I started a thread a little while ago in the Las Vegas forum here to get advice - and I appreciate the advice I got. I hadn't been to Vegas in about 10 years and I wanted to experience what was out there, what was new, and what I could get out of the sports betting experience. Here is the good and the bad, as I experienced it - not how maybe YOU experience it - but from my perspective....
I decided to use Cantor gaming as ground zero. I was staying with family at the Venetian, and it made sense from many angles. I had heard about their account system, mobile gaming, and that the SB there was nice.
So I got there, and first started asking about limits. I was told that any wager over "about 500 bucks" was not going to be taken at the window, but needed to have an account set up and bet on account. OK. If you have an account, you can bet big numbers on NFL "up to 50K no problem". The downside of an account is a SS# is required, and of course the CTR and all other reporting that goes along with it. But that didn't deter me - it might for a lot of people but I deal with this stuff a lot so I knew the drill.
So I set up an account and made a deposit. Pretty painless, about 10 minutes, I had something like an offshore SB balance in my gaming account. So I walk about 10 feet away to place my first wager - tell the guy I want a few dimes on the Lions - and they proceed to explain to me that you cant make account wagers at the window. What? You have to make them from one of the 100 or so computer stations in the seating area, but you cannot make them at the window. So the people at the window cant do this? Very strange and inconvenient.
So I go and try to find a station. They are all being used because it is Saturday and a million squares are sitting there betting 10 bucks and yelling about pass interference. So I wait until there is a station free, and log in. Keep in mind - when you log in - everyone can see it. If someone wanted to - they could easily get your login and PIN - a little added risk to your wager if you wanted to gamble more.
The interface to place a bet - to be nice - looks like a 5th grader wrote it. Navigation is horrendous. There is a few second delay between when you touch the screen and when it registers (think about typing on your keyboard and it only showing up on screen a few seconds later). You could easily think you didn't hit the "submit" button and bet something twice. But this is just the start..... THERE IS NO SCREEN TO SEE ALL OF THE LINES. I literally couldn't believe this. You select a sport, and then you see all of the games - just listed like "NYJ vs TB" - but no lines. In order to see the line, you have to select the game, and then hit something else to see the line. So you see one at a time - even if you select a bunch of games you have to scroll through them one at a time. Apparently nobody cares if lines change - because you would have to keep selecting and scrolling to see any line changes. Oh - and they don't put line prices up on the big board - if a line is CLE-1 -120 - it only says -3 on the big board. Afterall, who the fuck cares about prices!! Just give me a winner!!!
So I complain about the interface. They look like I am the first person to ever complain - which maybe I am - because out of 300 people in this SB there might be 10 people who actually bet more than 10 bucks a game. They suggest that I download the app - to which I am happy that I can bet from anywhere in Nevada. So I try to download the app. First on an IPhone5 - the app wont open after installing. Then on an IPhone 4S - the app wont open after installing. Then on android - you have to download multiple things - and it still doesn't work. Last chance is the IPad - which works. When I say "works" - I mean it functions. It is still the same clunky 5th grade software - but it is from my room so it is a big step up. Until I try to log in, and realize that the identification process (to make sure you are geolocated in NV) is so slow and painful - it often makes the app crap out and just kick you out. So it is almost useless - but I fight on - I didn't come to vegas not to bet on sports - and now I want to take these guys money to pay for my pain.
So I go to put in some more bets. After all of the entry stuff, it gives me something similar to the hourglass and tells me "placing wager". After 30 seconds, it just stops. No message. Did it take my 3k wager? I don't know. I navigate to account and see nothing there - but with this - who knows? So I try again. And again. And again. Nothing. I ask the SB supervisor - and it seems like the guys who approve the wagers weren't in yet. Really? You have hours? And 2 hours before kickoff was too early?? So I waited a half hour, and got my wagers in.
NFL and NCAAF were a lot of fun to be there. The Venetian setup is amazing - great screens - great atmosphere. It was really fun.
With your account, you can cash out from home. So I got a form to go home with, and for the amount you want in a check - you have to specify an exact amount. Its funny. You cant logon from home to get your balance - and you cant ask on the phone - so unless you know your balance when you leave with any outstanding wagers calculated in - you can never really know if you are requesting your full balance. Just another ridiculous thing you have to put up with.
So I took out my cash (after losing quite a bit) and flew home. Overall - to summarize my impressions:
Vegas doesn't want, cater to, care about, or feel they need to woo in any way sophisticated sports bettors. I am totally convinced that they love the 20 dollar bets from the people who queue up on Saturdays and Sundays and yell at the TV's. The absolute worst online SB has a better interface than the best LV SB. The tools that could make you profitable in LV are non-existent - you are just flying blind for the most part paying -110 (or worse).
The people were very nice, the atmosphere was great, and for the average Joe who wants to bet on his favorite team and have fun - it cant be beat. But they clearly don't know or care to know what people who are even semi-serious about this want. Billy Walters said similar recently (credit to clubdirt) https://www.bettingtalk.com/billy-walters-sounds-sports-betting-las-vegas-time-time-low .
I have been saying for a long long time that serious sports bettors cant make money in Vegas. I went back to see if I was still right - and left thinking I was more right than ever. If you are making a living betting sports in Las Vegas - you are very gifted - and very dumb. With very little effort, you could be doing so much better elsewhere.