We have been all over the Strip looking for the best bang for your buck when it comes to trendy sportsbooks and Las Vegas betting. You will see in this review that the Aria sportsbook is one of the best in town.
The Race & Sportsbook at Aria has to rank near the top of that list with its comfortable chairs and walls of TV screens. From the front row to the group couches, there isn’t a bad seat in the house.
Watch your winnings add up in this non-smoking venue in the northwest corner of this luxurious resort.
Aria Sportsbook 101
The Aria Resort & Casino is located at 3730 South Las Vegas Boulevard, right in the heart of the CityCenter complex and the Las Vegas Strip.
Aria sports book hours vary from day to day. The best sportsbook, tucked away in a corner of the casino floor, is open Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
You must be 21 years of age or older to make a wager on the Aria Las Vegas sportsbook odds in the Silver State.
Guests can spot the venue not only by the Aria sportsbook sign, but by the fresh smell of the East Coast-pizza from the Five50 Pizza Bar. Visitors walk down a hallway of the Aria Las Vegas sports book and arrive at an open room with a ticket selling area to the right.
There is row seating with comfortable lounge chairs throughout the room that features a wall of 90 high definition screens. If a game or horse race is on somewhere in North America, it’s a good bet you will find it on one of the dozens of televisions. For those in a group, there are also stations of plush couches for cheering, excitement and high-fives.
There are a few ways to make your bet after looking at the Aria sports book odds. The most obvious option is to wait in line to make a wager at one of the many ticket sellers.
If waiting is not your thing, Aria betting odds are offered on horse racing and sports betting at interactive betting stations. The guest still gets a hard copy of their wager, but places the bet manually at one of these machines.
Aria online sports betting is also offered on the playMGM app, which is powered by the IGT PlaySpot mobile betting platform. There are many MGM properties on the Strip, including the Aria.
Guests can use the Aria sportsbook online, but there are some restrictions. Las Vegas visitors can only use the app, which includes Aria entertainment esports, within the state of Nevada. That’s why trusted top-ranked online sites like Bovada are a better wagering option.
Aria sports betting offers wagers on all the major sports along with horse and dog racing. There are also some futures wagering and a few prop bets on major championships, but Aria sports line don’t come close to what Bovada has to offer.
This major online player has dozens of prop bets and teasers, not just on championship events but daily games as well. No one matches the list of categories to bet on like Bovada, including every televised sport, politics, entertainment and esports.
Place Your Bets at Aria Sportsbook
The Aria Las Vegas sportsbook offers wagering on all the major sports — like Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA, NHL and major league soccer.
Most of the Aria betting lines are limited to the money line, point spread and over/under totals. There is some future betting — like picking the Super Bowl winner — and the odd proposition bet.
The book is open daily as well for horse racing from such famous tracks as Belmont Park in New York, Churchill Downs in Kentucky and Santa Anita in California. Horse players can play win, place or show or enjoy the riskier options of the exacta, trifecta, daily double and other exotic bets.
Most resorts on the Strip attempt to offer something for everyone. The Aria sportsbook is hardly the main attraction on this award-winning resort. For the avid sports player, the Westgate SuperBook off the Las Vegas Strip is the place to be for live sports betting action.
Resort Location on the Strip
The Aria Resort & Casino is located on the west side of South Las Vegas Boulevard surrounded by the Cosmopolitan, Vdara and Park MGM. Taxis, Uber vehicles and limousines arrive on Aria Place and park under a dazzling canopy at the main entrance.
- Visitors arriving at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas will travel west on Tropicana Avenue and then north on the Strip to Aria Place.
- Enjoy the taxi ride as guests will pass the famous bronze lion at MGM Grand and Statue of Liberty (with a Vegas Golden Knights jersey) at New York New York before arriving at Aria’s main doors.
- Tip for travelers: Do not allow the taxi driver to take the highway to any resorts, including the Aria. It’s a much longer route and will cost almost double for the ride.
Gulp! How Much for Parking?
A majority of casinos started charging for parking in 2016. Aria was included on that list. “There is not one other issue that people are more outraged about than charging for parking on the Strip,” said Las Vegas gambling expert David Schwartz, “and that is not hyperbole.”
- Parking for the Aria and its sports book is located behind the resort off Frank Sinatra Drive. And these are big city prices.
- There’s no charge for the first hour on your first day here. After that, it’s $15 from one to four hours, $18 over four to 24 hours, and $18 per day after that.
- Valet parking is even higher. It’s $21 for under two hours, $24 for two to four hours, and $30 for four to 24 hours. After that, it’s $30 per day.
- The Aria does offer some discounts and complimentary parking to those that have a rewards card. The rewards vary on the status of the cardholder. In other words, if you bet a lot over the course of your stay at the Aria, your parking will likely be free.
Cheapest Rides on the Strip
Public transportation and ride sharing programs are the best bet for visitors staying at the Aria. Taxi services are being replaced by ride shares like Uber and Lyft. Limousine services are available with the going rate around $85-90 an hour.
