The true madness that lies within the heart of March Madness, the annual fixation that is the three-week NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, isn’t inside any arena, nor in the tens of thousands of offices where otherwise conscientious workers stare at TVs, cheering or despairing over how their brackets are faring.

Ground zero for experiencing the tourney at its rabid, unfettered and frenzied best – especially in the initial rounds, when 48 games are played over 96 hours – is Las Vegas. Specifically, in the casino sports books all over town that are each transformed by the event from a surprisingly sedate space into the hedonistic heart of the action.

It’s here, amid the smell of stale cigar smoke and the howls of utter frustration from thwarted bettors, that the true essence of March Madness – gambling – is experienced in a delirium of sports wagering unfolding on dozens of video screens in huge, communal spaces.

Think the Super Bowl is big? Las Vegas handles more than $200 million in legal bets during the tournament, more than twice what is wagered on the average football championship, according to The New York Times. This year, the peak pandemonium happens Thursday through March 22, with 63 Vegas casino sports books happy to host and separate the unlucky from their cash.

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