The top stories in Las Vegas this year ranged from new casino operators to both live and televised sports. Additionally, there was a bit of gambling and innovative ideas that haven’t quite achieved the success some experts forecasted.
A specific narrative highlights how a single casino’s transformation could alter the Vegas Strip skyline more significantly than any other in over ten years. The process of converting the Mirage into Hard Rock Las Vegas will span several years. However, its impact will be noticeable to guests both within and outside the property.
Live sports are currently transforming the entertainment landscape in Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of The World. The city is home to teams from the NFL, NHL, and WNBA. Moreover, Las Vegas also hosts numerous events including The Match (golf), the NFL Pro Bowl, one of the regional NCAA basketball games next year, among others.
This is all contributing to increased visitation in Las Vegas. Consequently, hotel room rates are surging beyond what they were before the pandemic. 2022 was a noteworthy year for Vegas.
These are the most significant stories in Las Vegas this year.
Hard Rock to take over the Mirage
Hard Rock acquired the Mirage’s operations from MGM Resorts for $1.075 billion in cash last year. The company also struck a deal with the landlord, VICI, to invest over another billion dollars in redeveloping the property.
In contrast to the minor modifications seen in recent casino hotels like Park MGM, Virgin, and Horseshoe, the changes planned for Hard Rock will be far more extensive. The property is set to be completely renovated from top to bottom.
Hard Rock is planning to construct a guitar-shaped hotel tower on the Vegas Strip, at the current location of a volcano in front of the Mirage. Visitors to Las Vegas next year can still expect to see the volcano. This upcoming tower will feature an infinity pool, restaurants, shopping outlets, and a Hard Rock Casino. A major renovation is planned, which includes an overhaul and reconstruction of the hotel rooms and an expansion of the casino.
The Mirage will continue to function as a property for the next few years, but a promising future awaits the casino that introduced Mega-Resorts to Las Vegas in 1989.
March Madness Las Vegas bigger than ever
For years, tourists have been flocking to Vegas to watch and bet on the first weekend of games. However, since the pandemic, there has been an increased willingness amongst tourists to visit Las Vegas for the first weekend of March Madness this year.
Typically, the first four days and 48 games of the NCAA basketball tournament vie with the Super Bowl for being the most wagered-on sports event of the year. This trend continues unabated, despite some apprehensions, even as more states are legalizing sports betting.
Honestly, there’s no comparison to the experience of betting on a multitude of college basketball games while savoring the best that Las Vegas has to offer during and post-games.
March Madness in Las Vegas will escalate to a new level next year. Usually, tourists depart from Las Vegas after the initial weekend of games and do not come back.
For the first time, Las Vegas will host the West Regional Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games in 2025. The games will be held at the T-Mobile Arena, located behind New York-New York.
This will attract fans, relatives, and press to Las Vegas to witness the second series of games live. This usually marks the least busy weekend of March Madness in Las Vegas. More college basketball enthusiasts are also likely to be in Las Vegas, simply reveling in the grandeur and spectacle that Sin City offers for all major live events.
In 2028, Las Vegas is set to host the Final Four. The games are scheduled to be held at Allegiant Stadium, conveniently located across the freeway from Mandalay Bay and Luxor. This event is anticipated to attract an even larger crowd to Las Vegas for the NCAA basketball tournament.
The Match at Wynn
Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers competed against Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen in a 12-hole golf match at Wynn Golf Club on June 1. Brady and Rodgers emerged victorious from “The Match”, having started as -200 favorites.
The Match is a golf event produced specifically for TV and broadcasted on TNT and its associated networks. This event is one of several that inspired Wynn Las Vegas to serve as the setting for both live and televised events more often.
Since The Match occurred this summer, Wynn has been ramping up the number of events it hosts. Standup comedy fans may have spotted Sebastian Maniscalco’s tribute to Las Vegas in his most recent Netflix special, which was filmed at Wynn Las Vegas.
Plans for The Match in 2025 have not yet been announced, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Wynn Golf Club as the host again.
Station Casinos shrinks, plots huge future
Red Rock Resorts, the parent company of Station Casinos, experienced a tumultuous 2022. The year kicked off with the company commencing construction on Durango Resort. The full-service casino hotel is expected to open its doors by the end of 2025.
