Say what you want about the Las Vegas Grand Prix being a huge pain in the ass for the city. Complain about the traffic… the construction… the massive headaches and confusion. Criticize the removal of trees at Bellagio… or the rotunda at Caesars. It will all fall on deaf ears. But why? Well, why do you think? Money.
It’s no exaggeration to say that a majority of the city’s residents and workers could do without the Las Vegas Grand Prix. After all, they are not the ones reaping the financial benefits of the race. But love it or hate it, the plans for next year’s event are already underway.
A record breaking number of bets were placed on the race at Caesars, Westgate, and several Station Casinos. BetMGM also saw record breaking action online. Those numbers, along with profits from ticket sales, hotel rooms, and the service industry mean that the event was a success… that is, as long as you’re the one making all those profits.
BetMGM confirmed that they generated three times the number of bets on the Las Vegas Grand Prix than any prior event. That included a a $200,000 bet on Max Verstappen at -200 odds. Most gamblers were putting their money there, outside of a few bets with longer odds.
So, like it or not, we will be going through this well again next year. Perhaps the city will eventually figure out how to run this event more smoothly for those who live and work in the city. But even if they don’t the race will go on. Las Vegas was built to turn a profit, and if a million people are inconvenienced in the process, that’s just the cost of doing business.