poker

Heavyweight boxing, don't you love it? I do. But not for the sporting spectacle it offers. The attraction lies in the gambling. It is no accident that during the 1980s Las Vegas became the world capital of boxing. The reason is simple, though not perhaps widely understood among traditional followers of the noble art.

Boxing - in particular the heavyweight division - brings the gamblers into town. There is something elemental about a contest between two big men, re-enacting, under the night sky of Las Vegas, the ancient ritual of combat, mano a mano. The spectators have been stoked up by an orgy of media hype, the crowd is gilded with celebrity names and movie stars. The sense of something bloody, violent and dramatic about to be decided is powerfully exciting. But the crucial factor, for so many people present, is that the show is free.

Yes, free. The casinos invite their premium players from all around the country for these big fights. It is an irresistible invitation: free air fare for you and the companion of your choice, a gorgeous suite plus "RFB", which magic initials stand for free room, food and beverage. Plus a $1,000 ticket for the fight. This is for high rollers, but the same formula applies, in proportion, to punters right the way down the line to the lower end of the market, too.

All that the casinos require, in return for this largesse, is that the invited players give them action over the weekend, probably three or four hours a day, at the tables. The players do not, be it noted, have to lose; a few of them will win. All they have to do is play - the laws of probability will take care of the bills.

In round figures, this is the equation which the Las Vegas Strip casinos work on: fight ticket $1,000; suite $1,500, meals and hospitality $1,000, air-fare $1,500. Total $5,000 (A second ticket, if required: the extra hotel costs are marginal.) Money put in action by the high roller: $50,000 to $100,000, of which the casino will hold, on average, 20 per cent. So for each player, we have:

Average stake gambled: $75,000

Casino hold: $15,000

Casino expenses: $5,000

Net casino profit: $10,000

Which works out at $1m profit for every hundred players.

In the downtown hotels, where a player's credit line might be "only" $5,000, the benefits would be correspondingly reduced. Say a $200 fight ticket and free room. It's still a sweet deal.

But on the morning after the big fight, who wakes up the real losers? Las Vegas loves ya, fight fans.