It's days like these - leading up to and including Sunday's Super Bowl - that set Nevada's casinos apart from those in other states, including Connecticut, home to two of the biggest gaming titans in the Western Hemisphere.

In Nevada's casinos, a patron legally may place a bet on the game's - on virtually any game's - outcome, not to mention on whether New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick will crack a smile before halftime.

Felix Rappaport, the Foxwoods Resort Casino chief executive who spent decades running Las Vegas casinos, ought to know.

"Do we wish we had a sports book to go with our racebook? Yes, but that's not a Foxwoods problem, that's a national situation," Rappaport said Friday. "That has to be handled at the highest level of government."

While Las Vegas and its casinos are expected to draw more than 300,000 revelers this Super Bowl weekend, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun probably can only hope for a modest uptick in traffic. Which is not to say they're ignoring the Patriots-Seahawks tilt.

"We have two big parties for invited guests in our Grand Ballroom and High Rollers (a luxury bowling alley) and a free public party in the Fox Theater," Rappaport said. "As a driver (of business) to the property, it's phenomenal. Any Super Bowl is good for business, and certainly this one being hotly contested and involving New England. Because so many of the Patriots come here, we feel like we're their home away from home. Julian Edelman, Tom Brady, Vince Wilfork have all been here recently. We've got a box and suites at Foxboro, so there's always a big Foxwoods contingent there when the team plays at home."

The ballroom party will accommodate about 1,200 people, with 1,400 expected to fill Fox Theater and another 225 likely to attend the High Rollers event.

Mohegan Sun expects to host more than 1,000 of its most loyal gamblers at a game-viewing party in its ballroom, according to Bobby Soper, the Uncasville casino's president and chief executive officer. And, of course, restaurants and bars at both casinos will be offering all kinds of specials.

"We try to leverage it as much as we can," Soper said of the Super Bowl. "But outside of Nevada, it's not really a big deal for casinos."

Legal wagering on the game may be limited to Nevada sports books, but even more illicit betting is believed to be going on across the country. The American Gaming Association, which lobbies on behalf of the casino industry, estimates that $3.8 billion in illegal bets will be placed on the game, 38 times more than will be bet legally.

"That's mind-numbing," Rappaport said. "Many states and municipalities could benefit from that through taxation if it were legal and regulated. It seems to me that would be something we should work toward."

Soper believes the federal ban on sports betting outside Nevada and the three other states where it is allowed on a limited basis - Delaware, Montana and Oregon - inevitably will be lifted. He noted that New Jersey lawmakers have been seeking to legalize it for years, without success.

"There's more openness to it now," he said. "You see the NBA commissioner advocating for it. With the proliferation of gaming generally, attitudes have shifted. It's seen as a form of entertainment … and there's the growth of fantasy sports. ... It'll happen some day."

In Connecticut, the state police issued a reminder Friday that it is illegal to run betting pools of any kind in an establishment selling alcohol. Otherwise, the pools are legal as long as all of the money is given back to the winners.

Earlier in the week, the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling noted that the Super Bowl is "one of the most gambled single events of the year, every year."

"For most people, a casual bet on the game is just that …," the council warned. "For pathological or problem gamblers, this can be a source of temptation and stress."

The council urges anyone who believes he or she may have a gambling problem or who knows someone who does to call (888) 789-7777.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com

Twitter: @bjhallenbeck

Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas

• An estimated 307,000 visitors

• Nongaming economic impact of $124.4 million for local economy

• In 2014, $119.4 million wagered on game in Nevada

Source: Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority