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Shop at Jay’s Market at 190 East Flamingo Road at the Koval Lane intersection east of the Strip.
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Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Perry’s friendly, high-pitched voice greeted the lucky visitor to the Allegiant Stadium elevator.
“How you doing? How many points will UNLV win by today,?” he asked the man heading to the press box before UNLV hosted Utah State. “C’mon now, give me a score.”
Perry is a former construction worker who went to Chaparral High School east of the Strip not too far from Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall.
He has this elevator gig down pretty well after three years on the job at Allegiant Stadium.
UNLV pays a lot of money — about $2.5 million for six home games a season — to use the NFL stadium that was built and now run by the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Raiders are a transplant franchise in Las Vegas like so many residents here. And after five years and five coaches they are still trying to lock in an emotional connection with their host town.
Sadly, many locals, especially those who don’t follow football, know the Raiders as the team that had the player who drove his car 150 mph and killed an innocent 23-year-old woman in the early morning hours in Nov. 2021.
Raiders games were religious tent revival experiences in Oakland, but here in Las Vegas they are an NFL entertainment experience with many fans functioning as visitors helping pay off the Las Vegas public debt on Allegiant Stadium thanks to the hotel room tax charges they pay on their hotel bills. The Raiders have won only two out of nine games this season under head coach Pete Carroll and play the Dallas Cowboys at Allegiant Stadium on Monday Night Football in two days.
Carroll answered four questions at a press conference today.
UNLV football games do not draw enough fans to open the upper bowl, but ticket deals for today’s Rebels/Utah State game are affordable, allowing fans to pay as low as $22 a ticket for a 200 level seat under a three-game $66 package. UNLV said attendance was 31,682.
UNLV football is community. Raiders games are NFL acts in Las Vegas.
UNLV has won seven of their nine games entering its game against Utah State, which led the Rebels, 13-10, at halftime. It was a rainy day in Las Vegas, which probably hurt the number of fans who entered the building today.
Before the game, stadium workers employed by concessionaire Oak View Group walked with signs at the stadium, demanding higher wages under a contract they would like with Culinary union local 226.
“It is time for this company to get this contract done and OVG has a responsibility to make these hospitality jobs good union jobs,” said Ted Pappageorge, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union.
“More than 730 cooks, servers, bartenders, and concessions workers at Allegiant Stadium show up every day to make every game day and event successful. OVG workers deserve a fair contract that protects their jobs, secures wage increases to keep up with the cost of living, and quality union health care benefits that working families rely on. OVG took over and assumed this contract, so now the company needs to step up, respect these workers, and do the right thing by settling a fair contract now,”‘ he said.
Inside the stadium, UNLV scored on a TD pass in the third quarter and led the Utah State Aggies, 17-16, with 4:32 left in the quarter.
In an even-matched game, UNLV notched a short field goal to tie the game at 23 apiece in the fourth quarter.
The game went to OT tied at 23, with Utah State kicking a field goal in overtime.
But the Rebels countered with a game-winning, walk-off touchdown by Kayden McGee in the second overtime and celebrated a 29-26 win.
UNLV is eight wins and two losses on the season, with Hawaii coming to Las Vegas to play the Rebels Friday. The Rebels are still in the hunt for a Mountain West Conference title and Friday’s showdown with Hawaii will be a crucial matchup with that big pineapple trophy on the line.