EDITORIAL: Tourney time in Vegas
Over the next few days, tens of thousands of visitors will descend on sports books across Las Vegas to take in the opening weekend of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It’s an annual ritual. Short of being at the games, the books are arguably the best place to be, providing an incredible atmosphere for the wall-to-wall basketball fest, particularly Thursday and Friday, with 16 games a day.
About the only thing that could make it better would be if some of those games were actually contested here. In years past, with the NCAA’s longstanding anti-gambling stance, that would be unthinkable. But as the Review-Journal’s Matt Youmans reported Saturday, that could soon change. NCAA President Mark Emmert stated in December that after attending Mountain West, Pac-12 and West Coast Conference tournaments in Las Vegas last March, he found it hypocritical that an NCAA regional would not be allowed under current rules.
“I think the membership is trying to figure out what’s the right way to approach this issue again,” Mr. Emmert said. “How do you manage what often seems to be a hypocritical stance? Let’s talk about it.”
Indeed. With the sparkling new T-Mobile Arena set to open next month, Las Vegas has a facility that is more than up to NCAA Tournament standards. With regard to sports betting, many states across the country now offer some form of gambling. As renowned sports play-by-play announcer Brent Musberger told Mr. Youmans: “Get your head out of the sand. It’s just part of American life. Every street corner has got some kind of gaming going on or you can go buy a Powerball ticket. I just think it’s nonsense. I’ve thought that for a long time.”
Furthermore, regulated gaming in Nevada — the gold standard, to be sure — is far better than unregulated gaming, in which hundreds of billions of dollars are bet underground every year.
Las Vegas sports books will be the center of the college basketball universe for many fans this weekend. It’s time to bring tournament games to town, as well.
