Las Vegas Aces owner MGM Resorts won’t take wagers on WNBA team
By Todd Dewey Las Vegas Review-Journal
WNBA President Lisa Borders, left, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goldmark Goodman, second from left, Clark County Commissioner Stephen Sisolak, center, President of MGM Resorts International Bill Hornbuckle, second from right, Las Vegas Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer, right, sit on stage during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Vegas Golden Knights’ Brad Hunt, left, Las Vegas Aces’ Kayla Janine Alexander, second from left, Vegas Golden Knights’ Oscar Dansk, center, Moriah Jefferson, second from right, and Vegas Golden Knights’ Reid Duke, right, gather during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
WNBA President Lisa Borders, left, claps as she sits next to Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goldmark Goodman, right, during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
President of MGM Resorts International Bill Hornbuckle speaks during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
President of MGM Resorts International Bill Hornbuckle, left, WNBA President Lisa Borders, third from left, LaChina Robinson, fourth from left, Las Vegas Aces’ Kayla Janine Alexander, fifth from left, Chairman and CEO of MGM International Jim Murren, fifth from right, Las Vegas Aces’ Moriah Jefferson, fourth from right, Las Vegas Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer, third from right, Clark County Commissioner Stephen Sisolak, second from right, and Chuck Bowling who serves as the president and chief operating officer of Mandalay Bay at MGM Resorts International, right, gather during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
WNBA President Lisa Borders, left, Las Vegas Aces’ Kayla Janine Alexander, second from left, Las Vegas Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer, second from right, Las Vegas Aces’ Moriah Jefferson, right, gather during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Las Vegas Aces’ Kayla Janine Alexander is interviewed following the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Las Vegas Aces’ Kayla Janine Alexander, left, and Moriah Jefferson, right, gather during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Confetti fills a room during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Las Vegas Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer speaks during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Las Vegas Aces’ Kayla Janine Alexander, left, WNBA President Lisa Borders, center, Las Vegas Aces’ Moriah Jefferson, right, gather during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Las Vegas Aces’ Kayla Janine Alexander, left, and Moriah Jefferson, right, attend the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
President of MGM Resorts International Bill Hornbuckle, left, WNBA President Lisa Borders, third from left, LaChina Robinson, fourth from left, Las Vegas Aces’ Kayla Janine Alexander, fifth from left, Chairman and CEO of MGM International Jim Murren, fifth from right, Las Vegas Aces’ Moriah Jefferson, fourth from right, Las Vegas Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer, third from right, Clark County Commissioner Stephen Sisolak, second from right, and Chuck Bowling who serves as the president and chief operating officer of Mandalay Bay at MGM Resorts International, right, gather during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Spring Valley High School girls basketball team’s Deja McDonald, 15, left, and Kiana Turenne, 15, right, shoot basketballs before the start of the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Chairman and CEO of MGM International Jim Murren, left, and Las Vegas Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer, right, gather during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
Las Vegas Aces head coach Bill Laimbeer speaks during the reveal of the Las Vegas Aces WNBA basketball team at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Joel Angel Juarez Las Vegas Review-Journal @jajuarezphoto
As owner of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, MGM Resorts won’t accept any wagers on their games or futures next season, which starts in May.
MGM Resorts sports book director Jay Rood said Saturday that it hasn’t been decided whether wagers will be taken on other WNBA games. He said the betting handle on the league from the public is pretty light.
“When I say pretty light, I mean almost nonexistent. The WNBA is the playground for the wiseguys and the sharps,” Rood said. “We might just absolutely eliminate it from our offering at this point. In the big scope of things, it’s really very, very small from a handle and win-loss perspective.
“The handle for the entire year in the WNBA is probably less than what we do on a really good NFL game.”
MGM Resorts purchased the team in October and moved it to Las Vegas from San Antonio, where they were known as the Stars. The Aces will play their home games at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
Several other Las Vegas hotel-casinos with ties to professional sports teams have taken their games off the betting board.
The Golden Nugget accepts NBA bets at its sports book, but not on Houston Rockets games or futures because owner Tilman Fertitta purchased the team in September.
Likewise, Caesars Entertainment properties accept NBA wagers at their sports books, but not on Boston Celtics games or futures because Caesars Entertainment Corp. Chairman Gary Loveman owns a minority stake in the team.
Despite having a CG Technology sports book, the Silverton doesn’t accept any wagers on the Los Angeles Lakers, the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks or the NHL because owner Ed Roski is co-owner of the Lakers, Los Angeles Kings and Staples Center.
When the Maloof brothers owned the Sacramento Kings and the Palms and Fiesta, their casinos didn’t accept wagers on Kings games.
