In true Las Vegas style, the Vegas Golden Knights unveiled their Stanley Cup championship banner Tuesday night in a way that could only be described as “Vegas.”
The banner was not simply raised to the rafters of the T-Mobile Arena; it was won in a game of chance, a nod to the city’s iconic slot machines.
The ceremony began with the Golden Knights’ captain, Mark Stone, parading the real Stanley Cup onto the ice. He then approached an oversized slot machine, pulling the lever to reveal three Lord Stanley Cups, signifying a jackpot win.
As the crowd roared, the championship banner emerged from the slot machine, slowly ascending to the top of the arena.
Only in Vegas…
The Golden Knights raise their Stanley Cup banner from a slot machine 😆🎰 pic.twitter.com/7neoudUaxx
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 11, 2023
This unique unveiling was the culmination of a three-day celebration for the Knights, who had received 12-carat white and yellow diamond championship rings in a private ceremony just days before.
The Knights’ victory in the Stanley Cup was a fulfillment of team owner Bill Foley’s prediction that the team would win the championship in their sixth season.
The banner raising also marked six years since Deryk Engelland delivered his “Vegas Strong” speech, nine days after the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. The championship banner now resides next to one that memorializes the victims of the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting, with 60 stars representing each victim who died from that tragedy.
The Knights’ unique banner unveiling was a testament to the team’s bond with the city of Las Vegas. The use of a slot machine in the ceremony was a playful nod to the city’s identity, and a reminder that in Vegas, even a sports ceremony can be a spectacle.
