Paris Opens Overhauled Sportsbook and Bar
Originally published at Vital Vegas
Paris Las Vegas has quietly unveiled its refreshed sportsbook.
The main sportsbook reopened in mid-February (right after the Super Bowl, don’t ask questions), and the adjoining bar opened a month later.
Here’s a look at the sportsbook.
We haven’t visited since the sportsbook reopened, so thanks to our friend @JamesinLasVegas for the pics. Let’s just say James gets around.
Yes, the retooled sportsbook is a smidge on the sparse side.
That’s because for most casinos, sportsbooks are an amenity for guests, they don’t add a lot to the bottom line, so the amount of capital invested in them tends to reflect that reality.
The minimal effort design aesthetic extends into the sportsbook’s bar, where the furniture is reminiscent of something you’d get on Facebook Marketplace. All due respect.
Hey, it’ll do in a pinch.
The recent trend is sportsbooks that have a lounge feel, as opposed to the old-school kind where it’s just a bunch of grumpy old men sitting in cubicles starting at screens.
Now, it’s mostly grumpy old men, but also some grumpy younger men, staring at screens. The lounge area is for their girlfriends and wives having cocktails while complaining loudly they picked the wrong guys because sports are lame and while their men can tell you who threw the final strike to clinch the 1946 National League tie-breaker series, they have no clue whatsoever where a G-spot is. At least that’s our take on what’s happening.
Anyway, the renovated sportsbook has a sweet new addition, a ticker thingy on the entrance.
The sightlines into the sportsbook have really improved a lot, as previously, you might not even be aware there was a sportsbook in Paris.
The sportsbook is near the entrance to the now-shuttered Anthony Cools Theater Experience Tabernacle and Hypnosis Emporium. That is our recollection of the name, it’s been a while. We do recall Cools used a plant at one point (an older woman with dentures). And that was a little disappointing.
We still miss Anthony Cools, though. We bumped into him about a year ago at Illuminarium, and he was looking good and doing well. He says he’s retired. His show was one of the funniest we ever saw on The Strip. Caesars Entertainment closed several mid-level entertainment venues in mid-2021, his theater was one of them.
Bumped into longtime Paris comedy-hypnotist Anthony Cools at the opening of Illuminarium last night. Says he’s “retired.” Loved that show. pic.twitter.com/tnjmom7GWo
— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) April 22, 2022
Yes, we are far more interested in talking about a show that’s been closed for a year than a new sportsbook. If that surprises you, you must be new here.
The most important thing is the Paris sportsbook bar still has video poker! And liquor. The only things that make sports tolerable. Cheerleaders is the other thing, but mostly video poker and liquor.
The Paris sportsbook entrance is near a small surface parking lot, which was one of our best parking hacks for years. We have no idea what’s involved in parking there now, and some spaces seem reserved for rideshare, so park at your own risk.
There’s a lot to love at Paris, and it’s great to see some attention being paid to neglected venues at the Strip resort.
Now, if they could just find something worthy of the Paris Theater. We used to think it was cursed, then we realized the shows are just not that good. On the bright side, the worst show (“Bat Out of Hell”) is more entertaining than the best sportsball tournament, so there’s that.