About 1,000 fans gathered Wednesday afternoon and evening before a towering 40-by-120-foot, 78-million-pixel screen to watch the United States take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in a do-or-die FIFA World Cup Round of 32 match.
The crowd was not just cheering for the United States. Many had money on the match at the world’s largest sportsbook inside Circa, turning a World Cup elimination game into a high-stakes betting event.
“It’s stressful,” said A.J. Slattenow, a tourist from Iowa who placed $100 on United States forward Folarin Balogun to be the game’s first goalscorer at +420 odds. “I only watch the World Cup for the U.S., so these are the only games I’m watching. When you got money on it, it makes it more interesting for sure.”
In the match’s 31st minute, Balogun appeared to have scored the match’s opener.
“It hit, it hit,” Slattenow shouted in celebration. “That’s our guy right there.”
Unfortunately, the goal was disallowed for offside.
Rest assured, Balogun later scored the game’s first goal at the stroke of halftime to net Slattenow $420 and help the United States advance to the Round of 16, where they will play Belgium.
Las Vegas as a World Cup destination
While Las Vegas is not hosting any World Cup matches this year, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority has pitched the city as the ideal place to watch the competition.
It claims events such as the aforementioned gathering allow people to immerse themselves in the World Cup atmosphere while circumventing the pricey tickets to attend games.
“The World Cup is about more than what happens on the field, it’s about the energy of the fans,” said Kate Wik, chief marketing officer for the LVCVA. “No city unleashes fan energy like Las Vegas. We pride ourselves on being the host city for fans, bringing people together across the destination with the scale, entertainment and hospitality that only Vegas can deliver. For fans without tickets, this is where every watch party has stadium-level energy and the celebration keeps going long after the final whistle.”
Between June 11 and 24, Circa welcomed more guests from 69 countries than it did during the same period last year, according to an internal report shared by the hotel-casino.
Among those included 30 countries that qualified for the World Cup.
“There’s been a large uptick (in visitation) in June of 2026 compared to June of 2025 and the variety of different countries that we’ve seen visitors from,” said Mike Palm, vice president of operations for Circa. “We tie that to fact that the World Cup has been not only hosted this year, but hosted in the United States. Like we said about the Super Bowl for many years, maybe Las Vegas is the best place to watch games outside of being at the actual stadium. It costs a lot less. We have some incredible venues here. Stadium Swim if you like the outside atmosphere. Our sportsbook inside if you prefer that kind of venue.”
For the last five years, an average of 7 percent of Las Vegas visitors said that the primary purpose of their trip was to gamble, according to a study by the LVCVA.
Palm expects that figure to increase this year because of the World Cup.
Broader World Cup betting trends
The United States and soccer’s biggest stars dominated betting interest during the group stage, which ended on June 26, according to Mark Bickerdike, head of soccer for Caesars Sportsbook.
The five most-bet matches on Caesars by both tickets and handles included all three of the United States’ group stage games against Paraguay, Australia and Turkey. Because of its victories over Paraguay and Australia, bettors also became optimistic about the United States’ chances of winning its first-ever World Cup, despite those odds ranging from just +5000 to +2800 on Caesars as the group stage progressed.
“The USA has clearly been our top selection in the ‘Tournament Winner’ market,” Bickerdike said. “That was anticipated to an extent as the host nation, but early victories over Paraguay and Australia sparked a notable surge in both bets and handles. They currently account for 10.4 percent of our handle and 13.9 percent of total wagers.”
Among Las Vegas bettors, player prop markets — specifically the “Anytime Goalscorer” and “Player to Score 2 or More” markets — are popular betting choices. Bickerdike attributes this to the successes of Argentina’s Lionel Messi, France’s Kylian Mbappé and Norway’s Erling Haaland. These players — all of whom are widely recognized as three of the sport’s best players — combined to score in seven of their eight played group stage matches. Haaland did not appear in Norway’s final group stage game.
Moreover, Messi, Mbappé and Haaland each recorded at least two goals in a match twice during the group stage.
“Whenever a star takes the field, it results in a sweat across the trading floor,” Bickerdike said.
Overall, betting on the World Cup has exceeded Caesars’ expectations.
Bickerdike highlighted strong handle performance, particularly in future markets.
“We expect that momentum to continue as we move into the knockout stages and matches become more competitive,” Bickerdike said. “This will only be enhance further should the (United States Men’s National Team) have a deep run in the tournament.”
Contact Alex Streinger at astreinger@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5505. Follow @AlexPStreinger on X.
