Antony Curtis’ nationally syndicated weekly Vegas column.
Jan. 3, 2010
Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest days of the year for Las Vegas and this year’s “Big Game”—as it’s officially called by the casinos to avoid problems with the NFL—may be the biggest in its history. The record for the “handle” (amount bet) was set in 2006 at $94.5 million in 2006, but that number has declined in each subsequent year. This year’s marquee match-up of two of the league’s premier teams, however, has experts predicting a new record. At any rate, the city is virtually sold out, in keeping with its reputation as the second-best place to watch the game, the first being at the game itself.
Big Dog Rises: Slots A Fun’s famous half-pound monster hot dog has sustained a price increase. After bouncing around for years from 99¢ to $1.29, the new price is $1.99.
Bette Books: Bette Midler has concluded her two-year run at Caesars Palace. Cher remains as the resident headliner.
Mob Guv?: Nope. To the chagrin of many, Oscar Goodman, Las Vegas Mayor and former criminal-defense attorney with a string of underworld clients, has announced that he will not run for governor of Nevada, as had long been strongly speculated. Goodman has been the most popular mayor in Las Vegas history, but his desire to stay close to home (Nevada’s governor must live in Carson City in the north state) trumped his political ambition.
Question: Last year you wrote about some of the interesting Super Bowl proposition bets. Can you throw a few at us for this year’s game?
Answer: For the third year in a row, online sports books have put up proposition on how long it will take to sing the national anthem. The over/under time is 1:42. Last year’s, sung by Jennifer Hudson, lasted 2:10, but Carrie Underwood is expected to snap it up a bit this year. Other creative props include which commercial will have the highest viewer rating, will the stock market be up or down on Monday (with choices based on which team wins), and will Kim Kardashian be shown over or under 2.5 times.
