super Bowl is no easy task and when it was all said and done, the event went off without a hitch and from my vantage point, the thousands of sports fans that descended on The LVH for Super Bowl (especially the one’s with money on The Ravens) had a great time. Kudos to Jay, Rosemary, and the entire LVH Race and Sports Book staff for a job well done.

Football season is over, but there is no off-season for The Vegas Parlay. March Madness coverage is just around the corner, MLB is on the horizon, and new reviews of Las Vegas Sports Books (as well as all Las Vegas sports book related news) will still keep us plenty busy.

Thanks for checking out The Vegas Parlay – The Las Vegas Sports Book Blog. connect with us on Twitter @sportsbooktom or via The Vegas Parlay Facebook Page.

The Vegas Parlay’s Top 5 Las Vegas Sports Books for 2013

The Best Place to Watch Football in Vegas: LVH’s Football Central from The Vegas Parlay

10 Non-Smoking Las Vegas Sports Books

7 Tips for Getting Free Drinks at the Sports Book