Best Las Vegas Sports Bars On Or Near The Strip

Sports have always been big in Las Vegas, but in recent years spectator sporting events have become a huge draw, and sports tourism here has never been hotter. Interest in sports betting has exploded nationwide, and that carries over in a big way to visitors to Las Vegas, who want to place bets and see the action. For all these reasons, there is high demand from visitors for great places to watch, without venturing too far from the casino hotels they stay and play at, and these are the best Las Vegas sports bars on or near the Strip.

Las Vegas Is The New Sports Capitol

Las Vegas has continually pushed the boundaries of tourism and re-invented itself for different audience, all while growing visitation and years of record-breaking tourism. At various times the drivers were food, entertainment, and most recently, sports. For more on this phenomenon, read my Forbes story, “Best City For Sports Fans: Why Las Vegas Has Something For Every Taste And Budget.”

As recently as seven years ago, Vegas was the largest U.S. city without a team in any of the four major pro sports, but since then they have landed the NHL, NFL and MLB in rapid-fire succession, as well as a WNBA team and franchises in everything from pro lacrosse to arena football, plus high-profile minor league teams in baseball (AAA), hockey (AHL) and basketball (NBA G League). The latest persistent rumor is of an NBA expansion team coming, which would complete the city’s pro sports Grand Slam.

The city has also quietly hosted the nation’s biggest rodeo, the National Finals Rodeo (NFR), for more than three decades, with annual average attendance well over 160,000 since a break for COVID in 2020. There is also an annual PGA Tour golf tournament. The recent media hoopla around the arrival of Formula 1—the biggest event of any kind in the city—has overshadowed the fact that Las Vegas is home to two different annual races in NASCAR—the most popular auto racing series in the country.

Las Vegas has always been big on one-off spectacles, from heavyweight fights to stunts to special events, and this remains the case, but the ante has been upped with the growth of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), often holding the biggest bouts here, and made for TV pro golf events such as The Match.

Just before Thanksgiving, the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix was held, and according to Formula 1 spokespeople, attendance was over 300,000. This year also saw the first Super Bowl here, and a new Major League Baseball stadium is under way on the Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard).

Live sports have become a huge magnet for tourism, but it’s worth noting that Las Vegas is also a hugely popular destination for marquee sporting events—even when they are held someplace else. The Super Bowl had never been in Vegas before this year, yet for decades it has been one of the busiest tourism days in the city. The Final Four has never been held here, yet all of March Madness is a huge attendance draw, as are the Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup, baseball playoffs and World Series, the NBA Finals, and every four years, World Cup soccer.

Casino Sports Books

Recently a college friend asked me for Las Vegas travel advice, as have dozens of other acquaintances over the years.

He was planning a guys’ sports trip, and they basically wanted to spend a weekend in Vegas watching college basketball and football on Saturday and NFL football on Sunday, while drinking and eating and betting the whole time. He had not been to Vegas in a very long time and imagined his group sitting in the sports book scoring free drinks while watching games and hitting the betting windows. He asked me which sports book would be best.

My answer? None of them.

Sports books have changed a lot in the 30-plus years I have been writing about all things Las Vegas. Free drinks are much harder to come by than in the past, especially for sports other than horse racing, and often require substantial bets just to get a free drink ticket, which is often good only for domestic beer or a well drink. Other options are generally overpriced, as is food, which is usually subpar compared to the many other excellent offerings outside the sports book. Most of the books are not especially comfortable, especially for larger groups that want to be able to chat and enjoy each other’s company, the way they would at a buddy’s home. The best seating usually requires reservations, often limited to established members of casino loyalty programs, and the more elaborate books that have living room style boxes usually have reservation fees and/or high food and drink minimums.

Finally, while they might have all the big games on multiple TVs, they also have horse racing from half a dozen tracks, auto racing, and every other pro sport event happening anywhere, a huge distraction for fans of a particular game.

But the biggest change is that every major cariso has gone to an app-based virtual sports book, so you can bet from anywhere in the casino—or anywhere in Nevada, while there are still often long lines at the actual betting windows. Your phone now frees you from the tyranny of the sports book as a bettor, so why not also break free of the food, beverage, viewing and creature comfort constraints? Even if you have a preferred casino or casino company, you can visit any sports bar in the city and still easily place bets there.

Why Fans Should Choose A Sports Bar

For sports fans who like good food, drink and watching the games they want to watch, whether they are betting or not, a sports bar is usually the better answer. It is often a better buy as well.

