How Did the NFL Draft Turn out Numbers-Wise?

There was so much talk about the NFL Draft leading up to it. For a couple of years, we heard about how massive the crowds were going to be. I have been there for New Year’s Eve before. I was not impressed by what I saw on TV for the draft and I haven’t seen any numbers printed. How did it turn out?

It depends on how you look at it, though indicators seem to corroborate your "not-impressed" perspective.

Without getting into numbers, Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg basically said that the NFL Draft was a dud from a gambling point of view. “The draft, in terms of a visitation standpoint for the market, was very strong. It was not a particularly great gambling crowd. It was good for visitation, but the casino numbers were kind of average.”

We pressed the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Bureau for economic-impact data, but got stonewalled.

The LVCVA did report, however, that for the entire month of April, 3.38 million people visited Las Vegas. Even with the Draft, plus the National Association of Broadcasters convention and four sold-out BTS concerts at Allegiant Stadium, that number was only slightly more than the 3.3 million in March and less than the 3.39 million in October, the highest since the pandemic began. It was also down 4.5% from the 3.54 million in April 2019. So it doesn't seem to us that the Draft had that much of an impact on overall visitation.

That impression was confirmed in a note to investors, in which Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli said that while the NFL had projected attendance of 600,000, the actual turnout was probably less than half that amount.

He wrote, “Given the nature of the Draft and the fact that it is free to attend, we do not believe it drew a crowd with high-gaming-spend propensity. We would also note that Strip room rates on the Thursday night of Draft weekend were low. Accordingly, we don’t believe the Draft was a meaningful needle mover for Strip operators.”

Perhaps the Draft didn't move the needle meaningfully, but we'd imagine that any other city on Earth would welcome a crowd approximately the size of the one that celebrates New Year's Eve in Las Vegas. Could it be that in the post-pandemic, corporation CEOs and Wall Street analysts have become somewhat ho-hum over 250,000-300,000 people at their doorsteps?

Either way, the 2024 Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium will almost surely draw that "crowd with high-gaming-spend propensity."

You can hear Anthony's take on the scene in last week's YouTube video; the Draft segment starts at 8:25.

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Comments

Jetpilotrick Jun-06-2022

Las Vegas Question?

I wish the Las Vegas Advisor would only answer questions only pertaining to Las Vegas.  Questions like this I think could be answered on other forums.  To me, this question has nothing to do about Las Vegas.  Thanks!

Dan McGlasson Jun-06-2022

This IS about Vegas

I disagree with the comment about the question.  I see this as every bit about Vegas!  LV is constantly marketing and re-inventing itself.  Sometimes the big things make big splashes, and sometimes they do not.  I find the results of the big LV marketing plans very relevant and interesting.

Keep up the great work on QoD!!

kennethross Jun-06-2022

Appropriate QOD

I agree with Dan that today’s question is pertinent and is likely of interest to regular readers.
(I find Las Vegas Convent & Visitors Bureau’s stonewalling of an LVA request for information a bit disturbing, however.)

Lotel Jun-06-2022

dumb question

over the years I have sent in 5-10 questions to be answered. never get a reply or anything. just think they make up these dumb questions. Starting to be a waste of time and ignore about 50% of them. QoD need to be aobut LV , gambling in LV, reason to visit or whats going on in LV.

kennethross Jun-06-2022

Not ALL made up

Lotel, with all possible respect, I can assure you that QOD does not present to its readers only made-up questions, since a question I posed was recently answered.
Regarding "QoD need [sic] to be aobut [sic] LV , gambling in LV, reason to visit or whats [sic] going on in LV," it must be pointed out that LVA is free to decide for itself what it needs to be about.
Concerning "I have sent in 5-10 questions to be answered. never get a reply or anything," one can only speculate about why that may have occurred.
The people at LVA, often without thanks and frequently with little acknowledgement, provide from their own knowledge, and from that of experts to whom they have access, large amounts of hard-to-find, hard-to-assemble information. And they SHARE IT WITH US. 
To quote anyone who has already said the words, "I love it."

[email protected] Jun-06-2022

LVA Answers

I have found over the years that LVA answers questions I wish I had asked and if it's something I don't care about, I don't think I need to complain; the other information has great value.

Roy Furukawa Jun-06-2022

Draft Weekend

From a SoCal standpoint and not a rabid NFL fan, I think people would avoid the draft weekend because of the fear of Vegas being overcrowded. As for the appropriateness of the question, I say don’t be so narrow minded as long as it pertains to gaming and primarily Vegas, it’s all good.

Jetpilotrick Jun-06-2022

Didn’t mean to complain

I want to apologize. I didn’t mean to sound like I was complaining about todays question/answer.  I think LVA does a great job and I read it everyday!  I just enjoy more when they answer questions on the hotels, shows, dining and facts about Las Vegas itself.  I am not a sports fan and even if I was, an NFL Draft is not something I would attend nor would care to with all the crowds.  Thanks for your hard work LVA!  I do enjoy reading the Question of the Day!

David Miller Jun-06-2022

My 2 cents

  I was in Vegas during this event. I did not participate and was not thrilled with the fact that the blocking off of lanes into and out from the strip made it difficult to get anywhere when traveling. In my opinion, the blocking of lanes was an ignorant idea that the people running this event did not consider.

VegasROX Jun-06-2022

Blocking the roads

If you think it was bad during the draft, you ain't seen nothing yet. Wait til the roadrace comes to town and they have to block off many many roads, put up all kinds of safety barriers and the like. No telling how far ahead if time the work will begin with closing the roads, and possibly sidewalks and overhead crosswalks, inconviencing hundreds of thousands for who knows how long. Gonna be a total $h!tsh@w!

Bob Nelson Jun-06-2022

600,000?

That seems like a totally ridiculous number.  You just reported there are about 150,000 hotel rooms in Vegas.  4 per room at 100% occupancy?  Unless they think that many locals actually care enough to do something about it.

Question of the Day - 06 June 2022

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