Las Vegas eSports arena opens to public
The 30,000 square foot eSports arena at Luxor Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip has opened this Thursday.
US.- eSports continue to grow worldwide in audience, players, tournaments, and prize money, with the gambling market surrounding them growing at a similar rate. With that no doubt in mind, the Las Vegas Strip opened its first eSports arena at Luxor Hotel Casino on Thursday.
The first venue of its kind on the Strip is 30,000 square feet and has three connected spaces: the front lobby, equipped with virtual reality and gaming spaces; the dome, which will offer retro gaming with consoles like Sega, Super Nintendo, and Atari; and the main hall, where the competitions will be held and pros will do what they do best on the main stage.
The arena can hold up to 1,500 people and has the ambience of a nightclub, featuring bars and other features like a multi-level arena broadcast centre and production studio, as well as a 50-foot video wall, luxury VIP lounges and 200-plus gaming stations.
“The industry itself is projected to reach US$1 billion in revenues over the next couple of years, and in Las Vegas what we are building is our championship destination,” said Jud Hannigan, CEO of Allied Esports, adding: “It’s a global phenomenon; there are almost 400 million people tuning in a watching esports on the regular.”
The first tournament is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday March 24th/25th, with gamers competing in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U with US$25,000 in prize money on the line.
