Column: Jackpot! Las Vegas is awarded an NHL expansion team

Coming soon to the NHL: The Las Vegas Holy Rollers. Or Aces. Maybe the Royal Flushes?

The NHL on Wednesday became the first major professional sports league to succumb to the temptations of Las Vegas, with Commissioner Gary Bettman announcing the league’s Board of Governors had unanimously approved granting a franchise to a group led by billionaire businessman Bill Foley. The as yet-unnamed team will debut at the new T-Mobile Arena in the 2017-18 season and will play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference.

Adding a 31st team will give the NHL an uneven number of members and continue geographic imbalance, because there will be 16 teams in the East and 15 in the West. That means less to the 30 current owners than being able to split the $500-million expansion fee without giving a cut to players. Jackpot!

“In the fall of 2017, when we celebrate the 100th birthday of the National Hockey League, we will do so as a league of 31 teams,” Bettman said at a news conference in Las Vegas.

Being in an unusual location doesn’t spell doom after the novelty and initial buzz wear off. As Bettman noted in remarking on the 115-degree temperature, “the prospects of Las Vegas hosting an outdoor game aren’t too favorable at the moment.” But long-term successes in Tampa, Los Angeles and Anaheim, and the likelihood Auston Matthews of Scottsdale, Ariz., will be the No. 1 pick in Friday’s annual entry draft, testify that climate alone doesn’t dictate an NHL team’s fortunes.

There are bad owners and inept general managers in cold-weather cities, and good owners and clever executives in warm-weather cities. Foley said the team will focus on community and charitable initiatives, as well as educating fans about hockey. That’s the strategy deployed by so-called Sun Belt teams, with generally good results.

Another point to consider: As a tourist mecca, Las Vegas will be a sure draw for fans seeking a break from winter. If tickets are priced right, the cost could be about the same or less than many visitors lose at the slots or the craps tables.

“We think this is an exciting opportunity not just for Las Vegas but for the league as well,” Bettman said. “This expansion comes at a time when our game is more competitive than ever, ownership is stronger than ever, the player base is more talented than ever and the business and future opportunities for the business are greater than ever.”

The economy of Las Vegas is built on tourism, but Foley said his group had gotten 14,000 season-ticket pledges and added 400 more this week. That impressed the NHL.

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As for gambling, the issue that has made other pro leagues hesitant to dip a toe into what might be lucrative waters, Bettman said he’s not concerned about possible ill effects.

“Compared to say basketball or football, our game is less susceptible to gambling, which is why we’re a very small percent of the book, the take, in Las Vegas and everywhere,” he said. “We don’t worry about the integrity of our game. … While we know gambling is part of industry in Las Vegas, we’re not going to make it all that easy to pick up a gambling ticket on the way into the arena. We like the atmosphere in our 30 buildings and we believe that at the T-Mobile Arena we can maintain that atmosphere consistent with what the realities are here.”

After announcing Las Vegas’ approval, Bettman said the application of fellow expansion finalist Quebec City — which has a rich hockey tradition but is a small market and lost the Nordiques in 1995 — had been deferred primarily because of the volatility of the Canadian dollar. Note that he said deferred, not permanently denied. Although Bettman said there are no plans for existing teams to relocate, it’s likely the NHL quietly told Quebecor, the group behind the Quebec bid, to wait until ownership and arena situations are settled in Carolina and Arizona, to use two obvious examples.

The NHL also disclosed rules for next year’s expansion draft, with an eye toward allowing the new team to be competitive quickly. The Las Vegas franchise will be given the same odds in the 2017 NHL draft lottery as the team finishing with the third-fewest points during the 2016-17 regular season.

Existing teams will be able to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goaltender or eight skaters (forwards and defensemen) and one goalie. Players who have no-movement clauses at the time of the draft must be protected and will count toward their respective clubs’ limit. First- and second-year pros and unsigned draft picks won’t have to be protected. Las Vegas must select one player from each current club and the aggregate value of those players’ contracts must be between 60% and 100 % of the $73-million salary cap set for 2016-17.

Foley, a West Point alumnus, had long favored the name “Black Knights” for his team but surprisingly pulled back Wednesday and said he will work with the NHL on a name, logo and marketing plans. “Las Vegas is hockey-ready. We’re convinced of it. We know it,” he said.

It’s more of a bet than that, and other professional leagues probably will monitor it closely. For the newest NHL team — the Elvises? — it’s Viva Las Vegas, and all the oddities and glorious excesses that come with it.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

Twitter: @helenenothelen