Over the summer, the company declared the closure and demolition of Texas Station, Fiesta Rancho, and Fiesta Henderson. Since then, Red Rock has sold the land of Fiesta Henderson to the city while retaining ownership of the other two land plots.
Red Rock also shut down and demolished the Wild Wild West casino on Flamingo, close to the Vegas Strip.
Meanwhile, they began planning for the future with intentions to double their portfolio in the coming years. They acquired 126 acres of land on Las Vegas Blvd, located south of Mandalay Bay.
Plans are in place for new Station Casinos properties throughout the Las Vegas valley. The company has discussed launching properties in both north and south Las Vegas.
The newest plans indicate that a new Station Casinos property will be constructed in West Henderson. It is reported that the building of this casino might commence immediately after the completion of the Durango project. The preliminary targeted opening date is set for 2025.
Station Casinos has a promising future, emerging from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic with substantial growth plans.
Honorable mentions for big 2022 Las Vegas news
World Series Of Poker moves to Strip
Caesars, the owner of the World Series Of Poker (WSOP), relocated the event from Rio to Bally’s on the Vegas Strip this year. Notably, Caesars sold Rio and Bally’s has since been renamed to Horseshoe.
The WSOP Main Event saw an embrace from players with 8,662 participants, marking it as the event with the second highest number of WSOP participants. The event is set to make a comeback on the Vegas Strip in 2025, with activities scheduled to happen at Horseshoe and Paris once more.
Gaming, tourism and inflation impact travelers
Casinos in Nevada recorded monthly gaming revenue of $1 billion up until October, breaking numerous records over the year. However, there was a slight dip in November.
As visitation to Las Vegas continued to rise over the year, Harry Reid International Airport is on track to witness a record number of passengers.
In October, Las Vegas hotel room prices hit a record high, driven by demand and inflation. The average daily room rate was $209.89, a 55% increase from 2019.
The increase in major sporting events, concerts, and conventions held in Las Vegas could drive further demand for hotel rooms. This, in turn, could result in a continuous rise in room rates.
Las Vegas Grand Prix announcement
F1 made an announcement earlier this year that the Las Vegas Grand Prix is scheduled to occur from Nov. 16-18, 2025. This triggered a whirlwind of events, with ticket and hotel room prices skyrocketing for the weekend of the race in the following year.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix, an international luxury event, is expected to draw high rollers from all over the globe. Hosting major events such as F1, March Madness, and the Super Bowl in Las Vegas will have a significant impact on Sin City that extends beyond just these specific events.
New ideas sputter
In 2022, certain fresh concepts, such as NFTs, cryptocurrency, cashless gaming, and the Tesla/Boring Vegas Loop, did not gain traction as anticipated. For the sake of simplicity, we’ll discuss these topics collectively.
Las Vegas experimented with various concepts this year, but none really took off. Cashless Gaming might have a future in Las Vegas, but currently, it’s only accessible at one Vegas Strip casino, Resorts World, and less than twelve other locations across the city.
The Tesla/Boring Vegas Loop has only extended to a single resort so far. There is still a significant amount of work to be done to establish over 50 stops across the Las Vegas valley.
Stay tuned; there’s a chance that at least one of these may thrive in Las Vegas someday.
Nevada sports betting growing, not expanding
Although sports betting in Nevada is continually growing and expanding nationwide, Nevada’s sports betting apps still fail to impress when compared to similar apps outside the state.
Due to the in-person mobile registration requirement, Nevada doesn’t have the best sportsbook apps in the country. High-quality sportsbook operators such as BetMGM, Caesars, Wynn, and others offer apps with fewer options and lower quality in Nevada compared to other states they operate in.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas sportsbook operators aiming to boost profits are contemplating reducing events such as the NFL Draft, as they are struggling to find methods to increase earnings from such niche betting events.
Despite all that has been said, there is still no superior location for a holiday where you can both observe and bet on sports. To register for an app account with lesser betting choices than other sportsbooks nationwide, you’ll need to visit a casino-based sportsbook.
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