Heavy action prophesied for March Madness; Death at Bellagio

“Unlike any other sporting event in the country, March Madness attracts millions who fill out brackets, make casual bets with friends or wager at a legal sports book, which Americans can now do more than ever before.” With those words American Gaming Association President Bill Miller strove to throw a light on the rampant nature of illegal betting in this country. Using a Morning Consultant study, the AGA estimates that 47 million Americans will bet on the NCAA roundball tourney, with only $3.9 million of the estimated $18.5 million wagered going through sports books and other legal channels. According to the AGA, 2.4 million will go to the neighborhood bookie while 5.2 million will use illegal offshore sites.

Sticking to legal sports books and Web sites, PlayNJ.com‘s Zack Hall estimated that $300 million would be wagered in Nevada and $75 million in New Jersey. “In Nevada, the NCAA Tournament trails only the Super Bowl in popularity for sports bettors and actually generates more bets because of the number of games,” added TheLines.com‘s Dustin Gouker. “Basketball has drawn a higher share of wagering in New Jersey than it has in Nevada this season, and that will likely translate well to the NCAA Tournament.” At present, Duke is the heavy favorite to win, receiving 29% of bets to date, followed by Gonzaga (9%), North Carolina (8%), Kentucky (7%), Virginia (5%) and Michigan (5%). Our condolences to anyone whose school didn’t make the list.

* Bellagio‘s status as a soft target for robbers had fatal consequences last weekend. A gunman robbed the poker room and was making off with the cash. However, four Las Vegas Metro officers happened to be on the premises, on an unrelated human-trafficking bust. When the robber tried to commit a carjacking in valet parking, Metro pounced. Shots were exchanged, the robber was killed and a Metro cop’s life was saved when a bullet struck a providentially placed cell phone in his vest. It’s almost too Hollywood to be true. It also reinforces the debate about the apparent laxity of security at MGM Resorts International properties, which eschew a visible ‘prowl’ and risk incidents like this one, which may have been the gunman’s second strike at wide-open Bellagio. How much worse do things have to get before MGM takes action?

* As reader Mike Zidik reports, developer Bart Blatstein wants an Atlantic City casino. Since Caesars Entertainment took the gaming entitlement off his Showboat hotel, he’s going to get around that by building his gambling hall on vacant land next door, across the street from Ocean Resort. The latter would certainly benefit from a critical mass of casinos in the immediate area. Blatstein is brave to enter the Boardwalk market and should be applauded for his enterprise.

* Lady Gaga is rocking the retro-glamour image with her “Jazz & Piano” show at Park MGM, as seen here. The accompanying feature doesn’t say anything you don’t really know but Her Ladyship’s fibromyalgia is to be thanked for bringing her to the Strip on a long-term basis. Thankfully she and it have been a match made in box-office heaven.

Amidst the gaggle of Gaga-related and other celebrity news from the Strip, the question has to be asked: Is Las Vegas entering another golden age, one in which Celine Dion, Janet Jackson, Gwen Stefani represent an estrogen-fueled Rat Pack? While we ponder that, the New York Times goes in search of yesterday’s Vegas and constructs an itinerary that begins at Atomic Liquors, bends an arm at Dino’s and ends up at the Neon Museum. Somehow they missed the Golden Steer. If the story has a Downtown-centric twist (with a side trip to M Resort), it’s because “I found the Strip a hard place to like. I felt a poignant sadness sink in when I came downstairs from my room at the new Park MGM to get a cup of coffee and saw, at 7:30 a.m., the slot machines full of people, some clearly nearing the end of their all-night marathons.”

Still, writer Sebastian Modak has kind words for the new-look Palms: “I had been put off by some of Vegas’s in-your-face glam, but it’s hard not to be excited when walking through a hotel you encounter Warhol, Basquiat, Murakami, and more Damien Hirst than you’d find at most contemporary art galleries.” That’s one for the Fertitta Brothers‘ clipping file.

* Las Vegas had a UFO sighting last week. Could we have a few more, please? Think what it would do for Sin City tourism.