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The N.C.A.A. Once Eschewed Las Vegas. Times, and Prospects, Have Changed.

Related Topics: Las Vegas, NCAA, Jerry Tarkanian

Las Vegas will host a men’s basketball regional this week, the men’s Final Four in 2028 and numerous other college championships — all prompted by changes in how the N.C.A.A. has viewed the city.

Las Vegas is hosting a men’s basketball regional for the first time.Credit...Bridget Bennett for The New York Times

LAS VEGAS — There was a time when the N.C.A.A. would have played men’s basketball tournament games on the moon before placing its marquee event in Las Vegas.

Those were the days when point-shaving scandals at Arizona State, Tulane and Boston College were not ancient history and when casinos were so jittery about perceived ties to organized crime that they declined to set betting lines involving any teams from Nevada.