John Ewing , who is a public relations analyst for BetMGM , says the Raiders lead Nevada in handle .
“ Local teams receive greater support in their home states across the board . The Raiders receive twice as much support from bettors in their home state ,” Ewing says . “ For example , to win the Super Bowl : In all states , 1.2 percent of bets , 1.1 percent of handle is on the Raiders to win it all . In Nevada , 2.4 percent of bets and 2.3 percent of handle is on the Raiders .”
Jay Kornegay , who is the executive vice president of operations for Superbook Sports , which is in eight states including Nevada , says the Raiders ’ bets have exploded in Vegas .
“ They haven ’ t had success but we are still getting an increase in bets on them ,” Kornegay says . “ And wait until they have success . You are going to see that train get full really quickly . They are a regional team . Their popularity will skyrocket .”
The same holds true for the Golden Knights . Hockey betting was almost an afterthought , with it lagging well behind the NFL , NBA and MLB .
“ The Knights still rank fourth among the top four sports , but that gap has certainly closed here ( in Vegas ),” Kornegay says . “ When the Knights won the Cup this year it cost us money , absolutely . But we weren ’ t worried about it . I know some other operators in this town took a big hit . We took a hit but it wasn ’ t anything like we were looking at back in 2018 when the Knights were in the finals and had been 500-1 to win .”
Sports Futures
Now , with four professional sports teams calling Las Vegas home , the negative connotation of sports and sports betting has been largely erased . Since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act ( PASPA ) was repealed by the Supreme Court in 2018 , and sports betting was legalized nationwide , 37 states and Washington , D . C . now have some form of wagering on sports , whether it be retail or online .
Major League Baseball is close to giving its blessing to having the Oakland Athletics move to Las Vegas . MLB has been the one sport affected the most by gambling scandals . One of the biggest involved Pete Rose , who now lives in Las Vegas . The all-time hits leader was banned from the sport for life after it was found he bet on baseball .
The A ’ s , though , are being welcomed to Southern Nevada with open arms . The state legislature approved $ 380 million in public funds to build a new stadium , proposed to be on 9 acres of the 31 acres where the Tropicana Hotel now stands .
The NBA , long thought to be the frontrunner to establish a team in Vegas , is the lone holdout , but that appears to be changing .
Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke said his company is readying to build a hotel , gaming , and NBA district that would include an arena for a potential NBA team .
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said Vegas is a strong candidate for a team when the league decides to expand .
In February , the city will host Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium , something Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Cowher said is a perfect fit .
“ What the energy is like , you ’ ll get here and say it is just because it ’ s the Super Bowl ,” Cowher said recently . “ But I would say being here multiple times it ’ s like this all year long and now you are getting exposed to it . I ’ m glad the NFL is bringing the biggest game of the year here . It belongs here .”
The growth is something that Kornegay , who has lived in Las Vegas for 35 years , says is still a bit surreal .
“ Look at us now ,” he says . “ We have three of the four major sports here , the Super Bowl coming next year and an F1 race . If you told me that was going to happen 10 years ago I would have thought you were crazy .”
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