There are a number of words you could use to describe Maroon 5’s halftime show performance: Empty. Boring. Basic. Sleepy. Skippable. Unfulfilling. Unnecessary.And those who came to help save the day didn’t do their jobs: If you blinked you would have missed that Travis Scott and Big Boi performed. Even the gospel choir singer was a struggle — clearly they let the wrong one sing lead Sunday.Adam Levine and friends kicked off the performance as fireworks burst from a stage designed like the letter “M White Drew Bledsoe Jerseys ,” which should have stood for “magic,” because they needed some.It started off on the right note, actually. “Harder to Breathe,” the band’s amazing debut rock song, was rousing as fire blasts shot from the sides of the stage. Levine grabbed his guitar for “This Love,” while other bandmates also strummed away.It was all going well until a joke was uttered: “A true musical genius who needs no introduction.”That’s when Scott rocketed to the stage. He tried to rap — most of it was bleeped out — in a circle of fire, but his inclusion felt more like an interruption. Scott performed his No. 1 hit, “Sickomode,” and Levine awkwardly danced beside him, which looked almost as bad as Katy Perry dancing next to Missy Elliott at Super Bowl 49.But there was one Scott highlight: He fell backward into the audience and faded away.The rest of the performance went downhill like Scott’s body did. Maroon 5 performed the very terrible hit “Girls Like You,” making the already bad song sound worse by mixing in a gospel choir, led by a singer whose voice would make you walk out of church (sorry, girl).Each transition during the halftime show didn’t feel smooth, and Big Boi appearing on top of a car in a thick mink coat added to the bizarreness of the night.When he performed “The Way You Move,” it just made you wonder what Andre 3000 was doing at the moment. Watching? Sleeping? Probably sleeping while watching.You probably had similar thoughts when Scott was onstage and Drake’s vocals played at the beginning of “Sickomode” — wishing the show had a real superstar like Drizzy to give an epic performance.Those thoughts lingered again when Levine sang “Moves Like Jagger.” WHERE IS MICK JAGGER RIGHT NOW AND CAN HE PERFORM? Any of the Stones would do, actually.Who probably should have headlined the halftime show? Gladys Knight.She scored a touchdown with her rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”: The legend’s voice shined brightly as she hit all the right notes ahead of the big game between the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams.R&B sister duo Chloe x Halle were also in top-notch form: They harmonized like a veteran girl group as they sang “America the Beautiful” at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The group, nominated for two Grammys at next week’s show including best new artist, are signed to Beyonce’s Parkwood Entertainment.Noise and controversy surrounded this year’s Super Bowl since some have boycotted the NFL over treatment of Colin Kaepernick, the former quarterback who protested racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. Some performers declined participation in the Super Bowl as a result. LAS VEGAS (AP) — Thousands of football fans from around the country converge at Las Vegas casinos every February to place their bets on the Super Bowl's winner, MVP, first touchdown scorer and hundreds of other outcomes. They cheer, boo and hold their breath as they watch every moment of the game at sportsbooks, VIP parties and other gatherings.If they're lucky, they then get in long lines to cash out.That enthusiasm is worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Las Vegas, and for the first time Sunday, it will face legal competition outside Nevada as casinos in seven more states have opened sportsbooks since the U.S. Supreme Court issued a relevant ruling in May. But the race for the betting dollars is not worrying officials or casino operators. This Super Bowl, they say, will be business as usual. Their confidence comes from the magnetism of Las Vegas: Storied casinos, superb hospitality and dining, plus a growing list of world-class entertainment options that together create the Sin City vibe that draws millions every year. Seldom do people come to this desert oasis nowadays exclusively to bet."People come to Vegas for four-five hours around the Super Bowl, but they come for a lot more to fill the other 48 hours that they are here in town for that weekend," said Jay Rood, who heads sports betting operations for MGM Resorts International. "I really don't think that Vegas, or Nevada Kevin Faulk Jerseys 2019 , has anything to worry about in the future. I think it's only going to increase our customer base and probably deliver more people to our doorstep."Tourism officials expect 306,000 people to travel to Las Vegas for Super Bowl weekend, with a projected economic impact of $426 million. The figures from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority represent a $1.4 million year-over-year increase in economic impact with about the same number of visitors.Gamblers wagered a record $158.6 million on the big game at Nevada's nearly 200 sportsbooks last year, over $20.1 million more than in 2017. But the sportsbooks made a profit of only about $1.2 million, as some reported six- and seven-figure losses in part because of a seemingly deep-pocketed mystery bettor.Nevada's effective monopoly on sports betting ended last spring, when the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on that form of gambling. Casinos in seven other states — Rhode Island, Delaware, Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New Mexico— are accepting wagers on the game between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams. And by 2020, the list could be longer with lawmakers in two dozen states thinking about allowing sports betting.The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which is responsible for promoting the destination, estimates that 93.5 percent of the city's roughly 147,000 available rooms will be booked this weekend."In addition to weather that's better than most of the country right now, we have so many other amenities you can build out a full weekend," said Jacqueline Peterson, the authority's chief communications officer. "Yes, you can sit down and watch the big game and have a great time. But before and after, we have the best clubs and bars and restaurants in the world. Some amazing shows are in town this weekend."Lady Gaga, American rock band ZZ Top, George Strait and Van Morrison are among those with shows scheduled.MGM Resorts anticipates the majority of its Las Vegas Strip properties will be sold out. Rood said he has already taken several six-figure wagers and anticipated he will get three or four wagers topping $1 million each. He expects Rams supporters from nearby southern California to start showing up in Las Vegas by Friday afternoon.MGM and the Westgate Las Vegas casino-hotel had the Patriots as 2 1/2-point favorite Thursday.The Westgate Las Vegas casino-hotel expects to be at capacity, too. It will host a gathering for 1,200 of its VIP customers, a private event for over 2,000 people and a party for about 1,500 people that's open to the public at the theater where Elvis Presley once performed. A satellite betting station will be centrally placed to allow partygoers to bet without missing much of the game.Longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker Jay Kornegay believes bettors in Nevada will set another record this year. He said some of the big bettors have made arrangements to wire money ahead of the game, with 80 to 85 percent of all the bets historically coming in the last two days before the game."It's an important weekend for us, and when I say us, I'm talking about the city of Las Vegas because we have to put on our best show to keep them coming back not just for next year's game, but throughout the entire year," said Kornegay, the Westgate's vice president of race and sports book operations. "It's all hands on deck throughout the entire city."