Note: The title does not contain a typo. The Vegas Golden Knights brand their themed nights as “knights” as an obvious play on homophones. As such, the title is intended to say “Filipino Heritage Knight” instead of “Filipino Heritage Night.”

 
I have a Chase Sapphire Reserve, but I have become increasingly dissatisfied with it over the past year or so. I just have problems with Chase in general with both my personal accounts and business accounts because they keep on blocking my legitimate transactions as fraudulent. However, the Chase Sapphire Reserve in particular has been becoming less ideal for me because it is morphing into a “coupon book” style of card where I have to keep track of a ton of different targeted credits in order to get maximum value from the annual fee.

I recently ran into some troubles redeeming their OpenTable credit because I went to Nobu at Caesars Palace without realizing that they had removed it as an eligible restaurant; I previously blogged about that experience in detail.

What I haven’t blogged about yet was my attempt at using their StubHub credit, wherein I purchased premium loge box seats in Section L9 at T-Mobile Arena to see the Vegas Golden Knights, but the seller instead transferred me standard lower bowl seats in Section 9. This was clearly a scammer, as these regular tickets were priced comparably to the premium tickets that they were disguised to look like.

When I immediately contacted StubHub customer service about the scam, they ignored me for a few days, and then just hours before the event was about to start, they acknowledged the problem and asked me to transfer the tickets back for replacement tickets in the proper loge box section. They then proceeded to ignore me again and never issue replacement tickets. I told their customer service department that they had utterly failed me and notified them that I expect a full refund. Instead of giving me an immediate refund, they told me that they need to conduct an investigation that may take up to five business days.

I ultimately got my money back, but obviously, not my time. StubHub is a website that I would have never imagined using if it wasn’t for the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit, and after this experience, I plan on never using them again and just skipping out on the semi-annual US$150.00 credit. I honestly don’t even understand why Chase would work with a company like StubHub where the entire platform is basically built for scalpers to have a place to resell their tickets. It absolutely degrades Chase’s reputation by even remotely associating with a brand like StubHub.

With all that being said, the one innocent party out of all of this was the Vegas Golden Knights. Although I don’t follow hockey, I am aware that the Golden Knights are a very good team that has won some championships in the past. Being a Las Vegas local, I figured I should still try to see them live at some point, considering that they are a true, home-grown Las Vegas sports team. (For those who are not aware, the Las Vegas Raiders American football team and the Las Vegas Athletics baseball team are both rescued from Oakland, California.)

After keeping a watchful eye on AXS, the official ticketing platform for the Vegas Golden Knights, I found a good opportunity to purchase a premium, all-inclusive, non-resale ticket direct from T-Mobile Arena and the Golden Knights. My total out-the-door price, including all taxes and fees, was US$552.95. That is obviously quite a lot more expensive than just a regular ticket in the lower bowl, but for me personally, I thought it was worth it to be able to be seated in a private suite, skip most lines and enter through the VIP doors, avoid all congestion from the main floors, eat unlimited food, and drink unlimited beverages.

 
The morning of the event, I received an email letting me know the day’s schedule. The first thing on the timeline was the Paramount+ Plaza opening at 5 PM. I timed my walk to T-Mobile Arena so that I would arrive shortly after 5 PM, but I am guessing I arrived too early. There was a DJ playing some music on a stage, but there was no audience in front of him. There were also a lot of people dressed up, presumably in traditional Filipino attire, but they were sort of just standing around in the middle of the plaza and occasionally posing for photos with fans.

Funny enough, instead of enjoying the festivities, it seemed like most people were already lining up at the doors waiting to get in. I didn’t want to stand around for over half an hour, and the VIP entrance at the side of the stadium had nobody in it, so I decided to go for a walk around the area until doors were scheduled to open at 5:45 PM.

When entering, I was offered some limited-quantity themed merchandise—a poster and a towel. I wasn’t interested, so I told the attendant that I would pass on mine to make sure that another person who actually wanted one would get one. However, I told him that I would take a photo of it for the memories.

Because there was basically no line in the VIP entrance, and because it led directly to an elevator lobby that took you right up to the suite level, I managed to get in extremely quickly. I headed over to the ledge to watch the general admission lines slowly begin to trickle in.

I went straight up to the suite because I wanted to eat a hearty meal before the game started.

Because I was so early, I had a nice view of the empty arena and fans slowly coming in one by one while I was eating my dinner. My seat was in the first row right up at the glass, but while eating, I grabbed a temporary spot at the bar-style table behind the seats.

