The center of gambling in the United States, Las Vegas, is marketed as "The Entertainment Capital of the World." It is also commonly known as "Sin City" or "Vice City" due to the popularity of legalized gambling, availability of alcoholic beverages at any time, and various forms and degrees of adult entertainment. Yet, Vegas lacks a professional sports team. After some extensive research on the topic, I'll tell you why.
Las Vegas was ranked as the 29th largest city in the United States in 2000, but recent surveys suggest that the city's population has since surpassed that of Atlanta, Nashville, Washington D.C., Louisville, Denver and Boston to place it 22nd in rank with a population of just over 1.6 million. So what's the problem?
Let us start with a semi obvious one: sports betting and gambling. Clearly there would be a conflict of interest with any potential pro sports team being located in Las Vegas. The NBA, NFL, MLB and the NHL have strict anti-gambling laws in place within their organizations in order to ensure their own personnel will not be caught up with internal betting. There are currently no laws preventing Nevada sports books from accepting bets on local professional teams and many casinos have said they would not voluntarily take a local team "off the boards."
Hypothetically, what if a player asked his "boy" to go to the Palms and put 500 large down that his team will lose to the "Las Vegas Renegades" tonight? Oddly enough, that player goes 3-26 from the floor with just eight points and fouled out as the Renegades win, 97-78. See where this could go?
"Sin City" tends to be considered a bit irregular at some points, and that wouldn't boast well with a professional sports franchise. A pro sports franchise would have serious difficulty competing for an audience in a city with so many entertainment options. Also, Las Vegas is not on a work schedule similar to most cities. Other cities have most workers on a 9-to-5, Monday-Friday schedule. Las Vegas is a true 24/7 city, which results in a smaller potential market for a sports event when it is compared to a similar sized city. With world renowned attractions that only Las Vegas itself holds, drawing tourists to see an NFL or NBA game might not seem as enticing as seeing Wayne Newton or Celine Dion.
I hate to say this, but Vegas is in the middle of nowhere. There is no strong suburban community anywhere in driving distance. Location is important is for marketing. As weird as it may seem, Vegas is still a small television market. Besides the World Series of Poker, which airs once a year, Vegas is dusted for sports coverage. Furthermore, although Nevada's population is growing rapidly, it still had fewer than two million people in the 2000 census. No other state with less than 2 million people has a major league franchise, and there is only one team (the Utah Jazz) based in a state with a population of less than 3 million.
The last reason why "Vice City" is sports-less is crime and corruption. This past weekends NBA All-Star game was filled with more than just basketball shots and steals on the court and personal fouls. Athletes aren't criminals...are they? Over 326 people were arrested over the five-day party that was all-star weekend. That is 56 percent higher than New Year's Eve. Athletes and celebrities were in the mix as Pac-Man Jones and Nelly got into an old fashioned draw at Minxx nightclub that left three people in critical condition and put a damper on what was supposed to be a celebrated weekend. The fun didn't stop there, as another man was shot in the hip at 4 a.m. in the front entrance of the luxury MGM Grand Hotel and Casino early Monday. It was followed by a brawl less than half an hour later in a club at the Wynn hotel.
The mayhem that surrounded the all-star craze set Vegas back from any ground it may have gained in acquiring a team. Fans will be fans no matter where they are, and Vegas will be Vegas no matter who inhabits it. Combined those two and you get murder, money and blown opportunities.