The best have plenty of TVs, and not only is what you want going to be on, you can probably have the TV nearest to you tuned to the game of your choice. The food menu is generally better, often much better, and in many cases cheaper. Ditto for adult beverages. Service is almost always going to be significantly better than in the sports book, where trying to get a drink can be a full-time job. And unlike the casino sports books, where it’s the same all the time, many sports bars run specials and often offer discounts and deals on the most popular game days—like every Sunday in NFL season.

Finally there’s the physical comfort. You can block a table or seating area just for your group and hang out, just as you would in your living room at home, but in a way that is often impossible in the rows of seats and high tops most sports books offer. Yes, there are few that have boxes with couch style seating and their own TVs, mirrored on the poolside cabanas now the norm in the city, but just like those, these tend to have very high upfront costs and/or minimums, and a good sports bar is going to be a better deal, and often better in every way.

Best Las Vegas Sports Bars On (Or Near) The Strip

If saving money is your sole rationale, there are lots of value-focused local options off the Strip. In addition, the more local-centric casinos, like the Station properties, have very good sports bars, as does the sports-centric Circa in Downtown “Old” Las Vegas. But you probably did not go to Vegas to do everything on the cheap, and if you are staying in one of the major casino resorts on the Strip, which is likely, just about every one of those has a sports bar you can enjoy without leaving, taking a ride share or taxi. Plus, you’ll still have easy access to the sports book if you want to put down a bet without using an app. Also, many take reservations without requiring you to have any casino or gambling status.

But some are better than others, and these are my favorites.

Beer Park, Paris Casino Resort

This is my number one pick for several reasons. It is centrally located on the Strip and easy to walk to from just about every property, even if you are not staying at Paris. But you might want to, as the hotel just wrapped up a $100 million renovation, and is one of the best buys in town. The work included a new 750-room tower with some of the largest standard rooms on the Strip.

Beer Park is mostly al fresco, on a terrace overlooking the Strip, with outside access via one a staircase directly from the sidewalk, plus easy access from inside the casino resort. Unlike many Vegas bars and restaurants where you have to wander through the vast property after arriving, you can be seated at Beer Park one minute after reaching the front of Paris. There is also indoor seating, but I love the outside, where tables are semi-covered and have heaters in the winter and misters in the summer. There are TVs everywhere, it’s spacious, service is friendly and efficient, the food and drink menu is extensive and reasonable, and everything I have had there has been quite good. It is elevated bar food with things like smoked brisket sliders, very good wings and excellent burgers. They have a very extensive draft beer selection, and always offer 4-beer flights you create yourself.

They have tables for two, four, six and eight you can reserve for game days, and larger parties can combine in advance, for instance, a table for four and eight for a dozen people. Bookings carry a reasonable food and beverage minimum spend you would likely hit anyway, with no extra fees and virtually unlimited time. As an example, a Sunday NFL reservation requires a $100 per person food and beverage buy, buts that’s easy to do in three hours, and much easier to do in 12, since reservations on Sunday start at 9AM and you can keep the table through the last game of the day, usually Sunday Night Football.

Thursday Night Football which is shorter, has just a $50 required spend. They are now booking the first round of the March Madness, the NCAA tournament, with a $200 per person minimum, and that’s for all day. There are packages for Saturday College, Monday Night Football, etc., and on many Saturdays and Sundays in college and pro football season they offer a buffet brunch with tons of food, including omelet station, lox and bagels, etc. for just $35, with the option of adding bottomless mimosas or a bloody Mary bar for $35 more, and that runs 9AM-2PM. Bear in mind that in Vegas, 1PM games start at 10AM, so brunch runs through the entire first round of games.

Mabel’s Bar & Q, Palms Casino Resort

The Palms isn’t on the Strip, but it’s much closer than downtown, and a very cool hotel that has undergone a lot of recent improvements. The sporting highlight here is a bit of an under the radar hidden gem, more restaurant than sports bar, though there are plenty of TVs.

This is another go-to favorite spot of mine that I heartily recommend, not only because you can beat the crowds, but due to the fact that Mabel’s is run by Cleveland celebrity chef, James Beard Award winner and and cookbook author Michael Symon, a widely acclaimed meat-expert who makes some of the best barbecue in the country, and certainly among the best in Vegas, a city that has always come up surprisingly short on real deal smoked meat, especially in the casino resorts.

This is by far the top choice for people who want ribs, brisket, pulled pork or such with their sports, there are more than 30 beers on tap, and the clincher is a nice slate of “Game Day Tailgate” food specials, like decadent brisket grilled cheese, a bratwurst, ribs and wings platter, and much more. There are drink specials for Monday Night Football, Thursday Night Football, and all-day Sunday Football, with more to come when football season is over. For instance, next up is a special menu and “Cowboy Tailgate” for the National Rodeo Finals (NFR) in December, something few sports bars package deals around.

