LAS VEGAS ? Despite the fact that Manny Pacquiao hails from the Philippines and came to stardom toward the end of his career, to this city and Nevada he represents far more than a talented boxer who plies his trade twice annually under their famous neon lights.
Pacquiao is an economic driver for the local economy, his influence as powerful as his left hook. On fight weekends, that impact extends from an uptick in gambling to an increase in everything from hotel rates to the price of bottle service at local nightclubs.
In a city that lacks even one franchise in any of the major professional sports leagues, tourism is driven by events, few bigger than a championship prizefight. In fact, a bout like Pacquiao?s against Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand on Saturday will earn the Nevada Athletic Commission its budget for the year. And that is but one small slice.
Over lunch Tuesday, Todd DuBoef, president of Top Rank Boxing, chewed over a chopped salad and Pacquiao?s economic boost in a typical fight week. Asked if that impact reached $100 million, he scoffed. ?No,? he said. ?It?s way more. Not $100 million. Hundreds of millions.?
While promoters are certainly no strangers to hyperbole, DuBoef ticked off dozens of factors that come into play, all of which center on a single premise: more visitors spend more money. That makes Pacquiao and other famous boxers an economic stimulus plan ? all because two men stand in a ring and hit each other in the face.
When Floyd Mayweather Jr., Pacquiao?s chief rival for the title of best boxer on the planet, gripes about how Pacquiao earns his money here yet spends it overseas, Mayweather, too, misses the larger point: Both boxers jolt the economy in the city Mayweather calls home.
?It?s hard to put a specific number on it,? said Josh Swissman, vice president for corporate marketing at MGM Resorts International. ?But it?s a marked increase. A fight weekend like this is like New Year?s Eve for us. And New Year?s Eve is the biggest night in the whole city.?
