Football season in Las Vegas is great for a lot of reasons. We all know that football is the sport that generates the most money for sportsbooks. There's no better place to be than the sportsbook when watching and wagering on football on Saturday and Sunday. There’s really nothing like it and the energy and excitement seem to grow every year.
I’m writing this on the seventh anniversary of leaving the east coast and living in Las Vegas. You'll understand why I'm telling you this shortly. Besides being able to visit a sportsbook every day I can now enjoy football three hours earlier. Drinking beer and coffee for 9 am or 10 am kickoffs can be annoying to some. I might be in the minority and love morning football since I’m always awake by 7 am - even when I’m home just before sunrise. It’s both a blessing and a curse. I even like the super early games from England at 6 am!
Where the three hour time difference actually comes in handy is for standalone games. On the east coast, the night games kick off around 8 pm and end close to bedtime. In Las Vegas, these games start during Happy Hour and end just after Happy Hour. The sportsbooks are more mellow than a full slate of games so it’s a great excuse to watch night games elsewhere.
Casinos are my second home but I'm allowed to leave. Over the years I’ve used the standalone games to explore bars and restaurants all over Las Vegas. Happy Hour during Monday Night Football might have been the catalyst to try local restaurants but I've found plenty of new places to grab a bite or drink since moving to Las Vegas. I would never have explored Las Vegas this much if I was a tourist.
Local Restaurant Scene In Las Vegas
A few years ago a was invited to a casino to try their new Asian restaurant. It was good and the review (on a defunct website) said so. However, there are multiple Asian restaurants within a mile or two of the casino that are equally as good. The review said that if you like the food but want to save a few bucks you can head to one of the others in the area. This didn’t sit so well with the PR people but whatever. For what it's worth, I've been back to that restaurant and still recommend it to visitors that don't want to leave the casino.
The point of this example is to say that restaurants in casinos may be good or even great but you’ll typically pay a little more for the food and drink. Prices in Las Vegas are usually higher in newer restaurants and casinos because of rent and other expenses. If you have the ability and don’t mind leaving the casino you can sometimes find a restaurant of equal quality at a lower price.
When I was a tourist I rarely left the casinos to eat. Some trips might call for a "locals joint" but that's about it. Now that I live in Las Vegas I usually have my car so driving around town for a meal isn’t out of my reality like it used to be.
Last week I had a great, but overpriced, steak at Blue Ribbon at the Cosmopolitan. More recently, I had one of the best tacos of my life at Bomb Tacos in Spring Valley. Earlier this season I was introduced to some of the best wings in Las Vegas at Blind Pig on Dean Martin behind the Cosmopolitan. There have been a few return visits for the wings and more. Half priced wings during Monday Night Football ain’t no joke.
There’s a great mix of dining experiences all over Las Vegas now. There are plenty of excellent local restaurants. The biggest buzz comes from chefs who made their name at restaurants on the Vegas Strip years ago. The semi-famous chefs have been opening restaurants all over town over the past couple of years. There are excellent new and old restaurants all over town now.
There has also been a major influx of Asian dining. While this isn’t one of my go-to cuisines, I had amazing Korean BBQ at Hobak on Spring Mountain this summer. We overstuffed four people with delicious meat, sides, drinks, and dessert for the price of my portion of the steak at The Cosmopolitan last week. HUZZAH!
I was introduced to the land of great Las Vegas deals at Herbs & Rye when I first moved to Las Vegas. Your host of The Sharp 600, Joe Fortenbaugh and I heard great things and were sold after one visit. The classic speakeasy has an amazing Happy Hour deal with half-priced steak. Happy Hour is twice a day and if you don’t arrive right when Happy
Hour begins you might have a difficult time finding a seat.
The Vegas dining scene has greatly improved every year since I moved to Las Vegas and there's no end in sight. There are plenty of good new restaurants all over the city. Happy Hour during standalone football games is a great excuse to experiment with new restaurants - and you might even save a few bucks.
Look outside the casinos in Las Vegas for great food and drink options
Happy Hour during standalone football games is a great excuse to experiment with new restaurants - and you might even save a few bucks.
