Mad money: Where the flow of cash from the NCAA Tournament goes in Las Vegas

By Ron Sylvester

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 | 2 a.m.

Golfers using the cart-mounted GPS devices that measure distance to the holes at Bear’s Best Las Vegas golf course can also use them to check college basketball scores during the NCAA Tournament.

But good luck getting one of those golf carts.

March Madness is hitting Las Vegas this week, and it’s providing an influx of business not only to the city’s sports books but to golf courses, sports books, bars, restaurants and just about anywhere with a television screen.

“Games only last a couple of hours, and you’ve got to do something to fill the rest of your time,” said Jim Stanfill, general manager of Bear’s Best.

The golf course is sold out most of the week. By late last week, about all Stanfill had left was a 3 p.m. tee time on Wednesday.

A week before the first game, and days before anyone knew the brackets, Lagasse’s Stadium at the Palazzo had no weekend reservations remaining. The restaurant and sports book named after celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse was reporting standing room only at the bar this week and by Monday had no reservations left for the first-round games on Thursday and Friday, as well.

While football in Vegas culminates with the Super Bowl, the biggest single sports betting day in town, the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament will outdraw the Final Four, resort industry executives say. This is the week when 64 teams all have an equal shot at a title, school pride rides high, and cash registers ring up beer tabs and betting lines.

Reservations for March Madness specials at Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and Imperial Palace, including all-day open bars, food buffets and visits from Coors models, were quickly filling up last week.

Last year, March trailed only July and October as the top tourism months, drawing 3.4 million people, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. During March 2011, gaming revenues reached nearly $836 million in Clark County, and only 1 percent can be attributed to sports betting.

It takes getting up early and setting up tag teams to get a seat or a table at one of the sports books around town. Those who keep an eye on the sports books say it’s not unusual to see people start reserving tables at 2 a.m. and recruiting friends to work in shifts until tipoff time.

“I sometimes compare the people camping out for tables at our sports bar to Duke fans waiting for tickets at Cameron Indoor Stadium,” said Todd Fuhrman, senior sports and race analyst for Caesars Entertainment. “I mean, if you’re not there by 3 or 3:30 in the morning, you’re not getting a seat.”