As a new decade dawns in the Entertainment Capital of the World, the future is happening now at HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas inside the Luxor. Sooner than later there will likely be sections of casino floors reserved for competitive gaming, with a rising generation of esports enthusiasts coming to Vegas to test their skills against the best of the best (similar to how poker players do today). HyperX Esports Arena was a harbinger of things to come when it opened in the spring of 2018, with 30,000 square feet of pioneering design and technology geared toward creating a gamer’s paradise.

Nearly two years later, the schedule has settled into weekly themes augmented by big-dollar tournaments. Fortnite devotees can walk in and start the weekend by competing against the best of the best in Las Vegas for $2,000 in cash prizes at Friday Frags, with $565 going to the winner. Visitors looking for a place to satisfy their need for Mario Kart can stop by and be streamed on Twitch during Saturday Night Speedway, possibly driving away with $200. Both tournaments start at 5:30 p.m.

Sundays, beginning at noon, belong to Rainbow Six Siege ($1,000 total prizes), for which a limited number of arena accounts are available for participants that don’t have their own. Monday evening’s Game Night is dedicated to newly released games for players to discover and network over, with free access to PCs for Apex Legends battle-royal bangers and Teamfight Tactics brawlers.

Play begins at 5 p.m. during the rest of the week, with head-to-head double-elimination best-of-three Rocket League tournaments during Tuesday Faceoffs. Wednesday Whiffs is HyperX’s signature fighting games community tournament featuring Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mortal Kombat 11, while Thursday Duels matches players against each other in League of Legends and Overwatch.

For the big events, telescopic bleacher seating comes out and the arena atmosphere is in full effect, with all the action happening on a two-story LED video wall that doubles as a macro-sized monitor for major sports events and creates the ultimate viewing experience for private parties during real-time NCAA tournaments.

A menu of comfort foods and munchies specialty curated for gamers’ tastes is available and players of legal age can choose from five different Red Bull cocktails that lead off a list of libations.

It’s not unusual to find superstars of gaming on hand, as when Ninja hosted a Fortnite tournament in 2018 or NBA legend Rick Fox raised money in December by streaming for 24 hours straight.

NASCAR driver William Byron, in association with Las Vegas Motor Speedway, took on fans for a NASCAR Heat match earlier this month. Byron started out on simulator game iRacing before trying out his skills in a racecar, both symbolizing and indicating a future where walls break down between sports and esports and crossover begins. Experience it as it happens at HyperX Esports Arena.

Luxor, noon-11 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., noon-midnight Fri.-Sat. 702.723.2345