By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
The sports betting windows were open for action at 8 a.m. Thursdsay at the popular South Point sportsbook, a favorite hangout for sports gamblers who enjoy the easy-going atmosphere and familiar faces.
South Point General Manager Ryan Growney met LVSportsBiz.com late Thursday morning to bring sports-betting enthusiasts up to date and also discuss the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) setting up shop for four weekends at the South Point Arena.
What’s newsworthy about PBR — also owned by the same company that owns Las Vegas-based UFC, Endeavor — is that the bull riders actually began staging live events in Oklahoma in April during the coronavirus pandemic before UFC President Dana White staged the UFC 249 event in Jacksonville, Florida May 9. South Point signed off with state gaming control board officials to stage the live PBR event in front of no fans in every weekend in June.
Here’s our interview with Growney.
The cowboys at South Point Arena for the PBR competitions will join 12 teams, each sponsored by a brand receiving a team patch on riders’ vests and armband logos. Bull riders will be representing 12 teams sponsored by Ariat, Boot Barn, Caterpillar, Cooper Tires, Can-Am, Las Vegas, Lucas Oil, Pendleton Whisky, South Point, Union Home Mortgage, Wrangler and YET.
And here’s even more brand name sponsorships — The 40-hour televised PBR Monster Energy Team Challenge tournament runs from June 5 – July 12, with the name of the bull-riding setting called The Pendleton Whisky Let ‘er Buck Saloon.
Across the Las Vegas valley and the Strip, sportsbooks reopened as Nevada’s vaunted and revenue-genereating tourism industry slowly came back to life after more than two months of being shuttered in response to a COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 105,000 Americans.
At Red Rock Resort, the Las Vegas-based Station Casinos flagship hotel-casino property, workers opened doors for visitors who promptly had their temperatures checked.
The coronavirus pandemic grounded the Las Vegas hospitality industry, crippling the hotel room tax revenues that are distributed to local entities such as Southern Nevada cities and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority which uses the room tax money to cover the debt service on bonds sold ti finance the public $750 million contribution that is helping build the Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium.
Sportsbooks opened in downtown hotels like the Circa-run books at The D Las Vegas and Golden Gate to the popular book at South Point.
Even at 7 a.m. Thursday, gamblers were playing the machines at Red Rock Resort 12 miles west of the Strip.
There are not too many sports to bet on. UFC 250 is scheduled for the UFC Apex facility Saturday, when MMA superstar Amanda Nunes comes to Las Vegas to fight Felecia Spencer in a featherweight championship.
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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who was criticized harshly Wednesday for his comments for kneeling during the anthem before NFL games, issued a lengthy apology in Instagram this morning.
I would like to apologize to my friends, teammates, the City of New Orleans, the black community, NFL community and anyone I hurt with my comments yesterday. In speaking with some of you, it breaks my heart to know the pain I have caused.
In an attempt to talk about respect, unity, and solidarity centered around the American flag and the national anthem, I made comments that were insensitive and completely missed the mark on the issues we are facing right now as a country. They lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy. Instead, those words have become divisive and hurtful and have misled people into believing that somehow I am an enemy. This could not be further from the truth, and is not an accurate reflection of my heart or my character.
This is where I stand:
I stand with the black community in the fight against systemic racial injustice and police brutality and support the creation of real policy change that will make a difference.
I condemn the years of oppression that have taken place throughout our black communities and still exists today.
I acknowledge that we as Americans, including myself, have not done enough to fight for that equality or to truly understand the struggles and plight of the black community.
I recognize that I am part of the solution and can be a leader for the black community in this movement.
I will never know what it’s like to be a black man or raise black children in America but I will work every day to put myself in those shoes and fight for what is right.
I have ALWAYS been an ally, never an enemy.
I am sick about the way my comments were perceived yesterday, but I take full responsibility and accountability. I recognize that I should do less talking and more listening…and when the black community is talking about their pain, we all need to listen.
For that, I am very sorry and I ask your forgiveness.
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