One of the passions of Daniel Negreanu (pictured) – besides playing poker, of course – is the national sport of his native Canada, hockey. Recently on his blog at Full Contact Poker, Negreanu offered his thoughts on the game and, in particular, the drive to bring the first professional sports team to his second home, Las Vegas.

“I’m personally quite excited about the prospects of a National Hockey League team in Las Vegas and I believe strongly that not only will we get a team, but that hockey will work in this sports-starved city,” Negreanu wrote on his blog over last weekend. “In a few hours, I’m meeting with the ownership group looking to bring a team here and to say I’m excited would be an understatement.”

Negreanu’s belief that the NHL is looking to expand to Las Vegas is based on several angles. “Since (the NHL realignment in 2013), we have 16 teams in the Eastern Conference, but only 14 teams in the Western Conference,” Negreanu noted. “This offers an unfair advantage to the West, as 57% of the teams will make the playoffs, while only 50% of Eastern Conference teams qualify. If you’re an owner, this translates into dollars and cents. If you’re a fan, then your team isn’t getting an equal chance to make the postseason. It’s not sustainable long-term and I’m quite certain NHL executives know this and are working towards a solution.”

“Many may wonder how it makes sense to play ice hockey in the desert, but I am sure the same was said years ago when expansion hit sunny California,” Negreanu wrote. “That experiment has worked out quite well with thriving franchises in Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Jose.” Negreanu also pointed out that an NHL team in Las Vegas would be the “only game in town,” something that has worked out for the San Jose team in the NHL.

Negreanu ticked off that the Las Vegas metro area encompasses 2.2 million people, more than enough to support a professional sports franchise. Tourism, with people from around the world coming to Las Vegas, would provide more potential fans to come to a Las Vegas NHL team’s games. Negreanu also posed the idea that the casino industry would probably support such a franchise through luxury boxes that would guarantee a “corporate infrastructure.”

Not one to shy away from the naysayers, Negreanu responded to several aspects of Las Vegas that have long caused professional sports teams to stay away. In reply to the factor that “Vegas isn’t a hockey town,” Negreanu conceded this could be problematic. “There’s no evidence from the Wranglers (the minor league East Coast Hockey League franchise currently located in Las Vegas) to show there’s enough interest, but the same could be said for San Jose and Nashville. We’ll have a better idea what kind of interest exists here once a season ticket drive happens.”

“The old fears of game fixing come from the days when Las Vegas was a mob town,” Negreanu stated. “Today, gambling is happening across the globe, both on the outcome of games as well as daily fantasy sports. I would argue that game fixing (would be) far less likely in Las Vegas because more eyeballs will be on those games. (The players) make more than enough money nowadays that the temptation to risk that livelihood (by throwing games) is minimized. This is a non-issue as far as I’m concerned.”

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