Las Vegas might be famous for its glittering casinos that are packed with slot machines and glamorous table games, but the city has also shown that it is more than willing to embrace the esports trend. With massive new ventures like the Allied Esports Las Vegas gaming arena and a host of casino resorts implementing special gaming lounges, it seems that the Las Vegas esports scene is really taking off. So let’s take a quick look at how esports Vegas-style could show how Sin City is getting serious about competitive gaming.
Driving down The Strip in Las Vegas reveals some of the biggest names in the casino industry like The Luxor, the MGM Grand, and Caesar’s Palace. Whilst these brands might be equated with slots machines and poker games, a surprisingly large percentage of these casino resorts now feature esports entertainments. Not only do these esports casinos include competitive gaming tournaments, but there’s also a specific ‘esports district’ in the city’s downtown area. Here are just some of the top competitive gaming attractions you might see in this iconic casino city.
Rank | Operator | Max. Bonus | To the Operator |
---|---|---|---|
|
300$
200% on deposit | ||
GG.Bet Review | |||
|
20000$
300% on deposit | ||
BC.Game Review | |||
|
500$
100% on deposit | ||
Thunderpick Review |
The Roman-themed buildings of Caesar’s Palace have been a fixture in Las Vegas for many years now. But the brand has boosted the Vegas esports scene by splashing out on a new 48,000 square feet production facility that will make competitive gaming a central part of its attractions. Already we have seen the Gears Pro Circuit Las Vegas Open tournament kick off the entertainments here, and with plenty more top esports like the battle royale H1Z1 game being featured at Caesar’s, it’s going to be interesting to see where it goes from here.
MGM are another iconic casino brand who are getting serious about esports. The company spent millions converting their Rainforest Cafe into the dedicated LEVEL UP gaming lounge, and they have also hosted some of the largest esports tournaments. These have included the likes of the 2016 League of Legends Spring Finals, as well as the 2017 DreamHack Masters. And with extra investment in games developers such as Foundry IV, it seems that MGM sees a big future in Vegas esports.
However, it’s the brand new Allied Esports Las Vegas arena that’s really showing how esports Vegas-style is taking things up a level. This massive multilevel 30,000 square-foot arena is based at the Luxor, and it has quickly set a new standard for how gamers can enjoy esports. Vegas’ casinos may feature gaming lounges on the side, but a quick look at the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas schedule shows you that this is the place to see top-level gaming entertainment.
The HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas features daily tournaments on everything from Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, but it’s the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas Fortnite contests that really impress. The HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas schedule is packed with competitions for this breakthrough battle royale hit, and if you went to a HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas Fortnite showdown, you could enjoy the action via the 50-foot LED video wall, as well as a host of virtual reality and retro gaming options.
A key reason as to why the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas schedule is so packed with attractions, is the fact that the casino brands behind this venture are desperate to cater to younger gamers. Las Vegas’ revenues from traditional gambling entertainments like roulette, poker and blackjack have taken a massive hit recently. This is partly due to online competition, but there’s also a growing suspicion that millennials are turned off by the old-fashioned entertainments offered by Sin City.
In order to harness the potential of esports, Las Vegas’ biggest casinos have strayed away from the simplistic slots-based gameplay, and instead you will see a growing number of skill-based games. In addition to this, the casino operators will make it easy for customers to be able to bet on any of the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas Fortnite contests or any other competitive gaming tournament. All of which shows that for betting on esports, Las Vegas could soon be a world-beater.
It remains to be seen just how successful Las Vegas’ ambitions will be. After all, you could easily stay at home, and watch a live stream and bet on any number of esports tournaments at a wide variety of esports betting sites. But the Las Vegas’ casino companies seem to be desperate to ensure that they can attract visitors both offline and online to their competitive gaming contests.
By being able to attract massive esports tournaments like DreamHack to the city, the casino operators have made it perfectly clear that they have the infrastructure in place to host top-level events like this. Plus there’s no denying the fact that the famously lax regulation around gambling in the state of Nevada also makes the city of Las Vegas particularly attractive to the betting industry.
But as online operators (check out the best esports betting sites in the USA) are often able to offer customers more competitive odds through incurring lower overheads, it’s hard to see how Las Vegas’ bricks-and-mortar casinos can keep up. However, there will always be plenty of people who will want to take a trip to the self-declared ‘party capital of the world’, and a growing proportion of these will younger people who will be keen to enjoy the city’s esports.
Las Vegas will ultimately have to play two roles if it wants to take advantage of the esports revolution. Firstly, it needs to attract the biggest tournaments, teams and stars to ensure that it gets maximum exposure, and secondly, it has to be willing to offer payouts as competitive as though you can find at any esports betting site. Despite these reservations, it seems that Las Vegas’ foray into esports can only be a good thing.