At first glance, present day Las Vegas sports books aren’t much different than when I first discovered the sports betting palaces in the desert back in the early 90s. If you dig a little deeper however, a lot has changed in Las Vegas sports book land – some for the good and some for the bad depending on your point of view. It’s easy to say that nowadays the Las Vegas sports book scene and sports betting in general is as popular as ever, but I think it would be fun to think back to the time when a guy named Hugh Millen was the QB for the Patriots and Michael Jordan was pursuing a baseball career with the White Sox.
Imperial Palace Sports Book 1988 – 2012 (photo March Madness in Vegas Facebook Group)
Las Vegas Sports Book Changes – Some Good Some Not So Good
Free Drinks – More so than the odds, seating, or screens, the topic of free or comped drinks at the sports book seems to come up often. Drink tickets are the norm today, however there once was a time where you’d find a seat at a sports book and within a minute or two, a server would ask if you’d like a drink. Some places required you to have your sports book betting ticket visible – the sports books with this policy were considered “tight” or “strict” compared to other sports books that simply took your drink order no questions asked. Someone could literally sit at the sports book doodling on a parlay card and get a free drink – no drink tickets or betting slip needed. Ah, old Vegas.
Once Upon a Time, There Wasn’t Need for Drink Tickets at the Sports Book
Cell Phones – There was once a time when cell phone use was taboo in the sports book. Before the emergence of the world wide web, there were certain situations when the public, or should I say the mysterious guy in the trench coat and wide brim fedora, could be in kahoots with other unscrupulous gamblers around town to manipulate point spreads. This old rule went away in 2011 and with the exception of the betting window, cell/smart phones can now be used in any area of the sports book. So when your buddy back home who knows you’re in Vegas calls you to spot him $100 to bet on a game, you have no excuse.
75-cent Hot Dogs at Las Vegas Sports Books are a Thing of the Past
Cheap Hot Dogs – The days of 75-cent hot dogs are over. Yeah, I know it’s only hot dogs we’re talking about but there’s always a nice feeling knowing you got something cheap in Vegas. The Gold Coast sports book was a popular spot for me back in the 90s and I always paid visit to the very tasty 75-cent hot dog cart. Other spots like Imperial Palace and Barbary Coast had the same set up. SouthPoint was the last hold-out keeping their hot dogs priced at 75-cents until early in 2015 when they raised the price to a nightmarish $1.25.
Wynn at the Top of the List of Las Vegas Sports Books that Still Carry and Sometimes Comp Racing Forms
Racing Forms – Back in the good old days, some Las Vegas sports books would comp you a Racing Form or at the very least, have you pay a $3 deposit that was returned when your betting on horse racing session was over and you turned in your Racing Form. Nowadays, some Las Vegas sports books don’t even carry Racing Forms (they’ve been replaced by past performance booklets) and the ones that do charge full price for them. Sure, there are outliers like the Wynn that still will comp Racing Forms and also the Fremont Downtown and the SouthPoint who offer shared/community Racing Forms attached to a counter. But the days of free Racing Forms are long over, which is too bad.
Westgate Super Book the Latest in a Long Line of Las Vegas Sports Books to go Non-Smoking
No Smoking – The Westgate Super Book is the latest Las Vegas sports book to go non-smoking. Back in the day, a sports book simply did not look like a sports book without the smoky haze hugging the ceiling above. Times have certainly changed however as nowadays there are just about as many sports books that allow smoking as those that prohibit it. As for cigars, sports books that allow you to light up a stogie are even harder to find. Some MGM operated spots, Mandalay Bay being one, still allows cigars but many times you’ll have to hit the nearest casino or sports book bar to light up that toby.
The Velvet Rope at a Las Vegas Sports Book (Caesars)
Reserved/VIP Seating Areas – There have been reserved seats at Las Vegas sports books for years, however lately these reserved or VIP sections have been encroaching more into general seating areas. Caesars shrunk their sports book and then promptly added a velvet rope area for high end players that ate up even more of the original sports book footprint. On football weekends, virtually all of the premium areas have reserved signs posted at places like Bellagio, Aria, and the aforementioned Caesars Palace. As sports betting becomes more popular and casino hosts continue to lure big players with VIP treatment, the trend of increasing reserved seating at Las Vegas sports books will continue.
With so many changes over the past 20 years, who knows what Las Vegas sports books will look like in 2036?
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FYI, actually, SouthPoint had $.75 hot dogs as recently as 2014, not 2005. I’ve been going there for March Madness for at least a dozen years and knew that 2005 wasn’t right.
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2014/jun/22/humble-hot-dog-still-has-some-magic-left-strip/
This is correct. Typo has been corrected. We wrote about the change when it happened. http://thevegasparlay.com/sports-book-news/las-vegas-sports-book-news-hot-dog-inflation/