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March 29, 2024

Viewing guide: Where to watch the NCAA Tournament in Las Vegas

March Madness in Las Vegas

Las Vegas Sun

Patrons celebrate Dayton’s upset of Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 20, 2014, at South Point.

Updated Tuesday, March 15, 2016 | 4:51 p.m.

March Madness in Las Vegas

Patrons celebrate Dayton's upset of Ohio State during the second round of the NCAA basketball tournament Thursday, March 20, 2014 during a party at the South Point. Launch slideshow »

There’s no better place than Las Vegas to watch the NCAA Tournament.

Whether you are taking a long lunch at a local sports book, spending the day on the Strip at an upscale party, or having some cheap beers and hot dogs in downtown, the options are limitless.

But beware: Don’t arrive a few hours into games and expect to get a seat at a local sports book — whether that’s one of the many Station Casinos properties or Eastside Cannery on Boulder Highway. Those seats, no matter which part of town, are tough to come by. Some people arrive as early as 6 a.m., three hours before games start, to get their place for the day.

Here’s a small sample of where you can enjoy March Madness. Editor’s Note: If your party is missing, send an email to [email protected].

• The South Point ballroom includes on-site wagering stations, multiple projection screens, contests, and food and drink specials. Doors open at 8 a.m. for the free “March to the Championship Party,” which includes $3 Bud, Bud Light and Bud Lime bottles, $16 buckets and six Budweiser products, and $25 margarita or Bloody Mary pitchers.

• The Chelsea at Cosmopolitan on the Strip hosts its “Hoops and Hops 2016,” transforming the music venue into an “exclusive, luxurious sports lounge.” They’ll have gourmet stadium fare, half basketball court, shuffleboard, pool tables, betting station, blackjack and arcade basketball. Single-day general admission seating is $45-$65 and includes two drinks. A premium single-day ticket is $175-$200 and includes open bar and access to extras such as shuffleboard and pool tables. A three-day premium pass is $375.

• The Joint at the Hard Rock offers bottomless Budweiser or Bud Light draft beer, unlimited sodas and an all-you-can-eat-buffet for $100 during its Tournament Madness Viewing Parties. A three-day general admission ticket is $250. General admission is sold out for Thursday and Friday, but balcony seats are available for $75 on those days only.

• Hard Rock Cafe at 3771 Las Vegas Blvd. South offers all-you-can-eat buffet for $150 daily or $350 for each of the touranment's first three days. Tickets are available at ticketweb.com

• Lagasse’s Stadium at the Palazzo on the Strip includes luxury boxes, stadium seating, high-definition televisions and projectors, and an outdoor patio close to the Strip. It has New Orleans-style dishes. Food specials include: Tomahawk bone-in 32-ounce ribeye with mashed potatoes for $82, and $92 with grilled shrimp. Also, chilled Alaskan king crab legs for $65 or truffle jumbo lump crabmeat and shrimp tossed in linguini for $42.

• Rockhouse inside the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian and the Palazzo has more than 80 high-definition televisions and an open bar. Its food offerings include jalapeno poppers, fried pickles and Philly cheesesteak sliders. Half-day tickets, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 4 p.m. to close, are $125. All-day passes are $200.

• At PBR Rock Bar & Grill inside the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood, there's a food and beverage minimum of $125 for half-day or $200 for full-day (8 a.m-3:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. to close). Fried pickles, nachos and wings are part of the menu. There's 120 high-definition televisions

• El Cortez in downtown will open its Fiesta Room from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday for a free viewing party. Food specials include $3 brats, $2 hot dogs and $2 Budweiser.

• Renovations of the 300-seat sports book at Boulder Station (4111 Boulder Highway) were finished in time for March Madness, including 20-inch personal monitors at half of its chairs, eight lounge tables, a sports bar with six of its own televisions and VIP area. Previously, odds were hand-written on a white board. Now, odds will appear electronically. Plasma televisions with screen sizes from 58-inches to 80-inches provide brighter and more clear video, and three video walls will debut ranging from 184-inches to 220-inches of diagonal display. Hot dogs during tournament games are $1.

• Station Casinos properties Sunset Station, Red Rock Resort and Fiesta Rancho will offer $3 Budweiser and Bud Light bottles, or a bucket of six bottles for $15.

• Texas Station will offer $4 shots of Crown Royal and Crown Apple.

• Palace Station has $6 Don Julio margaritas.

• A Kettle One Bloody Mary is $5 at Santa Fe Station.

• Fiesta Henderson will offer $1 hot dogs.

