The Lockout Could Hurt More Than You Think

There is a reason that these billion dollar buildings were built in the middle of a desert. It is because the house always wins, regardless of the type of gambling it is. Sports betting, especially football, is a HUGE part of that revenue. It goes much deeper than just winning or losing money though. Putting gambling politics aside, casinos intertwine with the sports world in creating thousands of jobs for people. There are the men and women who work in sportsbooks taking your bets, waitresses/bartenders serving you the liquid courage you need to make those bets, plus countless other people that make watching the games on those huge HD TVs in the casino bars and sportsbooks so enjoyable.

Spending a Sunday in a Las Vegas sportsbook really is quite the experience. The smell of beer and hot dogs, eavesdropping on old men as they break down that Eagles -7 1/2 line and starring at the cocktail waitresses as they prance around in the shortest of skirts is only the start. I’ve been to plenty of football games, even a Super Bowl, but there is almost nothing more exciting/stressful than the last 2 minutes of a game with next month’s rent on the line and sharing that experience with 100’s of people who also have their heart’s beating out of their chest, beads of sweat dripping from their forehead, and their throat’s hurting from 3 hours of screaming at a game to go over 47 1/2 points. That all produces an excitement that rivals being in the actual stadium. Then at the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, regardless of your stance on gambling, revenue was produced that stimulates the Vegas economy.

All of that is only magnified with the big kahuna of the season, which of course, is the Super Bowl. Over the last 10 seasons, on average, 80-90 million dollars were wagered on “The Big Game” each season. Of course that is a lot of money but it does not account for the amount of people it brings here. Vegas banks on those people to make an unofficial holiday out of Super Bowl weekend while staying in our hotels, eating at our restaurants, and having a little fun at our blackjack tables.

As a new labor agreement comes together at a snail’s pace, we all have our own reasons for wanting this 2011 NFL season to get underway but those reasons go far beyond just the fun of fantasy football and skipping  Sunday family get- together’s. It could be considered crucial for Las Vegas and other cities that a season happens because without one, empty sportsbooks, bars, hotels and stadiums would further cripple many already hard hit economies during  these hard financial times.