There has been much talk recently about the possibility of the National Hockey League expanding to Las Vegas. In fact, Vegas and Quebec City moved on to Phase 2 of the expansion process this week, which means Sin City is one step closer to sporting its very own franchise.

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Among the leaders of the drive to bring the NHL to Nevada is poker pro Daniel Negreanu (pictured), who, according to the Toronto Sun, “will buy a slice when the franchise is granted.” He told the paper, “I’ll be at every game and maybe have a hockey talk show of my own. Right now, the focus is on getting the team.”

The arena for the team, which Negreanu reportedly wants to call the Las Vegas Rat Pack, is located just off the Strip behind New York New York. It seats 17,500 and, according to the Sun, 13,000 season tickets have already been ordered. And yes, the team doesn’t even exist.

Negreanu argued why a town in the middle of the desert deserves a sport played on ice: “People say there’s no hockey culture in Vegas. They said the same about San Jose, and now San Jose is Sharks Town. Nobody puts on a party or a show better than Vegas. Even people who don’t really love hockey will go for the atmosphere and then we’ll explain what is happening (in the game). They’ll come to understand it.”

Negreanu also asserted that a possible Vegas franchise will make the playoffs within five years.

According to ESPN, no NHL expansion will occur before 2017, so we’re still a couple of years away from Negreanu’s dream becoming a reality. Bill Foley is leading the Vegas bid and the arena (pictured) is being built by AEGand MGM Resorts International.

The Las Vegas Sun explained that Foley and the rest of the team pushing for Las Vegas have been modeling their efforts after successful franchises in San Jose, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, and Nashville. He said, “We’re a new team and not in a traditional hockey market, so we’ve got to create a lot of buzz. That’s what we intend to do.”

We’re pretty sure there’s no better buzz-creator than Negreanu, who has 369,000 Twitter followers and is one of the most visible members of the poker community.

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