March Madness means big business, shakes sports books from post-NFL lull

Cold days and quiet nights on the Las Vegas Strip are not what attract visitors, and Jimmy Vaccaro is not the only one who's ready to see both trends end.

Vaccaro has worked in various sports books for 30-plus years. He thrives on action. But for the past month, the thrill was gone.

"After the Super Bowl, you could sleep in these places," said Vaccaro, director of operations for Lucky's sports books. "So this is a welcome sight."

Better weather is a plus, but the middle of March is when college basketball betting cranks up the heat and creates excitement. The NCAA Tournament brings Mardi Gras to the sports books, and no four days of the year can top the 48-game parade of madness that unfolds Thursday through Sunday.

"It's a party atmosphere," Las Vegas Hilton sports book director Jay Kornegay said. "It's 98 percent guys, and they seem to reunite here with their friends."

It's mostly fun and games, but the NCAA Tournament means big business, too. The economic surge for the casinos and hotels is comparable to Super Bowl weekend in February, and the state's wagering handle is similar for the two events.

The Nevada sports book handle was $87.5 million for this year's Super Bowl. The Gaming Control Board does not monitor the college basketball handle specifically for this month, but, according to estimates, it will approach $100 million.

That fat figure is less than 1 percent of the total amount wagered, according to RJ Bell of Pregame.com

"As I've gained more knowledge about this and keep tweaking it, we're actually estimating this year worldwide at $12 billion," said Bell, adding that approximately $3 billion is traded in office-pool bracket contests involving about 100 million participants.

In the early 1980s, Vaccaro said, he recalled the Nevada handle for NCAA Tournament being in the $7 million neighborhood.

In 1981, when Vaccaro ran the Barbary Coast book, he said tournament hype might have hit a turning point. That was the year Brigham Young's Danny Ainge made a coast-to-coast drive in the final seconds to beat Notre Dame by one point.

"There were four games on split screens, and each game was coming down to the last shot. It was absolute mayhem in the book I was in at the time," Vaccaro said.

At that time, some NCAA Tournament games were shown on tape delay. This year, every game will be shown in its entirety on live television.

"It was always a big event, but it went to the next level when the Internet came around and TV coverage expanded," Kornegay said. "The bottom line is the promotion of the event through the media. And now, how many people are going to watch these games on their phones?"

Legal sports wagering helps attract more than 30 million visitors to Nevada each year, according to an American Gaming Association report. The NCAA Tournament wagering handle in Las Vegas started to grow into monster status as the hotels joined the party.

"I think it's an educated guess, but I would guess the tournament grows at about a 3 to 5 percent increase each year," Vaccaro said. "The hotels got involved and created it into an event. The people here in this town marketing, they can create an event as good as anybody. You can go crazy with it. It looks like it's getting bigger and bigger."

But what's the limit on the growth chart? The state's Super Bowl handle was $40.1 million when the Gaming Control Board first audited the numbers in 1991. A state-record $94.5 million was wagered on the game in 2006.

"I can't imagine in the next five to 10 years we would get to $120 million on the Super Bowl. It's virtually impossible," Vaccaro said. "I think we're about at the threshold now."

Because the NCAA Tournament includes 68 teams and 67 games, the ticket count substantially surpasses what books write on the Super Bowl. The NFL remains king for an entire season, but the larger event might now be March Madness. Bell said he estimates the worldwide Super Bowl handle was $10 billion this year.

"From an excitement standpoint, I think the tournament is 20-to-1 over the Super Bowl," Cal Neva sports book director Nick Bogdanovich said. "I personally think it's not even close. The Super Bowl is two weeks off, a lot of hype and then a 35-minute halftime show. It's a joke. But it's a massive amount of betting, so that is exciting."

Ten years ago, NCAA Tournament contests were basically nonexistent, but now there are significant contests hosted by Cal Neva, Coast Resorts, Leroy's, Lucky's and Station Casinos. The Hilton is opening its 1,500-seat theatre, filled to near capacity on NFL Sundays, at 8 a.m. each day for a basketball viewing party.

Watching people is sometimes as intriguing as the games, which are always highlighted by suspense and upsets. Some come determined to win money, and some come just to bet the games -- and there is a major difference.

"If you go back 15 years," Vaccaro said, "it was 'I just absolutely want to get (messed) up and bet every game that's on the board.' Whiskey becomes a handicapper also. Whiskey takes over after watching about eight hours of games and makes you a better handicapper at 4 o'clock.

"People are getting a little more sophisticated in what they're doing. But human emotion still takes over and they can't control their emotions after bad beats. The professionals always keep their head on straight."

Sports books are coming to life this week. Sleep is optional.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.