- The Las Vegas public transit bus service runs 24 hours a day on the Strip, with routes to and from the airport as well. A two-hour bus pass on the Strip is $6, 24-hour pass is $8 and a three-day pass is $20.
- The pass is good for the Deuce and Express bus lines. The Deuce is the slower of the two services, stopping at almost every resort on the Strip, including the Aria. The Express makes just four stops on the Strip, with the closest to the Aria being in front of its neighbor’s doors at the Cosmopolitan.
- Both services will take visitors all over the Las Vegas area, including the two outlet malls and Old Vegas on Fremont Street.
- All resorts now have a designated spot for ride share programs, including the airport. Visitors can download the respective Uber or Lyft app and purchase a ride to their destination online. The cost is about two-thirds the price of a taxi ride.
- There are also four trams on the Strip, including one which takes guests from the Bellagio to Aria to Park MGM. This four-car train is free to ride and arrives every three minutes depending on which direction you want to go from the Aria. This air-conditioned ride is a great way to travel to T-Mobile Arena just across the street from Park MGM for a Golden Knights hockey game.
Food & Drinks: I’ll Have Another
The luxurious Aria resort is home to some of the best restaurants in the country. There are about two dozen spots to choose from including Jean Georges Steakhouse, Julian Serrano Tapas and Bardot Brasserie.
- Julian Serrano Tapas — which is a restaurant focused on Spanish cuisine — receives the highest rating on TripAdvisor of all the Aria restaurants. The venue, which features a mid-priced menu, opens daily at 11:30 a.m.
- The resort also features eight bars, lounges and a nightclub. Most of these spots are open until 2 a.m., while a few — like the Lift Bar featuring its signature cocktails — are open 24 hours a day.
- The Liquid Pool Lounge gets the party started at Aria’s three pools, while the Jewel Nightclub offers high-energy dance music featuring some of the best DJs and performers in the country.
- Complimentary drinks are available for players throughout the casino. It’s easier to get a free drink during the quieter daytime hours when there are fewer people playing.
Aria Rewards for Players
Aria is just one of eight MGM properties on the Las Vegas Strip. The others include the Bellagio, Mirage, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Park MGM, Luxor and Excalibur. All of these resorts offer a rewards program called Mlife.
Mlife members gain exclusive access, benefits and rewards at all of the MGM venues by earning points for every dollar spent or gambled.
The starting tier, which is Sapphire (blue card), has limited benefits, but the rewards change at the next level called Pearl. These members are awarded discounts, dedicated line options at restaurants and buffets, and complimentary parking.
Members can continue the climb up the Mlife ladder into Gold, Platinum and the Noir level (black card), but we’re talking really heavy hitters here. The higher the level, the more privileges on meals, room rates and complimentary gifts.
Tier credits are accumulated from October 1 to September 30. If you advance to a higher tier at any time you’ll enjoy those benefits for at least one full year.
Aria’s Spacious Casino
In the midst of the 67 acres of hotels, shopping centers, residential towers and restaurants in the $8-billion City Center complex stands the crown jewel in the Aria, with its hotel rooms and suites and 150,000-square-foot casino floor.
This area of the resort is very spacious and modern. The gaming area is surrounded by restaurants, bars, lounges and a walkway, which allows pedestrian traffic to circle the casino floor instead of walking through it.
Though an exact number isn’t listed, there are thousands of slot machines new and old at this resort. Prices range from penny slots all the way up to the high roller slots of $1,000 or $2,000 a pull, just like other major venues on the Strip like Caesars Palace, Venetian and MGM Grand.
Gamblers looking for table game action will find 12 baccarat tables, 33 blackjack tables, 12 craps tables, and other games such as Three Card Poker, Big Wheel, Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Casino War, Let it Ride, Crazy4Poker and Pai Gow Poker.
The Aria also offers two high limit rooms with $100 minimums.
One of the questions most often asked by visitors to Las Vegas is: “Can I get a complimentary beverage.” The answer is yes, but only if you are gambling.
Servers will greet your table or players at a slot machine with the often-heard question: “Drinks?” Make sure to tip at least $1 for your beverage of choice or you won’t likely see this server again.
Thousands of Rooms Available
The Aria is an award-winning, world-class resort. It has a AAA Five Diamond rating. Nothing is cheap here, including the price of a stay.
- The luxurious resort, which has more than 4,000 rooms and suites, offers five different room types. Prices for any of these rooms in the 51-story and 61-story towers would reach the higher end of the pay scale for most visitors, certainly more than what it would cost to stay at a resort like MGM Grand.
- The smallest rooms in the Aria, which opened its doors to the public on Dec. 16, 2009, are 520 square feet. Guests will pay more for a room with a view of the Strip.
- The suites start at 920 square feet. Any one of them will likely be the nicest room you have ever stayed in. The Sky Suites one-bedroom penthouse is 1,465 square feet and loaded with spectacular decor and views.
- Visitors receive complimentary WiFi in their rooms, but there is one shocking bit of news when you check out.
- All the hotels on the Strip — including the Aria — now charge a resort fee (some would call it a hidden tax). At the Aria, it’s around $51 per night, including fees and taxes. “The house always wins,” as the saying goes.
