Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas is hosting the League of Legends’ North American League Championship Series in April, cementing Las Vegas as a popular destination for eSports and its biggest events.
Unlike traditional sporting competitions, eSports occur in virtual reality and are played by skilled gaming competitors, either individually or on teams.
The new competitive gaming genre is growing in popularity among millennials, who grew up playing interactive video and online games and have greatly differing recreational and betting preferences than their older counterparts, who made slots the top money-driver in Nevada casinos for decades.
With the gaming industry looking at new ways to embrace millennial bettors and ensure their patronage for decades to come, Las Vegas casinos are looking at eSports as a likely winner, and studies show millennials greatly prefer interactive, skills-based gaming over traditional slots and table games.
The League of Legends’ April 17 grand final at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas marks the first time the competition has been held outside of Los Angeles, and allows teams to qualify for the world championships later this year.
The Downtown Grand last year began hosting a professional eSports team from Australia, which trained in a special gaming area where casino patrons could watch the action. The Downtown Grand indicated it likely will continue hosting the team when it trains for big eSports competitions, and it provides a unique attraction for younger bettors.
Interest in eSports gaming competitions also carry over into poker.
Alexandre Dreyfus in February launched the Global Poker League, in which a dozen teams compete in timed Texas Hold ‘Em games that Dreyfus says will start airing online in March.
Dreyfus also plans a championship round this summer that he plans to stream live from a large venue and anticipates drawing large paying crowd.
He says he came up with the idea after watching tens of thousands of fans enjoying video game competitions during a recent video game convention, and decided poker needs to hold similar events to attract younger players to Texas Hold ‘Em.
Chinese investors are backing the Global Poker League with $5 million, and Dreyfus wants to league to generate $300 million in revenues from merchandising, ticket sales, and media by 2020.
And other Chinese investors are considering making Las Vegas part of an international eSports circuit by building a dedicated eSports venue capable of seating up to 14,000, although the proposed project is a long way from fruition.
