Las Vegas is Not Iowa – The Vegas Tourist

When compared to that catastrophe known as the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Super Bowl has been a walk in the park. So, it’s been easy to hide all the ways the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) bungled this event and why its CEO, Steve Hill needs to be fired.

But let’s skip over that for now and enjoy the current circus in town, known as the NFL. The National Football League and how they keep treating Las Vegas as if we were just a bunch of Iowa farmers.

Oscar Was Right

But first, a flashback. In the early 2000s, Las Vegas’s best mayor ever, Mayor Oscar Goodman (former mob attorney), got into a media war with the NFL over how they did not let Las Vegas market itself during the Super Bowl. In fact, they did not allow us to use the word “Super Bowl”. So, we went with “The Big Game”.

Why didn’t the NFL allow Las Vegas to spend millions of dollars on advertising during the Big Game? Because according to the NFL, Las Vegas was the devil’s playground. Something a squeaky-clean organization like the NFL could not support (sarcasm). We had the ultimate sin, gambling. Worse yet, we allowed betting on sports (oh my!).

Oscar pointed out the NFL’s hypocrisy to the world media. He stated that if it weren’t for Las Vegas and our betting parlors, the NFL would have gone bankrupt decades ago. That is a point well taken, and he was 100% accurate.

As Oscar pointed out, why else does the NFL release injury updates the Monday after a game? They do it because information like that impacts the betting lines and odds. You know, it impacts how people bet on the NFL.

So now, instead of telling the NFL to go pound dirt, the LVCVA takes $60 million from the Room Tax slush fund, gives it to them, and the gives them the run of the city. Free of charge. Steve Hill probably ordered an extra case of Chapstick for the occasion.

Las Vegas Isn’t Iowa

The NFL, as they have done since the start of planning for this event, has treated Las Vegas as if we were just a bunch of hicks. As if Las Vegas was not used to having such a prestigious organization in town. Pay me $60 million, and I would go anywhere you want me to!

They keep telling us how much this event will mean to Las Vegas in ways of international exposure and prestige. As if anyone outside the West Coast has ever heard of our little hamlet!

As a reference point: When the Chinese government surveyed its people about traveling outside their country, before COVID-19, they asked them what three countries they would like to visit. The most popular “country” was Las Vegas!

The NFL, in some of their interviews and press releases keep stressing about how important this is and how “they” have it all figured out because they have done this over fifty times. Yes, fifty times in 50 years! Oh My! Impressive (sarcasm)

The NFL talks about the security it takes to host such an event and they talk as if they are here to teach our Podunk police force how to do it. Thinking this is Mayberry and Sheriff Andy Taylor is just riding along, taking notes from them on how to do real police security work.

If the NFL didn’t know, Las Vegas truly is an international tourist destination. Our security people here are some of the best in the business. They are always working together. Sharing what they know with the others involved.

Not only do we have the best in the business (the resorts K9 teams often beat out police k9 teams in competitions), we also have the best security technology available outside the Military complex.

The FBI, Homeland Security and Las Vegas Police (METRO) work so closely with each other, they are probably on each others Christmas card list. They forget more then your “experts” ever knew.

Trying to say you are doing it better because you have the experience of 50 such games, is just another insult to the people who live and work here.

Securing the city and the event location for over 200,000 people is nothing new. Its almost a weekly occurrence. To think otherwise is just wrong and again, insulting.

It’s pretty much the same security teams and set ups, as we have for New Year’s Eve, NASCAR, CES, and many other major events. Maybe the other events are not as large as it is for this, but it’s not earth-shattering or out of the ordinary to have them working close together as the NFL seems to think it is.

I am sure all three agencies were “plugged into” the NFL’s security network long before anyone from the NFL even showed up in Las Vegas. Actually, it was probably the other way around. They had to plug in and catch up with our security network.

To have the NFL talking heads tell us how much Las Vegas will benefit from having this game here, and maybe we might have even proven to them that we are smart enough and to imply that because of this game, we may have learned enough about how to host such a prestigious event, that we may be allowed (if we pay the bribe) to host another one soon. This is truly an insult to the city and the people who work and live here.

FYI: On a typical Super Bowl weekend, there are over 300,000 people here, regardless of where he actual game is being played. So hosting the game means instead of 300,000 people here, we will have 350,000 people here for the “Big Game.

So, to the NFL, this is Las Vegas, not Iowa. Please try a little harder to respect the people of this great city and we might let you come back again. And after the game, you don’t have to return Steve Hill. You can keep him.

Final Note

To the great people of Iowa, please, I mean no disrespect. If it makes you feel any better, I’m from Minnesota (no jokes please) . I just needed to use your wonderful state as a reference for the points I made here.

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