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Opinion
From Las Vegas, Nevada
What a difference a year makes.
Las Vegas looks somewhat different from the NRL’s inaugural year last year. The weather is at least 10 degrees warmer, the hustle and bustle on The Strip isn’t so intense and the famous sight of the old Tropicana casino has been reduced to virtually piles of rubble.
But one thing that has stayed the same is Australia’s presence in the vibrant city – at least in the week leading up to the NRL opener. This year there is even more expansive mix of supporters, with the introduction of New Zealand and English fans.
The common phrase you’ll hear is that “the NRL has taken over Las Vegas”. While the term “takeover” may be a stretch, it is definitely hard to walk a few hundred metres without seeing someone visibly connected to the game.
There are jerseys of a wide range of rugby league teams, not just the four playing – although the New Zealand Warriors fans seem to outnumber the others.
It’s not uncommon to hear chants of “Up the Wahs” and “Up the Sharks”, as the street sellers try to engage in conversation, and it’s often hard to ignore overhearing conversations of fan groups meeting each other.
For the first time, there have been signs of Las Vegas locals getting in on the NRL party – albeit only casually.
On presenting ID to the convenience store worker when buying a beer with dinner, the first sign of the word Australia prompted him to question whether my visit was related to “the rugby”.
Yes. The “rugby” is in town … It’s a start at least.
Las Vegas is often referred to as the entertainment capital of the world, so each weekend there is something different on stage. When the NRL packs up and leaves, college basketball will be bringing “Bracket Madness” to town, and a new set of fans will roll in – not to mention the number of singers and comedians performing each night.
But at least amid the craziness of the city, rugby league is getting noticed.
Large crowd at the NRL Las Vegas Fan Event 2025.
Like last year, the NRL has numerous billboards around town, showcasing the rugby league action, and while the “no pads” line isn’t as prominent, the NRL has cheekily tried to wriggle into the “football” semantics.
In a country where football means American Football, and the NFL Super Bowl ended three weeks ago, there’s a sign saying “Get your football fix” to greet travellers as they headed towards the strip from the airport.
If there was one place to see the passion of the NRL in Vegas, it was on Fremont Street for the fan event, with an estimated 10,000 supporters cramming into the entertainment venue this year.
By far the English crowd was the loudest, but Penrith, Sharks, Raiders and Warriors fans were all well represented, as one by one each team was led onto the stage. There were some cringe moments, particularly as Peter V’landys tried to belt out Elvis Presley’s “Viva Las Vegas” with Karl Stefanovic.
Maybe the league boss was still trembling after the Warriors were interviewed just minutes earlier. Several players asked by the American interviewer if they were going to take some heads off to please the locals – such is the physicality that the game is being promoted, there was no thought of the dreaded word “crackdown”.
Dylan Walker played along and made that promise – let’s hope the Bunker and the judiciary have a sense of humour.
After the English women’s national team started a trend of breakdancing on stage after their entrance it became common practice for players to bust a move. Craig Fitzgibbon asked if he was worried a Shark may be injured he told the crowd: “This is a one-off, let the boys enjoy themselves and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow”.
The Cronulla Sharks at Las Vegas NRL Fan Event.
But overall the atmosphere was electric and players were overwhelmed by it all.
“It’s unreal. It’s my first time in Vegas, I know a few teams did this last year, but this is just unreal (to be part of it),” Jesse Ramien told The Roar.
“It’s pumped out a lot more than I expected, there are a lot of people wearing jerseys and getting around it.”
Teig Wilton, who will start in the second row for Cronulla against Penrith, was equally amazed at the turnout, hopeful the sport is resonating with Americans.
“It’s surreal being here in Vegas and such a big crowd – once in a lifetime,” he said. “The people that we have come across are slowly building into rugby league that’s for sure.
“There’s definitely an interest around it, it’s an exciting game.”
It’s somewhat of an extra-special occasion for Ronaldo Mulitalo, who mentioned throughout the week that he is keeping the door open to representing USA in the future, as he was born in Auckland to American Samoan parents. He was not expecting so many people to attend an NRL event.
“Honestly, it’s huge, it’s like being in a movie,” Mulitalo said. “The more that Americans get a hold (interest will soar) but honestly, I just can’t believe how it looks today. It’s unbelievable, just like we were playing in a grand final.”
England Rugby League Women’s team welcomed to the NRL Las Vegas Fan Event.
It’s not unsurprising that the majority of media covering the NRL’s opening round has come from abroad.
All the major Australian networks and newspapers are here, with English and New Zealand organisations as well.
But in among the media pack on fan night was a sole reporter from a Las Vegas television station, helping to tell the game’s story.
She was the camerawoman and journalist in one, and when asked how she felt about being assigned to cover the NRL party event, “It seems like I got the best gig of the night”. Las Vegas’ NHL team, the Golden Knights were playing Chicago at the other end of the Strip.
Proudly, I was told that the fan event doubled in size from last year, and assured that Las Vegas locals are taking more notice of the sport year by year – and even predicted that it would be “huge” by the end of the five-year contract.
Her enthusiasm for the story was clear and her network KTNV-TV, has published a few articles on their website throughout the week, even speaking with Canberra’s Joseph Tapine.
But sadly, you’d be struggling to find a mention of any pre-game NRL hype or publicity on any other network news, as a local – just as scarce as an education lesson between rugby (union) and league.
Even though the game did invest in a paid commercial to run on free-to-air television featuring retired NFL star Rob Gronkowski and a showreel full of big hits, flying tries and high leaping catches.
But for now at least, as good as the growing attention is … it’s still known as rugby.
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