When the NHL decided it was time to take the proverbial leap and become the first team to put a major professional sports franchise in Las Vegas they knew it would bring more exposure to the league. Look, even that goblin of a commissioner said it.
I actually believe Las Vegas is going to raise the visibility of hockey. -Gary Bettman, to NHL Network’s On The Fly
I think he was talking about TV numbers, international appeal, and just the simple flare the word Vegas (or Las Vegas if you prefer) brings to anything it’s associated with.
Well here’s another thing bringing the NHL to Vegas does for the league. It puts them front and center in one of the most influential places in the entire world of sports, whether anyone wants to admit it or not, sportsbooks.
Every year the Westgate, formerly LVH, formerly the Hilton, formerly the International, SuperBook, (easily the best sportsbook in the world… until another one pays me to say otherwise) puts out a book of Super Bowl props 40+ pages long.
You can bet everything from the coin toss, to the weight of the player who scores the first TD, to the exact number of points each team will score and there are payouts on both sides of every bet. The day the prop book comes out is essentially a city-wide holiday in Las Vegas. This year, the NHL found its way into the “cross-sport bets” section with two props on the Golden Knights.
WHO WILL HAVE MORE:
**(Vegas Golden Knights 2017-18 NHL Regular Season)
Must play 82 Regular Season Games for action
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2017-18 POINTS -20.5 -110
DEVONTA FREEMAN (ATL) RUSHING YARDS +20.5 -110
WHO WILL HAVE MORE:
**(Vegas Golden Knights 2017-18 First NHL Regular Season Game)
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS GOALS IN FIRST NHL REGULAR SEASON GAME -0.5 -130
TOTAL FIELDS GOALS MADE IN FIRST HALF BY: PATRIOTS+FALCONS +0.5 +110
**In case of shootout only 1 goal is added to winners score
