Best Sportsbooks In Las Vegas (2012)

Earlier this year Forbes put together a list of the best sportsbooks in Las Vegas. I speculated that it may have paid for by MGM Resorts, by their numerous sportsbooks on the list. Between that list and talking about my favorite sportsbooks in Las Vegas on the Betting Dork podcast I wanted to come up with a list of my own.

If you follow my writing on Vegas Chatter, you already know some of the list. Here are my best sportsbooks in Las Vegas.

Lagasse’s Stadium (Palazzo) – By far my favorite sportsbook in Las Vegas. Besides being a sportsbook where you can place bets and watch games, it’s a restaurant with decent enough food and waitress service. There is a lot of seating options as well as a patio with couches and a pool table. Lagasse’s Stadium also has it’s own little casino (blackjack, etc) if the games get boring. Take a look at a review I did after my first visit, so I can stop gushing.
Red Rock Casino – I’m biased because this is my home casino. Distance aside, this sportsbook is one of my favorites for a few reasons. The Red Rock sportsbook is one of the larger sportsbooks in Las Vegas. It has 2 giant TV screens with ample auxiliary screens. There are about 16 lounge chairs to relax in and desk style seating for hundreds. The vibe here is always good, but it’s great during football season and perfectly relaxing during baseball season. Also, drink tickets are given and drinks are cheap after you run out of freebies. The only negative here is that it’s about 25 minutes off the strip.
Venetian – The Venetian sportsbook is newly remodeled and that gives it the newest HD screens in Vegas. Besides having new crisp picture, the screens are huge. The lighting is also designed to enhance the viewing. While Cantor Gaming produces a very sterile, cold, not very comfortable (the seating feels like sitting at a work station) environment to watch games it’s impossible to dismiss how great the games look here. Cocktail service is slow and there are no drink tickets, but the screens here are beautiful.
Mandalay Bay – I’ve spent quite a few Sundays watching football at the Mandalay Bay sportsbook. It’s nice sized with plenty of decent sized TV’s. There are desks and chairs for a couple hundred people. There’s also seating at the bar where you’ll have to buy drinks, but this seating is more comfortable. Even better is that just sitting at the bar playing video poker you can get free drinks. This is one of the few sportsbooks in Las Vegas that I’ve seen show boxing. The crowd is great and has a great draw for soccer if that’s your cup of tea.
Mirage, Bellagio and Caesars Palace – Older sportsbooks that could use a freshening up with their TV screens and seating.
Aria and MGM Grand – Aria is a newer casino and MGM Grand is recently remodeled. Both have nice screens, but aren’t very big.

That covers just about every sportsbook that matters to me in Las Vegas. There’s one glaring omission, which I’ll discuss separately when I get into the most overrated sportsbooks in Las Vegas.