The informational email said that there were special themed Filipino food items available—sisig-loaded fries, lechon burgers, lumpia, and other treats from Milkfish Bakeshop. Unfortunately, the catering inside my suite didn’t have any of the special Filipino food, so I just had to have the regular American barbecue meats, sandwiches, and vegetables. Later on in the evening, they had a whipped cream fruit dip with graham crackers that was probably one of the best desserts I have ever had at a sporting event.

At 6:30 PM, the players came out onto the ice for warm-ups.

Once warm-ups were over, the crew brought out machinery to prepare the ice for play.

Once everything was ready, there was a little theatrical performance where two knights—one representing Calgary and one representing Las Vegas—had a sword fight to claim rights to the stone. Calgary erected their flag first, but Las Vegas won in combat and dethroned Calgary’s claim.

After the show was over, a large knight helmet slowly descended from the ceiling, through which the Vegas Golden Knights came out one by one.

For the final element of the pre-show routine, two singers came out to perform the national anthems—one for Canada and one for the United States of America.

Afterwards, the official did the puck drop, and the Calgary Flames vs. Vegas Golden Knights game was underway.

I sat back to relax in my chair, but all of a sudden, the arena erupted in cheers and everyone was on their feet. In confusion, I looked up, and it seemed like the Vegas Golden Knights had already scored, only 25 seconds into the match.

The Golden Knights scored once again before the period was over, bringing the score to 2-0.

During the break between the first and second periods, they let a children’s hockey team come out and play for a little bit on the ice. I thought that was nice; I’m sure it will leave a lasting positive memory for the kids and serve as a very inspiring experience that encourages them to keep improving and aspire to be as good as the professionals someday.

Not too long into the second period, the Golden Knights scored once again. The Flames scored once too during the second period, bringing the score to 3-1 in favor of the Knights.

Once in a while, the players take a break so that the Knights Guard can come out and clear the ice of shavings and other obstructions. During this time, the arena engages the audience with interactive activities. My favorite one was when they zoomed in on a San Jose Sharks fan and labeled him as a “lost fan,” while he embraced the boos and showed his pride and loyalty to his team.

Between the second and third periods, they basically had a little rave. A DJ performed a short EDM set, and the entire arena was illuminated with colorful flashing lights.

Once the third period started, the Golden Knights kept up their momentum and kept scoring goals. I realized that it was getting boring just taking the same picture of the ice over and over again every time they scored a goal, so instead, I started photographing the crowd.

Here is the crowd to my right, cheering for the Knights’ 4th goal…

… and here is the crowd to my left, cheering for the Knights’ 5th goal.

The Knights’ 6th goal ended up being the third goal by a single player during the game. Apparently, that is called a “hat trick,” and fans threw their hats onto the ice in celebration.

At one point, there was a small scuffle between the two teams. To my understanding, most fights in professional hockey nowadays are somewhat performative, though I guess there’s nothing stopping them from breaking professionalism and having real brawls if one team does something particularly disrespectful.

The Flames scored one more goal in the third period, bringing the overall score to 6-2 in the Knights’ favor. There was obviously no celebration for the away team’s goal; instead, there was a funny clip of an angry Pikachu shown on the jumbotron to express dissatisfaction.

After the pouting Pikachu, there were no more goals, and 6-2 ended up being the final score.

After the game time ran out, a few people came out with flags reading “Victory is Ours.”

A lot of people started exiting the arena, presumably to attempt to beat the traffic rush out of the event parking garage. However, because I’m a local and was planning on walking home, I stayed until the very end and watched the entirety of the post-game celebration.

After everything was over, I slowly made my way out of the arena. I stopped by the washroom and then followed a crowd of people in hopes that they would lead me to the exit, but I eventually found myself in the parking garage instead. That was fine, though; I just took a nice photograph from an elevated vantage point of fans leaving the arena, then I took the stairs in the corner down to the ground level to walk home.

Here is a bonus picture of Filipino Heritage Knight being advertised on the Aria Resort & Casino‘s electronic billboard, taken from my window. I assume it was displayed there because MGM Resorts International is a co-owner of T-Mobile Arena, so they have a vested interest in the success of its events.

Overall, I had a pleasant experience watching the Vegas Golden Knights live in-person for the first time, even though I don’t really follow hockey and can barely even tell what’s going on in the game because of how frequently players are rotated in and out during play.

The fact that I had an all-inclusive VIP experience obviously had a material effect on my enjoyment of the event, and because of how averse I’ve become to lines and crowds lately, I most likely would not have gone if I didn’t have this opportunity. However, if such an opportunity like this ever arises again in the future—either through the shared suite structure like this time, or through a reliable loge box ticket that isn’t from a third-party reselling platform—then I would be happy to go back and watch another Vegas Golden Knights game.