Pro football and Las Vegas

What are the chances of someday holding pro football's Super Bowl in Las Vegas? Slim and none, with none holding the upper hand right now. For starters , Las Vegas is not a league city, a requirement for hosting the National Football League championship game. Furthermore, the NFL doesn't consider Las Vegas an appropriate setting for the contest.

Even so, the sports-minded operators of Caesars Palace eventually hope to bring the Super Bowl to Las Vegas. That bit of news comes from a lengthy Sports Illustrated article on the casino's growing involvement in and promotion of sports events. During the last decade, it has brought prizefights, head-to-head tennis matches, and Formula One auto racing to the desert. Now it's considering even bigger fish - World Cup soccer and the Super Bowl.

Billions of dollars are said to be wagered on the Super Bowl, but to the extent it can, the NFL has always given gambling interests its best stiff-arm. Pro football isn't about to compromise its principles, but tough-minded vigilance is necessary to keep the gambling world at bay.