from Brian Deka of the Las Vegas Sun,

It's showtime for Las Vegas to determine whether it can host a major professional sports team.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman was at the MGM Grand today as ownership group Hockey Vision Las Vegas launched a season-ticket drive with a goal of 10,000 deposits. Billionaire Bill Foley, who leads the group, is optimistic the effort will show the league that the city can sustain an expansion franchise.

"I'm confident that we will demonstrate that Las Vegas is a viable NHL city," Foley said.

The ownership group's website, vegaswantshockey.com, began accepting deposits at 1:30 p.m. The league hasn't given Foley a deadline to secure the deposits.

Bettman said a team for Las Vegas isn't guaranteed, regardless of the result of the ticket drive. Still, Bettman said, he supports Foley's effort.

"One, he's very successful, and two, he's very persuasive," Bettman said.

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