As they do every year, Las Vegas sports books will lay out a smorgasbord of special events and deals tied to NFL and college football games this season. One of the best opportunities comes from three weekly handicapping contests that pay real money to winners, but are free to enter.

This year, the free contests will be held at Coast properties (Gold Coast, Suncoast, Orleans, and Sam's Town, among others), Lucky's sports books (Plaza and Terrible's), and North Las Vegas' Poker Palace. You can win up to $30,000 (in the Coast contest), but it's not easy — you'll need a perfect, or near-perfect, card to cash. Still, free is free. Just show up before the games begin and follow the posted instructions to play.

BEST PARTIES: Party central on football Sundays figures to be the Las Vegas Hilton, where you can watch the games for free on big screens in the sports book and showroom, while taking advantage of good food and drink specials. The traditional play for Monday-night games has been Sam's Town, where in past years your first hot dog and beer have been on the house (not confirmed).

MONOPOLY INTACT: For another year at least, Las Vegas remains the only place in the U.S. where you can legally bet on the results of a single sports contest. Efforts in Delaware to allow single-game wagering were shot down last week; Delaware will be allowed to accept parlay bets, which involve the results of more than one game.

LESS JUICE: And speaking of betting, look to the Las Vegas Hilton again for the best deal. On Thursdays from 3 to 11 p.m., you can bet $10.50 to win $10 (on football), as opposed to the standard arrangement of betting $11 to win $10. The difference between what you bet and what you win is known as the "juice."

Q: Where are the good football contests this year?

A total of 17 contests are running in Las Vegas this season. The best ones for visitors are the freebies addressed in this column's lead. For a complete list and details, go to the Web site listed below.

Find out about Las Vegas shows, buffets and deals at www.LasVegasAdvisor.com.