For March Madness Betting, Vegas Is Still the King

Even though more and more states are inching closer to legalized sports betting, Las Vegas continues to thrive.

With the arrival of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, casinos throughout the city are seeing packed houses bet millions on their favorite teams.

With several states introducing legalized sports betting in the past two years, there were concerns that Vegas would lose market share, but the casinos have seen that is simply not the case.

Statistics show that the first weekend of March Madness is the second busiest weekend for the city with over 98% of hotel rooms occupied by travelers. Those travelers will bet millions on the tournament before its conclusion in early April.

“Las Vegas is hard to beat for March Madness,” said Jay Kornegay, the vice president of race and sports operations at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook told the L.A. Times.

“You have some of the best hotels, restaurants, clubs, shopping and shows in the world. But, of course, many people want to place a bet on the games when they’re here and we’ll handle more money on the first four days of the tournament than the Super Bowl.”

What Las Vegas casinos are known for their watch parties?

With the rise in popularity of mobile betting, Las Vegas’ casinos have had to up their game to attract gamblers.

It is commonplace now to see casinos roll out the red carpet and host unique events that give bettors maximum comfort and great seats to watch all of the action.

Although most events at the Strip’s largest books are free, there remain a few casinos that offer prepaid packages that provide luxury seating as well as food and beverages.

The Westgate Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas hosts the SuperBook, which remains as the world’s largest race and sports book. With almost 4,500 square feet of high-definition screens and hundreds of comfortable chairs, the Westgate is one of the hottest Vegas locales to check out the action.

For a fantastic watch party that will set you back a few bills, the Cosmopolitan hosts their annual “Hoops and Hops” event that uses a one of the casino’s large ballrooms to set up over twenty HD screens with a gigantic bar in the middle for drinks. Price for tickets to this event runs about $225 per day.

If I go to Vegas during March Madness, how do I get my bets in on time?

There are two popular methods in Vegas to making sure that you get your bets in with plenty of time to spare before tip-off.

For bettors inside the casino, lines to the windows can be long and frustrating, with some lasting close to an hour before seeing a teller.

Casinos urge bettors to try and place their bets after games have started. The lines tend to ebb and flow throughout the day, so once a few games tip-off, there’s a chance for the line to shrink a bit before the next slate kicks off.

The most convenient method for placing bets is by finding a solid betting app to use on your smartphone.

The Westgate has their own app that allows for in-game wagering and has literally hundreds of options for maximizing your March Madness gambling experience.

If you’ve always used the betting window, try the app because you can make a wager from anywhere in the state of Nevada.

If you find yourself in the Garden State, however, you have plenty of options to bet on March Madness in New Jersey.