Fall weekends draw big crowds to Las Vegas, but this weekend’s three big events — the UNLV football opener against Hawaii, the Mayweather-Ortiz boxing match and Mexican Independence Day — are driving even better numbers.
Room rates are up, restaurants are booked, and bars are stocking up for fans.
“This is just a great weekend overall,” said Derek Stevens, owner of downtown’s Golden Gate Casino, which decorated its lobby and gaming areas with Hawaiian flags and banners in advance of the football game. “When you’ve got so many events going on, it brings a significant impact to the overall community.”
Big fights such as the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Victor Ortiz bout typically generate a nongaming impact of close to $10 million, according to Kevin Bagger of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. That’s just at the fight. Fans spend much more outside the arena walls, gambling, eating, drinking, shopping, even sleeping.
MGM Resorts, which is hosting the boxing match at MGM Grand, says most of its properties have sold out or are close to capacity. Rooms on the Strip are averaging $155 a night this weekend, compared with $125 on the same weekend last year.
Tourists celebrating Mexican Independence Day will pump millions into the local economy. McCarran Airport welcomed 23 specially chartered flights from Mexico this week, in addition to 19 regular arrivals. Planes will have brought about 6,000 Mexican tourists in total, almost 70 percent more than during last year’s celebrations. (Last year’s Independence Day fell on a Thursday while the weekend’s banner fight was in Los Angeles, two factors that likely accounted for the smaller Vegas crowd.)
International tourists stay longer and spend an average of $1,000 more per trip than domestic visitors, statistics show.
Not that Hawaiian tourists won’t be contributing to our economy. Island visitors have been arriving all week, hanging with family and friends and preparing for the big game.
Which means eating.
“People have been calling in for reservations and catering orders. They’ll be having parties in their rooms and tailgating,” said Terence Fong, owner of Island Sushi and Hawaiian Grill in Henderson and most recently downtown Las Vegas’ Plaza Hotel. “It’s a mix of Hawaiian locals and people coming from Hawaii and the mainland to support the team.”
Las Vegas is nicknamed the “Ninth Island” because of its large Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population, which comprises just under 1 percent of the valley’s residents. Tens of thousands of Hawaiians relocated here in the 1990s and early 2000s, lured by job opportunities, cheap housing and an attractive climate. Hundreds of thousands more Hawaiians vacation in Las Vegas annually.
Two or three flights a day connect McCarran International Airport and Honolulu. Boyd Gaming also sponsors Las Vegas vacation packages specifically for Hawaiians, who make up a good portion of customers at the California hotel, Fremont and Main Street Station. Downtown is a particular draw for island visitors because it is affordable and accessible.
“The aloha spirit matches up well with the Las Vegas spirit of great service and a good getaway,” Stevens said. “Hawaiians are loyal to the community.”