Las Vegas: Sports betting
Although Nevada is the only state in the country where it's legal to place bets on the outcome of sporting events, large-scale sports betting is a relatively recent addition to the Las Vegas scene. The first casino to open what's called a " Sports Book " was the Plaza in 1975, and they've only become widespread since changes in federal taxation in the mid-1980s. Now, almost every casino has one, and in most instances it's a "Race and Sports Book," where you can bet on horse-racing as well.You might imagine that where you do your sports betting would depend on which casino offered the best odds. In fact, although odds do change minute by minute, almost all are set centrally, and there's little variation between individual casinos. On top of that, mobile phones and recording devices are banned by Nevada law from all Sports Books, so the only way to compare odds is to trudge from one casino to the next.
The choice instead centers on what sort of atmosphere you prefer. There, the range is enormous. Some Sports Books are high-tech extravaganzas, their walls taken up by vast electronic scoreboards interspersed with massive TV screens; during major sporting occasions, they're basically sports bars, filled by shrieking crowds. Prime examples include those at Caesars Palace , the Stardust (which you can enter via a doorway direct from the Strip), Mandalay Bay (which boasts the biggest screen in town), the Rio , and the Las Vegas Hilton .
Others opt instead for a hushed, reverential ambience, giving each gambler a personal TV monitor to watch their event of choice, and hand-writing the odds with marker pens on white boards. The Race Book at the Imperial Palace is an especially irresistible example, rising in tiers above the Strip entrance. There are also those that resemble elegant gentlemen's clubs, like the one at Bellagio with its massive padded leatherette armchairs.
Still others, especially at the locals casinos in outlying neighborhoods, seem like throwbacks to the Victorian era, modeled perhaps on schoolrooms or offices. Rows of gamblers sit at long workbenches, studying poorly printed tip sheets and form books as they await the news from far-off racetracks with names like Gulfstream, Laurel, and Aqueduct.
As for what you can bet on, the options are nearly limitless; not only can you wager on who will win pretty much any conceivable game, fight, or race, you can make more specialized bets, like predicting the combined points total in a game (referred to as the "over-under").
One thing all the Sports Books have in common is the provision of free alcohol to gamblers; there's usually a snack bar close to hand as well.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.
Copyright © 2006 United States.biz