“When I think about the perfect game day, it’s all about great food, cold drinks, and the energy of fans cheering on their teams,” says Chef Michael Symon. “At Mabel’s, we’ve created a place where all of that comes together—amazing BBQ, a fun and welcoming atmosphere, and a menu that’s got something for everyone.”

This season’s NFL deals include $5 drafts of Modelo, Bud Light and 805 Firestone, $5 Jameson, $10 Codigo Tequila Margaritas, discounted beer pitchers, buckets and towers, and even all-you-can-drink mimosas for $32. This is half the price—or less—of what you would pay at most sports books, with much better food in a great setting, and if you want an easy place to go watch sports that is also a top dining pick, this is it.

Eight Cigar Lounge, Resorts World Las Vegas

This is my hidden gem pick in one of my very favorite casino resorts, and a luxury experience—coupled with some shocking deals on drinks.

Eight Cigar Lounge is where many icons of professional sports go to watch professional sports, and those spotted indulging here have included NBA legends Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, MLB star Alex “A-Rod” Rodriguez, NFL Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, and WNBA champs Alysha Clark and Chelsea Gray. Eight is a fancy cigar retailer with walk-in humidor on one side, and next door is the bar and lounge. It is upscale, with plush seating and big screen TVs, more cocktail lounge than sports bar, and also has an expansive outdoor terrace, a Las Vegas rarity.

But in addition to the menu of premium cigars, they have crazy football deals like $6 Coronas (or a bucket of six for $30), $14 Belvedere vodka and Voclan tequila cocktails, and a Hennessy cognac Old Fashioned for $18. The food is by highly-acclaimed Chef Nicole Brisson of Brezza, just down the hall, which is the best fine dining Italian eatery in Las Vegas (no small thing with so much stiff competition) and one of the best in the U.S. She rolls out elevated game day snacks such as Lollipop Buffalo Wings and much more, and does it on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays in football season. Other sports can be viewed here in style, and it is THE place to go for games of hometown NHL heroes the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

This is a classy yet surprisingly affordable choice, but reservations are highly recommended. Read more about what makes Resorts World and its dining, including Brezza, so special here at Forbes.

Honorable Mention, Dawg House, Resorts World Las Vegas

Also in Resorts World, this one is sort of a hybrid, a sports bar at the sports book—and I wish there were more like it. You get the sports bar vibe and comforts, lots of TVs, better food and extensive menu, you can make reservations, and the betting is right next door. But while its reasonably priced, there are no Game Day specials or Happy Hour deals. Dawg House is a top pick for those who don’t use a betting app and want access to the live windows.

Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Sports Kitchen, The Horseshoe

Everyone knows that Emmy-award winning chef and TV star Guy Fieri is “The Mayor of Flavortown,” but not everyone knows that he is a huge sports fan and UNLV alum. Nor does everyone know that the former Bally’s casino resort was rebranded as the Horseshoe, in honor of the original Binion’s Horseshoe Downtown, which no longer exists. Binion’s was the birthplace of the famed World Series of Poker, currently held at the Horseshoe and Paris next door.

Now that we’ve cleared that up, Fieri opened Flavortown Sports Kitchen, a new addition to his restaurant empire, this summer in the Horseshoe, with dozens of HD screens and his uniquely bold take on American bar standards, including a slate of jumbo burgers, the signature “Winner, Winner Chicken dinner” (fried), and his famous Trash Can nachos with smoked brisket.

There is a big island bar with regular TVs, a massive sports book-style video wall for the tables, and a bookable MVP Lounge with living room-style couch seating. With a $25 booking fee, it’s one of the best such deals in town. Game day specials or Happy Hours are not a thing here currently, but food and drink is still a good deal and better quality then most sports books, and they do have discounted group food and drink packages for a crowd (14 or more), starting with a $100 per person four course menu.

BrewDog

This two-level rooftop spot is a pure sports bar that is right on the Strip but not in a hotel. It sits directly across Las Vegas Boulevard from the Park MGM resort, and as its name suggests, BrewDog has more than 30 beers on tap—and an onsite microbrewery. They take reservations and have a huge menu that runs the gamut from breakfast to bar snacks to live fire cooked steaks and seafood.

Every sporting event is given priority here, and it is especially popular for the Golden Knights—especially with a 25% discount for anyone wearing Knights gear on game days. While there are no other game day-specific deals, they do have host of specials all week long, from weekday 3-6PM Happy Hour to $5 Bloody Mary’s on Sunday mornings (during football) and all you can eat pizza and wing deals on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Many of these above options are also good places to book for the biggest days in sports, such as the Super Bowl, and often have special “Big Game” packages. But no matter what your favorite team or game is, these are some of the best Las Vegas sports bars on or near the Strip.