Spectator Sports

Las Vegas isn't known for its sports teams. Except for minor-league baseball and hockey, the only consistent spectator sports are those at UNLV. For the pros, if watching Triple A ball (in this case, a Los Angeles Dodgers farm team) in potentially triple-degree heat sounds like fun, the charmingly named and even-better merchandized Las Vegas 51s (as in Area 51, as in alien-themed gear!) is a hot ticket. The team's schedule and ticket info are available at www.lv51.com, or call tel. 702/386-7200. Ice hockey might be a better climate choice; get info for the Las Vegas Wranglers at www.lasvegaswranglers.com or tel. 702/471-7825.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway is a main venue for car racing that draws major events to Las Vegas.

Because the city has several top-notch sporting arenas, important annual events take place in Las Vegas, details for which can be found in the "Las Vegas Calendar of Events" in chapter 2. The LPGA Tour's Takefuji Classic is held every April, and the PGA Tour's Frys.com Open takes place in Las Vegas every October. The National Finals Rodeo is held in UNLV's Thomas and Mack Center in December. From time to time, you'll find NBA exhibition games, professional ice-skating competitions, or gymnastics exhibitions. Then there are the only-in-Vegas spectaculars, such as Evel Knievel's ill-fated attempt to jump the fountains in front of Caesars.

Finally, Las Vegas is well known as a major location for boxing matches. These are held in several Strip hotels, most often at Caesars or the MGM Grand, but sometimes at The Mirage. Tickets are hard to come by and quite expensive.

Tickets to sporting events at hotels are available either through Ticketmaster (tel. 702/893-3000; www.ticketmaster.com) or through the hotels themselves. (Why pay Ticketmaster's exorbitant service charges if you don't have to?)

Major Sports Venues in Hotels

Caesars Palace (tel. 800/634-6698 or 702/731-7110) has a long tradition of hosting sporting events, from Evel Knievel's attempted motorcycle jump over its fountains in 1967 to Gran Prix auto races. Mary Lou Retton has tumbled in gymnastic events at Caesars, and Olympians Brian Boitano and Katarina Witt have taken to the ice, as has Wayne Gretzky. And well over 100 world-championship boxing contests have taken place here since the hotel opened. In the spirit of ancient Rome, Caesars awards riches and honors to the "gladiators" who compete in its arenas.

The MGM Grand's Garden Events Arena (tel. 800/929-1111 or 702/891-7777) is a major venue for professional boxing matches, rodeos, tennis, ice-skating shows, World Figure Skating Championships, and more.

Mandalay Bay (tel. 877/632-7400) has hosted a number of boxing matches in its 12,000-seat Events Center.