Las Vegas Stakes Claim as Bowling Capital of U.S.

As the parade of bowlers make their way onto the lanes for their session, “This is the Greatest Show” is blasting from the speakers. It’s an appropriate choice, because in the world of bowling and sports events in general, the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships are one of the biggest shows around.

Close to 55,000 bowlers compete at the Bowling Plaza at the South Point Casino and Resort in Las Vegas over the course of more than five months, with prize money between $4 million and $7 million up for grabs. That’s not a typo — the 2024 USBC Open runs for 157 days from February 23 to July 29.

It’s a staggering amount of coordination, planning, execution and stamina that goes into an event from an organizer standpoint, as dozens of staff members relocate to the host destination for almost half a year.

“It’s not our first rodeo,” Greg Moore, USBC senior director of Open and Women’s Championships, said with a chuckle. “We operate 20 hours a day, seven days a week. We have people on our staff that have worked this tournament for over 20 years and we have people that have worked this tournament for one year.”

One of those staff members has plenty of experience on both sides of bowling events. Chip Aki, the assistant tournament manager, won the USBC Open singles championship in 2007 in Reno and has worked for the organization since 2010.

Aki’s team has a long list of responsibilities to carry out over the 157 days, starting with the most important aspect: Taking care of the rules. Making sure everybody is on a level playing surface, whether with equipment or the lane conditions, is paramount.

“From there, we just want to make sure that they enjoy the experience because, as the music this year says, this is greatest show,” Aki said. “For a lot of us, it’s been the greatest show for decades. It’s so much different than anything you get to do at home. So we try to elevate that experience from as soon as they walk in to when they get done. They come back because they have a good experience. It’s all bowling, family and friends.”

Keeping the Bowling Ball Rolling

There are many logistical challenges that go into an event of this magnitude, which carries an estimated economic impact of $75 million.

When a sporting event rolls into a destination, it’s typically for a weekend, maybe a week or two. For the USBC staff, it’s five months away from home, hearing “This is the Greatest Show” playing multiple times a day. Nonetheless, on a day in early July as the event’s finish line starts to appear in the distance, the staff couldn’t have been more pleasant, helpful and enthusiastic.

“One of the things that makes it new for us is every day we have people who are here for the first time,” Aki said. “Yes, it’s a long time for us, but it’s broken down into every two days because it’s a brand-new batch of people every two days.

“And that’s what we stress with all of our staff — that it’s the competitors’ first day. It may be our 150th, but it’s their first day. So we try to accommodate that. It can be a challenge when you’ve heard the same question for 120 days by 120 different people. But that’s our goal and we’re very fortunate to have the right staff to do that.”

While the South Point offers nice accommodations, five months in any hotel room is too long. Most of the USBC staff live together in Airbnb rentals close to the resort. Official competition begins at 7 a.m. each day and finishes after 1 a.m. the next day. While staffers take shifts, working the USBC Open Championships is not for the faint of heart.

The logistical challenge of having everybody in the Squad Room (the large room next to the alleys where bowlers gather before they march out) on time has been daunting in the past. The allure of a hot slot machine or a delicious meal could make a bowler run late. But Moore says what once was a punchline has been transformed.

“We have an enormous emphasis now of running on time. You have to when you have 55,000 people coming through,” Moore said. “But the tournament, for a long time, never did. And the joke was always, ‘how late were you?’ So when we made this change of leadership here at the tournament in 2021, we said that we will run on time. So we blew the schedule up and put it back together based on actual data. Now, the bowlers are in their seats when they’re supposed to be.”

One of those bowlers on this July day was Kathie Tekavec, one of only four women who have attended every USBC Open in the past 30 years. Before hitting the lanes, the Leadville, Colorado, native was honored with a plaque for her dedication.

“I have loved coming to this event, but this will be my last time at it because we’re just not going to travel much after this,” Tekavec said. “But I love the South Point because everything you need is so close and once you get here, you don’t have to leave the property for anything if you don’t want to. There’s plenty of restaurants and gambling and you don’t have to fight any traffic.”

South Point Shines in Hosting Role

There are only two permanent bowling facilities large enough to host the USBC Open; the Bowling Plaza at South Point and the National Bowling Stadium in Reno. This year is the fourth time since 2017 the event has been in Las Vegas with 2027, 2030 and 2033 already under contract.

“We’re the bowling capital of the country,” said South Point General Manager Ryan Growney. “The tournament center in Reno isn’t attached to a hotel and you can’t just leave your room and you’re bowling right away. We have 124 lanes under one roof, which no one else has.”

The partnership between the USBC and South Point is, in bowling terms, a strike. When Growney took over as GM in 2010, one of the first conversations he had was with South Point Bowling Director and Owner Michael Gaughan.

Growney pitched Gaughan on building a permanent Bowling Plaza with the intent of drawing the USBC Open to the resort often. Four years and $35 million later, South Point staked its mark as a bowling heavyweight when it opened the Plaza in 2014.

“The way that our event works, it’s just kind of an undercurrent to the host,” Moore said. “And that’s true in every community. The hotels see the uptick in their occupancy rate, but it’s not so high that the locals can’t come here, or people can’t have a wedding reception here. Because you’re rotating people through continuously; it’s not like all 55,000 people are here at the same time.

“If you were to ask South Point, I think you would find that the partnership has been a very good one. When the women’s tournament was here in 2016, there were about 6,000 teams that competed. In May and June that year, South Point broke slot machine records.”

Growney, who comes from the world of rodeo, horses and cowboys, sees a lot of similarities between the USBC crowds and the equestrian/rodeo crowds that invade South Point at various times of the year.

“The best thing about the bowlers is that they’re just great people,” Growney said. “If the beer’s cold and the lanes are true, they’re happy be here and so excited to participate in the event. If you look at a bowler or a Western way of life person, or even a NASCAR attendee, they’re very similar. So the property’s offerings and what those other groups like, the bowlers also gravitate to. It’s really a great fit.”

Another big reason that the USBC loves coming to Nevada is that it’s mostly a turnkey operation. Besides Las Vegas and Reno, any market the USBC enters must build out a minimum of 48 bowling lanes and Squad Room in a convention center. This will be the case for the 2025 USBC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where more than 60,000 bowlers are expected to compete. Construction will start in the middle of December, ahead of the event beginning in March.

“We’re excited to go to Baton Rouge next year, but when it’s a build, that takes a lot more work and it’s a lot more stressful than this is,” Aki said. “South Point has already done all the hard work. We come in and do some little things, like make sure the vendor booths are right and all our signage is prepared. But it’s better for us mentally to come here because we’ve done it so much and it’s already built out.”

For Growney and the South Point team, having a contract in place for 2027, 2030 and 2033 is guaranteed revenue to look forward to in coming years. The venue will also host the USBC Women’s Championships in 2025 and 2026.

“It’s always nice getting those multiyear deals and you know you can go focus on some of the other months of the year that you might need assistance with,” Growney said. “So it’s good for the USBC because they have their anchor tenant in play and they know they’re going to be here and they have their dates.”