Super Bowl attracts 10K to Westgate Las Vegas to watch, bet on game
The Kats! Bureau at this writing is Westgate Las Vegas ballroom and the hotel’s Super Bowl LIV party. There are 10,000 visitors to the hotel across five parties, about 8,000 of whom seem to be wearing football jerseys.
Top three favorites spotted around the Superbook and elsewhere: Tom Brady’s No. 10 from University of Michigan, the Cleveland Browns’ Joe Jurevicius’ No. 84, and the the 49ers’ Justin Smith’s No. 94.
Westgate sportsbook Vice President Jay Kornegay remembers when these events were slightly smaller — smaller by more than 9,000 fans.
“We topped out at about 800 at the Imperial Palace in the early 1990s when we had a series of blowouts,” Kornegay said two hours before kickoff. “It was because those games became so boring that we started prop bets, just to keep people interested.”
The first, classic prop bet was William “Refrigerator” Perry scoring a touchdown in Super Bowl XX. Perry went off at 20-to-1, closed at 2-to-1, and of course did score a TD. Some folks in this ballroom have no recollection of that historic moment. But they are impressed, if they are music fans, that Alan Parsons just walked in. No kidding. He played International Theater on Saturday, so it’s not entirely random. But still, as someone has hash-tagged, #OnlyVegas.
To the masses
The sheer volume of Super Bowl parties at some famous Vegas resorts and venues: Upward of 8,000 fans by kickoff at Downtown Las Vegas Evens Center, and another 1,400 at the Plaza, which sold out during the week, earlier than ever. Those events were both 21-and-over.
“This is the kind of thing that a city much larger than ours might pull off and establish,” said Jeff Victor, vice president of operations for the events center, the D and the Golden Gate. “What we are, and have been doing, is now a Las Vegas institution. Absolutely beautiful.”
Gift parlays
Hard Rock Hotel regular Michael Orlando, CEO of the betting-kiosk company Betbooth, handed out gifts to dozens of guests at the hotel’s closing weekend. On Thursday, Orlando purchased 40 two-team parlays at $5 apiece, with the Chiefs covering minus-1 and the over at 54 1/2. Those bets would have paid $18.20, but the final score of 31-20 meant the over did not come in.
Saturday, he bought another 40 tickets, $5 four-teamers with the Chiefs, Yankees to win the World Series, Lakers to win the 2020 NBA championship, and Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Stanley Cup Final. If all those results were to come in, the slips are worth a $1,223.50. Orlando advises that these simple parlays can make a great Christmas gift, in line with the name you shout when you have money on the outcome.
Draft forecast
A pair of Las Vegas’ top headliners are coincidentally in town during the NFL draft weekend April 23-25. Bruno Mars is at Park Theater on April 24-25. Keith Urban is back at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on those same dates. The scheduling lines up that both are available to perform during the event.
Mars (with the Hooligans) has played the NFL’s big stage before, during the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Not to include these superstars would be a curious decision.
Taking a shot
NFL Hall of Famer and recurring Luxor headliner Terry Bradshaw has released his self-named brown-liquor line. Bradshaw Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is bottled at 103.8 proof, or 51.9 percent alcohol, to match Bradshaw’s NFL completion percentage. Yes, be glad he wasn’t an 80 percent passer.
If someone hasn’t already made this suggestion, nudge Bradshaw to pass out shots of this liquor to audience members when he returns to Atrium Theater on March 19. Main headliner Carrot Top has been sharing shots of Crown Royal during his show for years. The audience loves the interaction. Good marketing, too (hic!).
No leak here
Lady Gaga performed a version of her Park Theater pop production “Enigma” in Miami on Saturday as part of the Super Bowl LIV entertainment lineup. Fans shouted at her to sing “Stupid Love,” which Gaga’s “Little Monsters” expect to be the new single off her upcoming sixth album. No chance. She did perform “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” “Born This Way,” “Bad Romance” and “Telephone.”
Fans were disappointed the new song wasn’t delivered. But the hype, possibly intentional, continues to build for her new release.
Covered, all the way
Westgate Las Vegas Vice President of Public Relations and Community Affairs Gordon Prouty is known for his natty attire. He showed up in a bipartisan, red-and-gold suit from British online fashion retailer ASOS. The ensemble cost $50. Guy’s got a sharp eye.
Cool Hang Alert
Total Request Live, which stormed through the HRH closing party at Peacock Lounge on Friday and Saturday, is at Mandalay Bay’s Rhythm & Riffs from 10 p.m.- 2 a.m. Monday and Tuesday, and again next Sunday, and Feb. 10-11. The band that plays requests throughout (as the name indicates) is at Sunset Station’s Club Madrid on Feb. 15 from 10 p.m.-midnight. This is a seriously satisfying act, and there is NO cover charge — but expect to pay $100 if you want to hear “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
