16 things you need to know before heading to Las Vegas for the big fight

Where to get tickets, how to watch on closed circuit television, which celebs are in Vegas and more

Fight weekend promises to be one of the biggest on the Las Vegas Strip. Boxing welterweights Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. and Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao take to the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena at 9 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, in what promises to be a battle that will live up to its billing as the fight of the century. Here’s a look at 16 things you need to know before you head to Las Vegas for the fight that’s expected to go 12 rounds.

1. Tickets for the fight go on sale on Thursday, April 23, at noon PDT, ranging in price from $1,500 to $10,000, but those expensive seats are reserved for VIPs and only 500 tickets total are being released to the public.

Tickets: Ticketmaster, (800) 745-3000

2. Fans can also see the fight via closed circuit television. About 50,000 tickets go on sale on Thursday as well, but only MGM Resorts properties will show the bout. Head to MGM, Bellagio, Aria, Vdara, The Signature, Mandalay Bay, Delano, Monte Carlo, Mirage, New York-New York, Luxor, Excalibur and Circus Circus for one of the viewing parties there. Tickets start at $150 and go on sale at 3 p.m. PDT on Thursday, April 23.

Tickets: Ticketmaster, (800) 745-3000

3. The bout unifies the fighters’ welterweight world titles. Mayweather (47-0 with 26 knockouts) takes on Pacquiao (57-5-2 with 38 KOs), who has won world titles in eight weight divisions.

4. The purse is estimated at $400 million. Mayweather gets 60 percent and Pacquiao the other 40 percent in the split.

5. Pay-per-view is expected to cost $89.95 and $10 more for high definition. Showtime and HBO have a joint agreement to show the fight.

6. Wynn Las Vegas sports book and Westgate Super Book have Mayweather favored at -215 and Pacquiao at +185.

7. Some of the fun prop bets at the Westgate for the fight include whether Mayweather or Pacquiao will be knocked down (Yes/+300 and No/-360 for both fighters), 30 to 1 odds that Mayweather wins in the 12th round and 40 to 1 odds that Pacquiao wins in 12. Westgate gives Mayweather 5 to 8 odds of winning by decision and Pacquiao 9 to 2 odds.

8. Some of the celebrities expected to be in Las Vegas include Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, 50 Cent and Jamie Foxx. All have hosting gigs after the fight at nightclubs up and down the Strip.

9. Looking for a hotel room? Five-star hotels such as Aria and Wynn Las Vegas saw a $700 room rate increase for the weekend of May 1-2 compared to the average Friday and Saturday nights, according to Vegas.com.

10. Searches for hotels and flights from Vegas.com for May 1 jumped 660 percent between Feb. 19 and Feb. 20, when the fight was announced.

11. The number of rooms booked for May 1 or May 2 on Vegas.com increased 954 percent from Feb. 19 to Feb. 20.

12. Two-star hotels such as El Cortez and the Golden Gate in downtown Las Vegas saw a $200 room rate increase.

13. In fact, a total of 568 rooms for May 1 were booked on Vegas.com’s website on Feb. 20-21. Compare that to only 52 rooms that were booked for May 1 on Feb. 18-19.

14. The Mayweather vs. Robert Guerrero fight at the MGM Grand in 2013 created an estimated $10.7 million in non-gaming revenue, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Estimates for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao haven’t been released yet, but expect that number to be much higher.

15. Based on previous fight weekends, Las Vegas officials estimate that fight fans will drop an average of $645 in non-gaming revenue.

16. By coincidence, the Kentucky Derby also runs earlier on May 2. The horse race is generally more of a draw at the sports books, where American Pharoah is an early favorite at 2-1 odds.

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