Casinos.com Loves the Las Vegas Desert Dogs!

^{With the Desert Dogs peppering the opponent's goal, the crowd was going wild in anticipation of a big score. (Photo: Dan Michalski / Casinos.com)}

LAS VEGAS — We’re doing something new this year and sponsoring a professional lacrosse team, the Las Vegas Desert Dogs. I know a tiny bit about lacrosse, but for the most part this is new to me. Not just the sport itself, but getting involved in team sponsorship. 

I attended the home opener in December against the Ottawa Black Bears at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson. (No relation to our founder.) There, in Las Vegas's biggest suburb, amid a crowd of nearly 5,000, I saw some top-level men’s lacrosse while getting to see our Casinos.com sponsorship in action. And thanks to the Rio Las Vegas, it was bobblehead night. Fun!

This is the Desert Dogs’ second year at Lee’s, a few blocks away from Green Valley Ranch casino-resort. Previously the team played at the Mandalay Bay, in the Michelob Ultra arena — site of regular season Las Vegas Aces games and other events. But now they’re at Lee’s, a 5,600-seat venue that also hosts minor-league hockey games. 

Introduction to Sports Sponsorship

I was excited to see our logo on the "dasher boards," and would be on the lookout to see our bright Vegas pink branding on the digital "LED ribbon," which wrapped around the arena. You’ll be hearing more about the Desert Dogs and our relationship with them and their fans throughout the season. For now, my first game at Lee's, I just wanted to absorb the experience and take in all the possibilities.

This game would be a test of which way the 18-game, 2025-26 National Lacrosse League season would start out for each squad. The Black Bears, from Canada's capitol in Ontario, were 1-1 and showing an impressive offense. The Desert Dogs, Nevada's scrappiest new pro sports team, were 0-1, and not ready to start the season from the cellar.

All eyes in the arena were on the floor as the Dogs defense fended off Bear attacks. The pink was hard to miss. (Photo: Dan Michalski / Casinos.com)

The on-field action would live up to its pre-game hype, with Las Vegas jumping out to a dominating 6–0 lead. Bobblehead model Chase Fraser fueled the surge with two goals and two assists. 

The Dogs would grow their lead to 9-1, only to watch it evaporate. By the final minutes of the fourth quarter, the score was tied 9–9 -- with Ottawa holding a shot advantage and momentum on its side. 

Game-Day Excitement

As the game clock ticked, the Desert Dogs were attacking on the side of the field that had the Casinos.com logo. I could barely contain my excitement. If we could score, it would be an awesome awesome way to take the lead, ideally with the game-winning shot displayed against our pink- white-and-black logo, right in front of the cheerleaders. But if we couldn't put it in the net and they scored a goal on the other end of the floor, our signage would be relegated to a sad and lonely corner of the arena as a dejected home crowd watched Ottawa celebrate nowhere near our brand. 

With about 2:20 left in the fourth quarter, the moment of truth finally came. With cheerleaders (aka the Desert Dogs Vixens) shimmying in front our Casinos.com logo, Mitch Jones would receive the ball and find an open corner of the net -- score! The horns blew for what would turn out to be the game-winning goal, 10-9. 

And bonus, there was a special promotion from one of the other team sponsors, Aristocrat (makers of some of our favorite slot games), with fans getting $10 of free play at the Rio if the Dogs scored 10 goals.  Mission accomplished!

The game-winning goal got every fan (of legal gambling age) a coupon for $10 of free play on select Aristocrat slot machines. (Photo: Dan Michalski / Casinos.com)

The Desert Dogs play their second home match this evening. They’re currently 2-2 and facing the table-leading Saskatchewan Rush (4-1). The special theme tonight is “A Golden Knight,” where the Dogs will celebrate a collaboration with Las Vegas’s NHL team by wearing specially designed jerseys in VGK colors and style. 

It should be good fun, and if all goes well, the fans will cheer, the team will win, and sponsors will smile seeing their brand be part of it all.