An NFL Sunday in a Las Vegas Sportsbook

I spent an NFL Sunday in a Las Vegas Sportsbook. What's that about?

What’s it like to watch football all Sunday in a Las Vegas sportsbook?

I traveled to Las Vegas in order to follow up on some non-football work, but I figured I might as well enjoy a sportsbook while I’m here. Though sports gambling is now legal in more of the United States than it’s not, there seems to be something special about watching at a sportsbook. So I talked to one of my friends here, an experienced poker player and occasional sports bettor, to help set me up.

He suggests Circa, a sportsbook downtown and away from the strip. It’s widely regarded as the best in the city and has enormous LED screens, with three floors of seating and foodservice to each of the seats. There’s even a pool. It’s an incredible idea.

As we hash out these plans, he tells me that he’s ready to book a spot and it should just be $500. I ask if there were free sportsbooks we can go to instead.

He rolls with this without disappointment or surprise, which I appreciate, and we decide to set up in the William Hill sportsbook attached to the hotel I’m staying at. There’s no foodservice, but Bud Light employees pass out free beer every half hour. That’s pretty close.

I set up my laptop with its portable charger and a keyboard. I have some food ready and a drink. My backpack hadn’t been fully unpacked from the flight, so it also has headphones and a first-aid kit. My friend brings two packs of cigarettes. He’s more prepared than me.

The sportsbook was in some ways disappointing and in many ways splendorous. There is no real separation between the lounge of the sportsbook and the loud slot machines behind me, but I can’t hear any of those slots as the sounds of pregame analysis booming from the speakers above drown out the casino behind me.

There are about 27 screens set up wall to wall. On the screens, in addition to all the morning games, are octoboxes inside of nine-boxes, so that anyone who doesn’t want to watch the Lions-Ravens on the big screen can watch Big Ten Volleyball on a smaller screen. Or, if they don’t want that, they can watch Segunda Division soccer on a miniscule screen.

Inside the nonabox is a quadbox and an octobox. Watch to your heart’s content

Technically, SEC volleyball is on as well, but why would I watch that when I could watch Nebraska, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Purdue?

But I’m also struck by the fact that there’s not really a reason for this. There are open digital kiosks for betting, many of them left empty. Instead, people are holding on to their daily sheets, waiting in line for a cashier to register their bets. They want to do this in person. Why else would they show up?