Las Vegas casinos still hope to cash in

Friday, June 7, 2002 | 9:42 a.m.

It's fight weekend in the nation's boxing capital: Visitors gawk at glittering signboards and crackling video displays touting the Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis matchup, an event that could become the most lucrative and well-watched heavyweight championship in the history of the sport. This weekend, however, will be different. The fight is nearly 1,600 miles away, in Memphis, Tenn.

Thus the city has a lot to lose on this fight, which orginally was scheduled for the MGM Grand in April. Those plans were scuttled when the Nevada State Athletic Commission voted 4-1 to deny Tyson's request for a boxing license following his actions during a press conference melee in New York.

Leisure travelers spend $7 to $9 million on hotel rooms, dining and entertainment over a typical weekend, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The stakes are higher on a major fight night, when hotels will fly in high-rollers who watch the event live and spend money on the casino floor.

Others will spend millions on live tickets for a major Las Vegas bout. The city's highest grossing fight, a Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield bout in 1999, yielded $16.9 million and a paid attendance of 17,078, according to the NSAC.

Tyson's last and most infamous fight in Las Vegas was in 1997, ending with Tyson biting off a piece of Holyfield's ear. It also yielded the state's second-highest gross, $14.3 million, and a paid attendance of 16,279. "Heavyweight boxing is a draw that's only surpassed by the Super Bowl," said Robert Walker, sports book director at the MGM. "There's an electricity that's unmatched."

LVCVA spokesman Rob Powers said he doesn't expect the immediate loss of revenues to Memphis to have a lasting impact, as Las Vegas has already positioned itself as a premier destination for special events and broadcast sporting events.

For now, though, the MGM is feeling some pinch.

Walker said he expects the company to do one-tenth of the sports book business it had anticipated from hosting the fight at its Grand Garden Arena.

Others, though, are more optimistic.

The Belmont Stakes -- featuring the first potential Triple Crown horse racing winner in more than two decades -- NBA and NHL finals and the Lewis-Tyson fight present an exciting sports weekend for spectators and bettors, said Chuck Esposito, assistant vice-president of race and sports book operations for Caesars Palace.

Caesars, too, may see a slight dropoff in wagers it otherwise expected from a Las Vegas fight, Esposito said.

"(But) I still think it will be a tremendous event."

Added Station Casinos' Art Manteris: "I am expecting crowds and big handles for the Belmont Stakes/Triple Crown in the afternoon and the fight in the evening."

Ticket holders will pay $60 to watch the fight at some 40 venues across the Las Vegas Valley, including 18 primarily Strip casinos that have purchased closed-circuit broadcasts of the fight.

"This one is so big that almost all the hotels are doing it," said Doug Glendinning, owner of World Events Inc., a company producing the broadcast. "It's unique."

Park Place Entertainment Corp. is holding both private customer parties and public showings for ticket-holders at Bally's, Flamingo and Caesars Palace. The company is filling the live event gap Friday with Heavyweight Explosion, a live card at Caesars featuring up-and-coming boxers.

MGM MIRAGE is hosting a public broadcast at MGM Grand. Station Casinos Inc. will have private events at various undisclosed locations, as well as a public showing at its Sunset Station property. Mandalay Resort Group's Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur also are hosting public broadcasts.

Tyson's loose-cannon personality and past indiscretions have attracted widespread attention from sports fans and casual observers alike, hotel-casino operators say.

"This is the same group (of spectators) that would go to watch a motorcycle jump," Walker said. "It's more than just a boxing match. It's just the thought of what might happen."

Casino representatives declined to discuss how much has has been wagered on the fight so far. Most of the bets will be laid down in the last 24 to 48 hours prior to the fight, as anticipation builds and thousands of weekend tourists make plans once they arrive in town.