Super Bowl weekend expected to draw 307,000 visitors

Tourists walk along the Strip on Tuesday, June 17, 2014. (David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

When you see signs around town promoting “Big Game” parties, rest assured there are no safaris planned in the city’s casinos.

More than 300,000 tourists are expected to begin pouring into Southern Nevada on Friday for Super Bowl weekend, the NFL’s superhyped championship game Sunday between the defending champion Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots at Glendale, Ariz.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority projects a 1.7 percent increase in weekend visitors over last year to 307,000. Many of them will be watching the game at the city’s race and sports books. Nevada books are the only places in the country that legally can accept sports wagers.

The Convention and Visitors Authority says the influx of tourists will produce a nongaming economic impact of $124.4 million, up 1.9 percent from 2014.

Sports books say the Super Bowl betting handle likely will exceed $100 million, largely because of a huge variety of proposition wagers ranging from which team will win the coin toss to whether a safety will be scored — which has occurred in the last three Super Bowls.

February traditionally is a hot visitation month for Las Vegas. This year it includes the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day (which falls on a Saturday), Chinese New Year (beginning Feb. 19), the three-day Presidents Day weekend, the World of Concrete trade show and the MAGIC Marketplace Spring Show, a fashion trade show.

Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find him on Twitter: @RickVelotta