Bowl parties might not be so super, thanks to NFL regulations

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January 2, 2005






BY BILL ORDINE
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS



The National Football League is full of menacing characters ferocious about
protecting their turf. Usually, they're linebackers, defensive tackles and
safeties intent on keeping the opposition from crossing the goal line.


But it seems some of pro football's most intimidating defenders don't wear
helmets and shoulder pads but rather pinstripe suits.


Just ask Las Vegas' big casinos.


Those Super Bowl parties that had become a Las Vegas tradition -- the ones
featuring theater-size screens, chafing dishes piled with chicken wings and,
of course, the opportunity to bet on almost anything from the coin toss to
which team scores last -- were thrown for a loss last January by stern
warnings from NFL lawyers and officials. Some parties, the league contended,
violated NFL copyright on the broadcast of the game.


This year, a letter from the NFL -- occasionally referred to as the No Fun
League -- to the American Gaming Association, a casino umbrella group,
further outlined the league's prohibitions.


As a result, casino-hotels are forced to piece together Super Bowl soirees
that won't draw a penalty flag.


Possible infractions include screens that are too large, too many screens or
televisions and charging admission.


So the question for fans considering going to Vegas for the Super Bowl on
Feb. 6 is, well, what exactly will there be in Sin City to enjoy?


For starters, betting on the game is unaffected. And NFL officials have said
businesses that show sports events on television as part of their normal
operations will be allowed to present the Super Bowl. That includes casino
sports and race books where wagers are taken year-round on every imaginable
sports event, and the games are shown on jumbo televisions. The same
broadcast allowance applies to your neighborhood sports bar.


The NFL makes one further concession, called the homestyle exemption. It
means a business can set up in a bar or ballroom a single television no
larger than one commonly used in homes, provided no admission is charged.


So, for the time being, it appears those mega-parties that charged $50 or so
for wings, beer and a relatively comfortable seat from which you could root
for your money as well as your team are finished.


The letter the NFL sent Nov. 10 has had such a chilling effect on casinos
that some gambling operators have been reluctant to discuss what, if
anything, they have planned for the hundreds of thousands who show up in
Vegas expecting a Super Bowl party.


Last January, the trendy Palms Casino-Hotel altered its arrangements for a
Super Bowl bash when the league objected to its huge screen. The Palms
hustled to round up smaller televisions and returned customers' money. This
year, Palms officials won't discuss whether they have anything planned.


Spokesmen for some of the largest gaming companies said their casinos would
offer Super Bowl festivities but stay strictly within the league's
guidelines.


"Previously, the MGM Grand showed the game in the Hollywood Theater," MGM
Mirage's Alan Feldman said. "That's not going to happen." Feldman said MGM
Mirage, whose Vegas casinos include the MGM Grand, Mirage, Bellagio, New
York New York and Treasure Island, will keep the Super Bowl action in sports
books and bars.


Caesars Entertainment casinos -- Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Bally's
and Flamingo -- will do the same.


"We'll have very exciting events in our sports books that will conform to
the rules set up by the NFL," Caesars Entertainment's Robert Stewart said.
"And we're confident that people will come and have a great time." Perhaps,
but it seems that pro football's biggest day just won't be quite as super in
Vegas
 
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The NFL is biting the hand that feems them. Could you imagine the NFL without LV casinos putting up lines? I know this would never happen, but the NFL should realize how important gambling is to them.
 

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As much as I'm annoyed by Paul Tagliabue and his lackeys, I was glad the NFL threw a wrench in the hotel's plans to hold those overated parties that they hype up every year. The only thing more idiotic than charging for the parties was the morons that would actually pay to attend them.

The hotels should feel lucky they got away with it for as long as they did. What they were doing was a clear violation of copywright laws and the NFL could have put a stop to it any time they wanted to. Had the casinos not been so greedy (what a shock), all they had to do to avoid any problems with the NFL would have been to make the parties free but charge nominal prices for food and drink.

My personal guess is what set the NFL off was when the Palms Hotel planned to show the game in one of the movie theaters and charge for it. I'm glad the NFL waited until the last minute so the hotels had to scramble around to make other arrangements. Anytime the tightwad bean counters that mismanage these hotels are pi**ed off, I really do enjoy it.
 

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From the exec's I have talked to the "charge the customer" parties are not happening. This will throw a big kink in the casino numbers if not in this years then next years since unsuspecting visitors will just think the party is still on till they get there.

Bob, as usual I agree with your posts. Just don't let Wild Bill see us talking like this.;)
 

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Don't blame the NFL. Its the bean counting Vegas casino's that charged exorbitant prices to show the super bowl game in theater like ballrooms that caused the NFL to act. The NFL correctly assumed that casinos were making this a pay-per view event with the NFL supplying the entertainment but the casinos taking all the cash. Good for the NFL.

Note: The NFL does'nt have a problem with the casinos showing the game on a huge screen in the sportsbook.
 

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man I can not believe they have to even mess with the NFL parties in vegas that has always been a Staple there
 

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My firsthand observations is that most of the parties, if not all, are BS anyway.

The best ones were the ones that served unlimited beer for flat fee.

SOME OF THE BEST REGULAR SEASON SUNDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT PARTIES ARE AT THE ELLIS ISLAND CASINO...........GREAT DEALS!
 

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Fishhead,
I heard Ellis Island is closing.

The casino Michael Jordan is helping to open will be built there. There will be a MJ restaurant and workout facilities, but I think he will not have any piece of the casino
 

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