There’s a lot of hype surrounding this weekend’s Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight. But beyond the fight hype, nothing in the history of combat sports has been responsible for a larger exchange of currency than this one. Tickets are going for six-figure sums, and the entire fight is expected to gross more than a half billion dollars.
While most of that moolah will end up in the bank accounts of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, there’s still a good amount of cash expected to trickle down into the economy, especially in Las Vegas, where the fight is being hosted. SB Nation took a look into how much it’ll cost to rent a hotel room in Vegas over fight weekend, and, unsurprisingly it’s a pretty penny above normal.
Topping the list of price gouging accommodations is the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino, whose name matches its current prices. Normally: $85. For Mayweather/Pacquiao weekend: $525. That’s a 617 percent price increase! Many of the other strip or near-strip hotels also sit above a 200 percent price increase.
It’s not just the big guys jacking things up. Even your average hotel and motel spots will cost you an arm and a leg for a static-infused sheet and lumpy pillow. One-star hotels on the edge of the city that normally go for around $32 are now closer to $300. Basically, if you find something around $200 that doesn’t look like it was in one of the Saw movies, you’ve found a deal.
As someone who’s going to Vegas in the midst of all this madness (we booked everything for a friend’s bachelor party two weeks before the fight was announced), I’m looking forward to seeing how crazy the city gets in the midst of the biggest boxing match in history.
