Sports bars on the Strip?

I've been lurking for a while, and now have a questions for the experts. I'm making plans for my second trip to Las Vegas in Feb 2017. I'm going for a conference at Wynn/Encore. (The conference is held there every two years, so I hopefully have many trips to come!).

The last day of the conference happens to be on the day of the first UNC-Duke basketball game of the season (Go Heels!). I'm a UNC alum, and planning to watch the game (starts at 5pm PT) then squeeze in a final gambling session before I head to the airport. I need recommendations for a place to watch.

I'm a woman in her early 30's traveling alone. I'm fine with typical sports bar behavior - yelling at the refs, cheering, and even mild heckling among patrons. With that said, I have a pretty low tolerance for angry drunks and harassment, especially the type that surfaces when someone realizes they are about to lose a bunch of money. I have to be in conference sessions until noon-ish on the day of the game, so I can't camp out in a sports book all day. In short - I'm looking for a place with TVs that will let me reserve a seat at the bar, and that will be reasonably comfortable for a solo-woman sports fan. What are the best options?

 

I don't know of any place that will let you reserve a seat at the bar. Been to Vegas many many times and never seen any unsavory behavior in a sports bar. Security has a very low tolerance for that. Sports book/bar at Wynn is very nice. I watch a lot of sports at Cromwell and Palazzo at their VP bars. All the VP bars have TVs and they will probably put that game on for you.

 

I second the Go Heels!!

Regarding sports books....you shouldn't have any issues finding a "bar seat" at any nice casino and the rowdiness will be at a min.

 

Wife and I watched a Thursday night football game at Tap Sports Bar at MGM. Once you come across the bridge at NYNY it's pretty close to the entrance of MGM. You don't have to walk six miles to get there. We enjoyed the food, drink and atmosphere.

The only draw is that it is open to the casino and sports book area with window openings. We sat at a table near that area and the sportsbook tv's were ahead of the tvs in the pub. So people were cheering or booing before we knew what was going on.

 

You're won't feel uncomfortable or have to hear profanity laced tirades at any sportsbook on the strip it's not tolerated...the only book I know that tolerates such antics is Binions, you could kill someone in there and not one eyebrow would be raised..

 

When you say bar seat, are you referring to a casino that has a bartop that has video poker at it so you can possibly procure "free" drinks while playing?

I dunno how busy it gets during events because I've never played there during sporting hours, but I would consider Cosmo sports book if you want decent VP paytables and a nice new video board. But they also have the voucher system on bartop VP now, so you will have to play more than some places to get "free" drinks. And Wynn/Encore doesn't offer comp drinks at their bars at all, fyi. It's a thursday night game, so traffic shouldn't be so bad I would think almost anywhere. Maybe Mirage might be close to full...I see their Sportsbook bar busy a lot.

A nice sportsbook that probably won't be crowded at all is Venetian...but unfortunately most of their bartop paytables suck badly.

 

Hubby is a HUGE college sports fan...he loves watching games at the bar in Vegas. Like you, he's not crazy about sports books a's people are more tense/betting on games, versus just enjoying.

He really liked Blondies in PH. Our server at 550 in Aria turned him onto it, as it's his favorite spot too. (A local employee referral, a good sign.)

He tried the tiled kilt but didn't like it as much...Blondies was the place he loved. (Not sure it its too far for you though.)

 

Thanks for all the responses!

I'm not a huge drinker, especially when I'm about to board a red eye (alcohol makes it harder for me to sleep, plus makes motion sickness worse). VP would be nice in terms of killing time while I wait for the game to start, but not necessary for free drinks, and I definitely will not be playing during the game - I can't imagine how many VP errors I would make! It's good to know the sportsbooks keep behavior in line - drunk men angry about sports it one of the least pleasant social scenarios I can think of. Also good to know I can get a seat at a bar with relative ease - I'm used to lining up at 10am to get into bars for this game, and seeing information about crowds for regular season NFL games had me worried that bars would be packed early for UNC-Duke.

 

Go across the street to Lagasse's at the Palazzo. Great seating and food selections.

 

I'm not entirely clear as to whether you just want a place to watch the game or are looking for food, etc as well. As has been said, there are plenty of available bars in Vegas you'll find one. UNC/Duke won't be a real hot ticket in terms of watching the game outside of the books, so you should find a place to watch fairly easily.

But assuming you just want a stool to watch in a sportsbook with VP, I would suggest the Venetian sportsbook. Arrive a bit early and play some VP and tip the bartender well. Mention you want to come back for the game and he will likely reserve you a spot. My wife and I got reserved seats for the first game of the NBA finals that way, as well as numerous other events over the years. Oftentimes the reserved spots weren't needed, but the NBA game stands out because the place was packed with GS fans. We learned very early on in our Vegas lives that treating the sportsbook bartenders well has many, many advantages.

If you're looking for more of a food/bar experience, there are more traditional sports bars like Tilted Kilt and BW's down the strip, but those are more restaurants than bars. Just depends what you're looking for.

 

May want to contact the local UNC Carolina Club and see if they do a game watch at a certain bar?

http://lasvegas.unc.alumnispaces.com/

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks! I had checked for a Las Vegas Carolina Club a few weeks ago, and it looked like they were inactive. Good to know it's back in business. Hopefully they will have enough interest to keep it going until February.

 

+1 another vote for Blondies, solid bar to watch games