Vegas Books Attempt To Forge On After Coronavirus Concerns Trigger Unprecedented Sports Cancellations

Casinos throughout Las Vegas acted swiftly Thursday to craft a strategic response to the NCAA’s cancellation of March Madness, one of Sin City’s largest drivers of sportsbook activity each year.

For those witnessing the eerie scene at the MGM Grand sportsbook, few had the temerity to place a wager. Instead, a sense of incredulity permeated through the walls. The screens on four BetMGM kiosks installed for the NCAA tournament remained dormant. A contingent of Arizona Wildcats’ fans in town for the PAC-12 Tournament watched replays of a victory over Washington from the previous evening. A massive tote with NCAA tournament futures contained an empty patch in place of the odds.

The spread of the coronavirus pandemic could hit Vegas hard. Several global casino conglomerates stand to lose millions as tourists and businessmen cancel their trips. A host of popular buffets are scheduled to close this weekend, while major conventions such as next month’s 2020 NAB Show have already been scratched off the calendar. President Donald Trump also canceled a scheduled appearance at this weekend’s Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting in Las Vegas.

Renowned sports betting operations may suffer the most. On Thursday, at least eight major professional sports leagues either canceled or delayed upcoming events, leaving bettors with a paucity of wagering options in the coming days. Two conference tournaments held in Las Vegas, the PAC-12 and the WAC, also came to an abrupt halt sending attendees scrambling to adjust their travel plans.

For the books, the timing is inauspicious to say the least. Last year, Nevada sportsbooks posted a record March handle of almost $600 million, the vast majority from wagers on the tournament. Before the 2019 NCAA tournament, a survey from the American Gaming Association (AGA) estimated that 47 million American adults planned to wager $8.5 billion on March Madness. Had the tournament started next week, as scheduled, the traffic inside prominent Vegas books likely would have taken a severe hit, said Johnny Avello, director of sportsbook operations at DraftKings.

“We understand that where you have outstanding sportsbook wagers, there may be questions on how these markets will be settled,” DraftKings said in a statement. “We are working diligently through all potentially impacted markets to provide clear answers.”

A number of sportsbook operators including BetMGM and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook already announced plans to issue refunds. For individual or upcoming games that are ultimately canceled or ones that have already been canceled, BetMGM will issue full refunds, MGM Resorts International said. The SuperBook will provide refunds on all conference and NCAA tournament futures, said Jay Kornegay, vice president of race and sports at the SuperBook.

For the time being, the NBA, the NHL and MLB have all suspended play. As of Thursday night, The PGA Tour, The English Premier League and NASCAR were among a limited group that had yet to postpone upcoming events.

“If that’s the only concentrated area we’re going to look to do more with those events such as propositions, in-play wagering — things like that,” said Jeff Sherman, assistant manager of race and sports at the SuperBook. “They could easily increase ten-fold just because of the concentration where people can wager.”

Less than an hour later, The PGA Tour canceled the remainder of The Players Championship.

Given the uncertainty of the outbreak, BetMGM is requesting customer patience in how it plans to treat league future and season wager bets, MGM Resorts said. BetMGM continued to offer bets on the PGA, UFC, boxing and horse racing on Thursday. As of Thursday afternoon, BetMGM accepted wagers on at least five North American thoroughbred racetracks that offered live racing after the cancellations in the other sports.

“We’re continuing to monitor the situation closely and are keeping our guests’ safety top of mind,” MGM Resorts said in a statement.

One couple from Tucson still considered placing a futures wager on Justin Thomas at MGM to win The 2020 Masters (odds of 15/1). The couple doled out $500 on PAC-12 tickets for the weekend only to see the conference call off Arizona’s quarterfinals matchup against USC and the rest of the tournament. There is a strong possibility that attendees of the PAC-12 tournament will receive refunds for their ticket packages, a source said.

Another fan from Washington State cashed out a series of betting tickets from the Cougars’ 82-68 win over Colorado on Wednesday night. The fan wound up receiving a more affordable fare for his trip back to Seattle by rescheduling his flight.

Earlier on Thursday afternoon, WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd held a press conference two miles to the west at Orleans Arena. The WAC has yet to determine if the conference will offer a rebate to fans for ticket purchases, Hurd said. It could take months for the conference to determine the amount in lost revenue from tickets, sponsorships and other sources of funding, he added.

When Las Vegas hosted several conference tournaments in 2015, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) estimated that close to 25,000 fans flocked to the city producing an economic output of $15 million to $20 million, according to The Washington Post.

Last March, more than 3.69 million people visited Las Vegas as The Strip’s hotel room occupancy hit 92.9%, according to the LVCVA, the third-highest of any month on the year. For the month, the average daily room rate on The Strip eclipsed $143 a night. But room rates this March appear to have fallen precipitously as coronavirus fears escalate.

“We understand and respect the NCAA’s decision to suspend its basketball tournaments. We recognize this difficult decision by the NCAA will certainly affect leisure visitation as our destination serves as a popular location to watch and wager on the tournaments,” said Lori Nelson-Kraft, Sr. Vice President of Communication and Government Affairs at the LVCVA. “The full impact of cancellations won’t be known until we are able to accurately report our monthly visitation numbers in late April.”

On Wednesday, a WAC student-athlete reportedly underwent tests for COVID-19 at a Las Vegas area hospital. The WAC postponed Wednesday’s Women’s Quarterfinals between Cal State Bakersfield and Grand Canyon due to a “medical situation.” The student-athlete does not have coronavirus and never entered Orleans Arena, Hurd confirmed.

Most teams left the Orleans by early-Thursday afternoon, but a handful of New Mexico State fans remained. Inside the casino, about one-third of the tables at the Orleans’ Poker Room were full at 2 p.m. PT. A staff member from another WAC school noted that some passengers encountered delays of up to six hours at McCarran Airport when leaving Las Vegas.

Hours earlier, Hall of Famer Bill Walton appeared visibly shaken by the rapid spread of the pandemic. After calling two games Wednesday night for the PAC-12 Network, Walton urged the basketball community to express the utmost caution with scheduling.

 “Health is everything, it’s a time to come together and do everything we can to make things better,” Walton told Forbes SportsMoney. “We are all concerned, we are all in unchartered territory.”