“The volume on that day was tremendous,” Dana White’s $2.3 billion ‘Sphere’ dream helped fuel historic month for Las Vegas sports betting
With twenty-six NFL favorites losing and massive upset at Dana White's UFC 306 PPV from the Sphere, Las Vegas betting sees all-time high.
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Nevada sportsbooks up $80.9 million, in part to Dana White and UFC 306 at Sphere (Source: X/IMAGO)
Dana White and his massive UFC 306 experiment from The Sphere wasn’t just a success for UFC. But the once-in-a-lifetime event also contributed to a record-breaking month for the sports betting industry in Las Vegas.
The MSG company ‘Sphere’ produced UFC’s highest-grossing event with a record $21,829,245+ gate output! By some estimates, the last count had them way above $23,000,000. Best ESPY winner and chaotic neo-fighter Sean O’Malley vs. dangerous wrestler Merab Dvalishvili served as pay-per-view (PPV) top bills for the UFC 306 PPV card.
Last September, sportsbooks in Nevada won a whopping $80.9 million in props (according to ESPN). Derek Stevens, the owner of Circa Sports, reports on it:
The volume on that day was tremendous, …That was the biggest weekend of the whole month. Every report that came out on Sunday nights and Mondays, we were saying, ‘Holy smokes, what a big weekend we had.’
Derek Stevens in a press release statement
That is the highest single-month total in the state’s history. That’s saying something considering Las Vegas is the world’s sports betting capital. The vast majority of that money came from the opening weeks of the NFL regular season. But there was about $10.4 million calculated under an “other” category that lumps together football, boxing, MMA, auto racing, golf, and tennis.
Luckily for the bookmakers in the state, September brought a Canelo Alvarez boxing match and the legendary UFC 306 event from the inside of The Sphere. Per Stevens, White’s UFC 306 pay-per-view (PPV) had the largest part in the $10 million in winnings. The fact that the pay-per-view (PPV) card featured an upset in the main event made things even more profitable.
This Noche saw White reducing the gate for UFC 306 from $25-$27 million all the way down to 21! There was also a slash in ticket pricing. Had that not happened, the sportsbook would have had even more to go on! No wonder the Sphere Abu Dhabi is in the TKO sights for the future.
New Sphere venue coming up in Abu Dhabi, UAE, with Las Vegas-style capacity
If the Las Vegas Madison Square Garden Company ‘Sphere’ was a testament to the best in a sporting telecast, there’s yet more to come. For one, WWE/UFC parent TKO Group isn’t closing the door on yet another numbered future pay-per-view (PPV) card in such a Sphere. With the DCT Abu Dhabi influence and high-rollers, such an event could be one for ages.
UFC CEO Dana White says he is done broadcasting from inside the sphere. But much of his original UFC 306 PPV footage as a monetizable post-fight media package has attracted big money and brains into the camera and haptic techs. Chief Content Officer and Executive Producer Craig Borsari is already up to using it for their own UFC grind.
With standing room for 20,000 people, Sphere Abu Dhabi will emulate the size of the original Vegas venue. The venue will also feature stunning visuals and an advanced audio-haptic feedback system. The result will be an immersive storytelling and entertainment experience, per Sphere Entertainment CEO James L. Dolan.
In partnership with the city’s Department of Culture and Tourism, the company is further establishing Abu Dhabi. It is to emerge as an entertainment hub as part of its Tourism Strategy 2030. By 2030, the initiative aims to create 178,000 direct and indirect jobs and increase annual visitor numbers to 39.3 million.
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