The richest boxing fight in history is also proving a money-spinner for Las Vegas hotels.
Out of town fight fans looking to watch the action live in Sin City will need deep pockets as room rates have skyrocketed to upwards of $1,600 a night.
MGM Grand, which hosts the big fight, said 98% of rooms are already sold out for the weekend of May 1-2.
MGM Grand President Scott Sibella said room prices immediately shot up to $900-$1,000 a night once the bout was announced and now the going rate is more than $1,600 with still six weeks to go.
This contrasts with a regular weekend price of $338 at this time of year.
“The demand, we’ve never seen it like this before,” Sibella said.
“People want to be part of all the excitement and energy. We’re pretty close to sold out and this is the highest room rate in a long, long time.”
Other Strip hotels such as the Venetian and Palazzo are sold out but vacancies still exist at some hotels with four-star properties going for an average $716 and five-stars for $1,033 according to a quick search online at Expedia.com.
While surging room rates have raised a few eyebrows, it is the price of tickets which demonstrates how much hype and expectation ‘the fight of the century’ has generated.
Coveted ringside seats are rumored to be changing hands for a mind boggling $100,000.
