Vegas is the Absolute Worst Place for an NHL Team

The NHL recently approved expansion for a 31st team in Las Vegas set to begin play in the 2017-18 season. I literally cant think of a less deserving city than Vegas. Did the owners, who voted unanimously, really need that $500 million expansion fee (divided 30 ways)? Did Gary Bettman and the NHL learn nothing from their southern expansion 20 years ago? Did moving teams from Hartford, Winnipeg, Minneapolis, and Quebec for Phoenix, Raleigh, Atlanta, and Sunrise, Florida make sense then? The NHL's southern expansion experiment has largely been a failure. "Let's go Rangers" chants drown out Hurricanes' fans chants when New York plays in Raleigh and $20 can pretty much get you on the glass for a Panthers game. The ugly truth is that southern markets just don't really care about hockey and the NHL. Hockey is a very regional sport - only select areas of North America genuinely care about their local franchise. The NHL is not a "if you build it, they will come" type scenario and their new Sin City franchise is doomed. I think Bettman believes that being the only professional franchise in the city will almost force locals to attend games and jump on the bandwagon, but Las Vegas is an anomalous market. Vegas is degenerate city, fueled by people trading in their family heirlooms for $2000 to play a few more hands of blackjack. Few people work 9-5's and most are only living their for a short period of time. I can't see the local population latching onto anything that can't make them a quick buck. I've always thought Gary Bettman was missing a chromosome but the decision to expand to Las Vegas confirms it.