• Green Valley Ranch has $4 shots of Jack Daniel's, Jack Daniel's Honey or Fireball; $5 Stoli Bloody Mary; $6 Patron margaritas.

• The new Beer Park at Paris, a rooftop bar and grill, offers a menu of more than 100 beer selections and the Shock Top Bratwurst made with Shock Top caramelized onions, sauerkraut and spicy grain mustard; and BBQ Burger made with Goose Island candied bacon, cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce, onion rings and jalapeño slaw. Packages are priced at $150 per person and include food and beverage minimums. At 2 p.m. Friday, former Mayor Oscar Goodman is scheduled to appear. He, of course, will be accompanied by two showgirls.

• The Still at Mirage has 22 flat screen televisions, 50 craft beers, specialty cocktails and bar bites served out of a 24-foot airstream. Doors open at 8 a.m. Thursday to Sunday.

• Rhumbar at Mirage has four-day packages for $375 that includes unlimited mixed drinks and tailgate food from Tacos & Tequila. It’s patio seating.

• Tacos & Tequilla at Luxor has $10 “Basketball Nachos,” which are made with tortilla chips and mini meatballs cooked in a guajillo ancho sauce topped with nacho cheese sauce, pico de gallo, pickled jalapeños, guacamole and crème fresca. For $15, guest can receive nachos with a shot of Jose Cuervo and the choice of a Dos Equis or a Coors Light beer. The ladies from the “Fantasy” show will appear at 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Click to enlarge photo

Patrons fill the theater at the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook during the second round of the NCAA basketball tournament Thursday, March 20, 2014.

• The Westgate Las Vegas (3000 Paradise Road) hosts “Hoops Central” with doors opening at 8 a.m. Thursday-Saturday, and 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Breakfast burritos and sandwiches are served until 11 a.m. and cost $6. Lunch includes: Buffalo wings, cheesesteaks, Italian hoagies, personal pizza for $7 each, or hot dogs and pretzel for $7 each.

• Lily Bar & Lounge inside Bellagio opens at 9 a.m. Thursday-Sunday. There’s a $200 food and drink minimum per person for bar stools, six-person tables have a $1,500 minimum, couch tables sitting up to eight are $2,000 minimum and couch tables sitting up to 10 are at $2,500.

• Vista Cocktail Lounge at Caesars Palace has four levels of packages available — Three Point Shot Bar Seat ($200 food and beverage minimum), Slam Dunk VIP Table for four ($1,000 minimum), Courtside VIP Table ($1,500 minimum) and MVP VIP Table ($2,000 minimum).

• Slice of Vegas at Mandalay Place offers buckets of five Corona or Modelo Especial for $20, $5 pints of Firestone 805, New Belgium Citradelic and Jameson shots.

• Treasure Island Ballroom opens at 7:30 a.m. Thursday to Sunday with no charge for admission. It features cash bar, concessions and a betting station. This is a nonsmoking event.

• The sports book at the Aliante (7300 N. Aliante Parkway) and ETA Lounge has $2 beer specials, and the option to add a shot of Jack Daniels Honey, Jagermeister or Fireball Whiskey for $3. Ketel One and Deep Eddy cocktails are $5.

• Cabo Wabo Cantina inside the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood has beer buckets for $21 and nachos served with a house cheese blend, refried beans, jalapeños, cotija cheese, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole for $14.95. Viewing available on Strip-side patio or the LOFT, the event space above Cabo Wabo Cantina with multiple flat-panel, big-screen televisions including a 184-inch video grid, a 180-inch projection screen and multiple 80-inch high-definition.

• AmeriCAN at the LINQ Promenade has patio seating options. Pay $75 for all-day unlimited cocktails or beer.

• At Hooters inside the Palms, the special is 20 wings and a pitcher of Pacifico for $25, and 26-ounce mugs of Modelo, Pacifico or Corona Light for $4.50 during all tournament games and the championship. The promotion runs through the national championship game April 4.

• At Tom Urban's inside New York New York, specials include $30 buckets of five Bud or Bud Light beers, $17 for a Guinness pint with a shot of Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey or $9 for a Green Apple Dew — Tullamore Dew with apple juice

• At Silverton, Bud Light draft beers are $2.50 at the Flare Bar, Mermaid and Shady Grove Lounge, and there's a drawing for tickets to a Los Angeles Clippers game.

•At the D Las Vegas, fans will gather in the D’s private man Caves, decked out with big screen televisions, beer pong tables, arcade games and plenty of stadium-style food selections. Casino players will have a chance to win an exclusive “Downtown Hoopstown” shirt with a $100 buy-in on table games.

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

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