Question of the Day — 28 Oct 2018

We are looking to come out to Las Vegas in September 2020 to a) see the Raiders at home in their new stadium and/or b) to be in the US during Ryder Cup Weekend. Hopefully we can dovetail the two (Ryder Cup is Fri-Sat 27-29 Sept 2020). What effect do you think Ryder Cup weekend will have on hotel availability/prices (if any) especially if that weekend also features a Raiders home match? 

The Ryder Cup is huge to American golf fans, right up there with the four majors. Europeans are even more passionate about it. As you mention, the problem stateside is that it falls on a football weekend, so it tends to grab the interest of only the true golf fans -- unlike the Masters in April that attracts a lot more casual sports fans, because there's nothing else going on.

The impact on Vegas crowds, and the sports-betting handle, is minimal. In general, the handle isn't as much as the Masters in April. 

Another indicator is the TV ratings. This year, the Ryder Cup, held in a suburb of Paris the last weekend of September, attracted less than three million viewers on Sunday, while for early Sunday-afternoon football, there were 13 million and the later prime-time games got about 20 million. For a golf comparison, last year, 13 million viewers tuned into the Masters. 

The long and short of it is the Ryder Cup is a huge event on the golfing calendar, but football is king. So you only have to worry about a Raiders home game and the jury's out on that so far. We'd say that though prices might be a little higher and occupancy might be a little tighter than a normal weekend, if you plan well enough in advance, you'll find availability and decent prices, especially if you don't mind staying downtown or at a locals casino. 
 

We'd like to thank Steve Sharp, author of our upcoming Win at Sports Betting, for help with this answer. Steve's an inveterate golf bettor, who knows the game and the betting opportunities inside out -- as his book amply demonstrates.

 

 

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