March Madness 2015 Easiest Sportsbook to get into

My buddy an I would like to sit and watch basketball the entire opening weekend. My host has a 'request' in for the MGM sportsbook skybox, but I have little faith in this happening. What do you recommend? We play on doing less than $100 in sports betting, but would still like to get free of cheap drinks.

I do bet a lot more on the floor. I am a platinum MLife member. Help please

 

Similar situation here -- MLife platinum who will be out the second weekend of the tourney. It's tough to get a reserved spot in any MGM book for the tourney. It's a popular event. But I'd say just go to the people who help you most frequently at each MGM property. That'll give you a chance. One angle I'm eyeing is to make a reservation at Five50 at Aria, which is just off the book and affords plenty of TVs. Good place to watch games. And they're on OpenTable.

 

midwestmidroller, A buddy and I are in the same boat and put in the same request for first round of games, I have less faith than you being just a pearl m-life member. My thought is they are looking for groups to fill the Skyboxes as one of them seats 10 and the other 2 hold 20-30. so, Maybe gather a group together? We'd be interested. I have another friend who suggested the LVH (now westgate) for cheap drinks and food with ample seating(I hear 1500 seats?) and no cover. Mandalay Bay sounds like it might be a good place too. We're staying at NYNY (because MGM's deal's are blacked-out) and would prefer to goto to MGM over the others.

 

pokernut -- I've done March Madness at Mandalay before. Probably my favorite book. Love watching there.

 

Danny, I appreciate the feedback, might push me in that direction. I take it there's plenty of seating there? how are they on drinks?

 

I haven't been for March Madness in a few years, but as I recall all the sports book are packed. They fill up early and their cheap drinks usually involve a $5 beer or some sort of bucket. LVH opens up their theater and it has a massive screen that gets portioned off so every game is shown and its plenty big. Tons of smoke free seating and a snack bar and full bar. They have reasonably priced drinks and food specials. It's similar to their Sunday nfl setup. The days of hanging out in a sportsbook getting free drinks for minimal bets are gone I'm afraid. Most want $100 bet for one drink ticket.

 

None of the strip books are going to fill al your requests. Westgate does have a great free set up, but you will be paying for drinks there. TI has a ballroom they open that is free. You can get adventurous and head off the strip and fill your list. All the books on the strip will be overflowing first weekend. 2nd weekend is no problem at all

 

I can't help but respond when people mention drink tickets for high bets. I have to laugh sometimes when I make a $50 ML bet on an MLB game and get a drink ticket at Aria, and then the next day I followed up with a $150 bet and got nothing. I'm not sure if this inconsistency is the same for everyone else; but, I always found that to be comical.

 

First off... I've done the first weekend of MM twice in Vegas.. getting there Wednesday evening and leaving on Sunday. I've also been to Vegas many other times and I can say that out of all the times I've been, MM is probably the most packed that I've ever seen Vegas. It's hard to even walk down the street it's so crowded. I've never been for a Super Bowl, but I would imagine the first weekend of MM takes the cake for people on the strip.

I was at Aria a few years ago and the sports book was so packed you couldn't even walk down the hallway to get into the sports book. People were crowded around the bar outside of the sports book and all the way into the sports book. Forget placing a bet... no chance of that happening... but you couldn't even see a TV it was so crowded. It was like that everywhere we went... and we went all over. We tried to hit Blondies and there was a crowd around the bar... we couldn't even see a TV or get close to one outside the bar.

So, if you're planning on watching at a sports book. Get there very early... like sleep there overnight kind of early. Or get there at 4am. That's what I'd do. I've done many football Sundays in Vegas and if you're not in the sports book 2.5 hours early on football Sunday, you aren't getting a prime seat and you may not even get a seat being that early. During the AFC/NFC championship weekend, we cruised into the sports book around 9am and it was slammed with people saving seats and the games weren't even on until 1pm. MM is on a whole 'nother level and requires being even earlier to get seats.

Bring your own booze too. Fat chance the drink lady won't be busy and it'll be really tough to get a drink. Grab a small flask of Jack Daniels in the Miracle Mile spirit shop and throw it in your back pocket. Tip the drink girl heavily to turn a blind eye and bring you cokes. That's what I've done in the past. They still make money and you get drinks on your schedule. Everyone's happy.

Drink tickets are at the discretion of the ticket writer. They have rules on amounts to bet to get one... sometimes you have to ask for them... sometimes you don't. The rules are loosely enforced.

If you tip the ticket writer drink tickets flow pretty freely. If you're not cool with them they won't give you anything. So, a $50 is lucky to get a ticket. $150 bet should have gotten one.

 

Undathesea may have over-exaggerated a bit (IMO), but he pretty much hit the nail on the head. March madness is nuts. If you want a seat (and free), then you better head off strip or get to the TI or Westgate very early.

And your inquiry about the skyboxes is a pipe-dream (sorry). Those skyboxes are the most prime real estate in the sportsbook, and they will be reserved for the biggest whales the casino can find.

 

The TI ballroom usually has open seats, but hard to find seating for more than 4 in a group until 5 pm or later. A couple years ago we went down to Riviera for their free viewing party. Mainly just because they were having 3 on 3 contests with strippers from the rhino. And we couldn't wait to see a stripper sprain an ankle while playing with 5 inch heels on. Then laying on the ground in pain and not realizing how this happened. It was completely dead in there. A huge ballroom and maybe 30 people in there. Could of held 300. Buckets of beer were cheap. 16ounch aluminum bud light for 2.50. cheap mixers. And huge screens everywhere to watch all the games. They had some betting stations up also so easy to put bets in with no lines. Don't know if they have done it since. My guess is no since it was so dead.