F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix a win for sportsbooks and viewers; for locals, not so much

LAS VEGAS — In the end, it was another exciting Formula One race that Max Verstappen won — something he’d done 17 other times this F1 season. But it was certainly a long and winding road to get there.

For locals (and tourists alike), there weren’t many cheap viewing options for the first-ever Las Vegas Grand Prix — which also included a disastrous eight-minute opening practice session on Thursday night, followed by an unapologetic statement from F1 and subsequent class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of the 35,000 people who bought tickets for the session.

Increased traffic around Vegas — and especially the Las Vegas Strip — in the months leading up to the race incensed many locals and taxi drivers, who continually had routine rides take much longer due to construction. Palm trees in the middle of the Strip were removed and covered fences were put up alongside the track, lest any viewer get a glimpse of the action without paying for it.

I watched the race at Stadium Swim at Circa in Downtown Las Vegas, which offered free admission for the Red Bull Watch Party. On a chilly and windy night by Las Vegas standards, there were no chairs available soon after the doors opened at 10 p.m. local time and people were standing — many wrapped in a towel or two — to watch the race on the big screen.

Loud cheers went up for the countdown to the start of the race, and stayed throughout — especially when a favorite of someone in the crowd passed another driver.

And even though there were plenty of hiccups along the way, the event looked fantastic on TV — with shots of the Sphere and Vegas Strip interspersed with cars going 200 miles per hour. It was certainly a spectacle befitting Las Vegas, although the U.S. audience seemed to be somewhat ignored by the 1 a.m. ET (10 p.m. PT) start time.

In terms of the betting, For The Win spoke to multiple Las Vegas bookmakers and every one of them said that it was the most-bet F1 race in history — while also noting that it wasn’t a particularly high bar to clear. Several high-rollers coming into town were more likely to bet six figures on college football on Saturday than the race — although one bettor at BetMGM did win $50,000 on a $100,000 bet on Max Verstappen to win at -200 odds.

“We knew it was going to be the highest handle of any auto race we booked, it was a just a matter of how much it was going to be,” Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading at Caesars Sportsbook said. “We just didn’t know what to expect because auto racing isn’t a huge betting sport. Very surprised, very happy and a good result with Verstappen winning the race. Local people might have a different view, but as far as racing goes and the betting we were happy.”

Another sportsbook had a similar refrain, noting that it won with the result, but only would’ve won with two drivers, Verstappen one of them; the book was a seven-figure loser to more than half the field.

Or as Chris Andrews succinctly put it, “F1 was good. Sunday [in the NFL] was awful.”

In the end, the race looked fantastic on television for those who stayed up late enough to watch. Will subsequent races draw as big a crowd and create less of a headache for Vegas locals?

Those are questions for another time. For Vegas, all eyes now turn to the Super Bowl.