AS FAR AS being a welcomed site for a professional sports league, Las Vegas got out of the penalty box in June, when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the mecca of gambling in America was granted an expansion franchise that would begin play in the 2017-18 season.
Except for the 1982-83 NBA season when the Utah Jazz played 11 games there, Sin City had always been left on the outside looking in when it came to consideration from the "Big Four" professional leagues.
The NBA held its All-Star Weekend in Vegas in 2007, while the Canadian Football League, the defunct XFL and United Football League briefly had franchises, and NASCAR and the PGA are regular tour stops.