In 2018, the Las Vegas Golden Knights took on the Washington Capitals in what was a storybook quest for the Stanley Cup in their inaugural year. They didn’t quite make it, but playing in the finals was an achievement of itself.
Now, the Golden Knights are back in the finals again, but this time they are the favorite to win it all. Casino execs in town have mixed emotions. The visceral reaction is to cheer the hometown team, maybe paint their faces before going to the T-Mobile Arena.
The business reaction is to follow the bets and hope results make you better off financially.
Jay Kornegay, vice president of Westgate Sportsbook, talked about the liability the house faced in future bets should the Knights beat the Florida Panthers in a best-of-seven series.
“I told them the amount, and they all just dismissed it and said, ‘Go Knights Go,” Kornegay told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Derek Stevens, who co-owns Circa as well as the D Las Vegas and Golden Gate, is a major fan of the Knights, with seats behind the net cheering the team on, regardless of who wagers what and how much he stands to lose if the Knights win.
“Circa Sports is in a scenario where the house loses on the Knights winning the Cup, but we’re rooting for the Knights in every manner,” he told the Review-Journal. “We can afford to lose this, and we’ll still be open the next day. Let’s just win the Cup.”
Kornegay said his book’s losses were mitigated by the fact their power numbers had the Knights as a better team than the market suggested for much of the year, so their odds on the Knights to win weren’t as high as in some other places.
Even though more money was at risk last time, Kornegay will gladly give up the money to see the team win it all.
“Thinking back, we had a tremendous amount of liability attached to the Knights, but I think it was such a novelty and the city was so on fire that a lot of us were still rooting for the Knights despite the losses we would have incurred had they hoisted the Cup,” he told the Review-Journal.
Golden Nugget sportsbook director Tony Miller said a Knights win will be good for the business. And he can cheer the team on at the same time.
“I’m a big fan,” he said. “I’m a hometown boy and I’d be cheering for them no matter what. Last time, we would have lost on them, and we definitely needed the Capitals. It’s a two-way street. In my heart, I wanted the Knights. But I didn’t want to lose for the book, so as much as I hated to do it, I had to cheer for the house. Now we’re in a much better spot, so for me I hope it’s a 4-0 sweep for the Knights.”
That would be just fine with Stevens, though he’d be OK with a few more games too, as his property has become a prime spot for fans to gather.
“It’s been awesome,” he told the Review-Journal. “To get that energy at T-Mobile is amazing and for the road games we’ve had these unbelievable parties at Stadium Swim and in the sportsbook. We think it’s the closest environment to being at the game.”
In addition to his fandom, Stevens did a deal to put the Circa patch on the Knights jerseys, so the Cup run has mitigated some of the sportsbook losses through the increased national exposure of this postseason run.
But it’s still a bit strange for Stevens, a lifelong obsessed Detroit sports fan.
“Seeing as we’ve never seen the Lions in the Super Bowl and this is the first time we’ve been in business when the Knights made the Stanley Cup, this is the first and only time,” he said.
