A polling website that correctly predicted the 2012 U.S. presidential election is critical of Las Vegas' attempt to land an NHL expansion franchise.
Nate Silver, the founder and editor-in-chief of fivethirtyeight.com, has come out swinging against the American gambling mecca hosting professional hockey, calling the possibility of NHL expansion in the Nevada desert an "idea that makes little sense."
A 2013 analysis by the site estimated that metropolitan Las Vegas has about 91,000 NHL fans, smaller than the league's six smallest markets, including 146,000 hockey fans in Nashville and 279,000 supporters in Tampa, Fla.
"But here's another reason to be skeptical about Las Vegas: The city has had several professional sports franchises (albeit none from the four or five largest North American sports leagues), and it hasn't supported them very well," Silver writes.