March Madness, the most bet-on sporting event in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Thousands of people are in Las Vegas for the most bet-on sporting event, the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament.

FOX5 went to the largest sportsbook at Circa Resort and Casino. Owner, Derek Stevens, said bets are going as fast as the eye can see.

“I mean March Madness for us and all of Las Vegas has become very clear, it’s the biggest week of the year,” Stevens said.

Stevens said the hotel has a total of 500 hundred rooms, but their sportsbook will receive upwards of 20,000 bets per day. They’re trying to get through this weekend so they can get ready for next weekend.

“Sweet 16 and then elite eight weekend is going to be huge so we’re fired up about that and then yeah not too far down the road two weeks later we have the NFL draft coming to town,” Stevens said.

Circa opened the casino in Oct. 2020, and the hotel in Dec. They were the first casino and hotel in downtown Las Vegas to be 21 and over. This week, El Cortez- which is a mile away from Circa, announced they too will transition to a 21 and over property.

Stevens said it provides a higher quality experience.

“Really it came down to efficiency, you know you think about how many times our bartenders or our blackjack dealers have to ID someone. Well, by us going to 21 and over it creates more of a clublike service quality level,” Stevens said.

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