>For the past four years, I have been flying down to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl. I enjoy football. I’m not a huge fan. I know the barest of essentials about the game. Mostly, I make the trip to Las Vegas for the party atmosphere.
For the first two years, my friends and I tried to be as “frugal” as possible. We didn’t go to a pre-planned party at a hotel, but aimlessly wandered from sports book to bar in search of room to enjoy the festivities. Needless to say, we spent most of our time looking for “room at the inn” as they say than actually enjoying the party.
In 2003, I made the executive decision to plan ahead and get a ticket to a party at one of the hotels. Through my internet research, my friend and I ended up going to the party at the Las Vegas Hilton. It was in this huge ballroom/convention room. There were giant projection screens all over the place. There wasn’t a bad seat to be had. You sat at a round table with 9 other people. It was a great way to meet people from all over the country. There was an open bar and unlimited stadium food. It was a great, drunken time well worth the $55 admission price.
Then as I was getting all prepped for this year’s trip, I heard that the NFL had decided to crackdown on the parties. I am still trying to figure out what triggered this sudden interest. As far as I can tell, these Super Bowl parties have been going on in Las Vegas since 1997. Internet records don’t seem to go further back than that. So, the parties have been going on let’s say for 10 years. Why in 2004 did the NFL suddenly get bothered about it? I assumed that the casinos/hotels were paying a fee to be able to broadcast the show. That’s only fair. I mean the Super Bowl is the reason for the party.
However, I won’t just fly anywhere to paint the town red. It’s all about Vegas, baby. The NFL has an excuse to get pissed. Vegas hotels are making money off of their product. They want a piece of the action. That’s only fair. The thing is why wasn’t this brought up five years ago or more? It’s not like suddenly in 2004 Las Vegas hotels decided it would be a good idea to throw a party during the Super Bowl.
When the stuff went down in January/February, it ended up working to my advantage. I got to go to the same party as last year, only this time it was free. This year might be a different story. The problem with the NFL hasn’t been resolved as far as I can tell in the press. From what I have read, it seems though that no amount of money is going to satisfy the NFL. They have this distaste for gambling. All I can say to that is who cares? What’s with this selective puritanical attitude? They won’t promote gambling during their telecast, but they will promote alcohol. They promote sex, but not gambling. If you are going to be a prude, be a prude all the way.
I am worried that I will be flying into Vegas this year with no where to hang out and watch the game. I can do that at home and save a lot of money.