Las Vegas Lights FC is in its first year of existence, playing in the USL (a step below MLS), and as is often the case with franchises in smaller leagues, they have to get creative in how they get fans out to the stadium and excited about games. For Saturday night’s game against the LA Galaxy II, the Lights did so\ the old fashioned way, by holding a helicopter cash drop for 200 lucky fans.

The Lights had 200 fans go down to the field where a suited man in a helicopter dumped $5,000 onto the field, with the combination of a windy night and the helicopter blades causing it to fly all over the place. The result on the field was, predictably, pandemonium.
Cash drops aren’t new, but adding in a helicopter is a very nice and unnecessary touch — and one that’s very Vegas. Happily, the stunt went off without a hitch as the chopper made its entrance, drop, and exit without a problem and none of the fans on the field go too rowdy chasing the cash and there were no injuries.

According to owner Brett Lashbrook, who spoke with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the idea came from seeing the same stunt done by, who else, a minor league baseball team. The team dropped $3,000 in $1 bills, with the other $2,000 being in $2, $5, $10, $20, and $100 bills.

Las Vegas Lights FC’s cash drop goes off without a hitch.
Cash rained down over midfield, whirling around the sky as a helicopter fluttered over Cashman Field and fans scrambled to collect bills. Some stayed near the middle of the field, grabbing what they could, while others chased after bills flying around in the wind.
When it was all said and done, 200 fans walked off the field with a combined $5,000 on Saturday night at halftime of the Lights’ game against the Los Angeles Galaxy II, many clutching wads of crumpled cash in their hands.
The Lights lost the game against Galaxy II 2-1, but the highly promoted cash drop seemed to draw plenty of buzz on its own.
The promotion was open to season-ticket holders, sponsors and randomly selected fans in attendance. Owner Brett Lashbrook said $3,000 in $1 bills were dropped, with the remaining $2,000 in $2, $5, $10, $20 and $100 bills.
Participant Lauren Herskowitz came away with mostly dollar bills.
“I was hoping to gather enough for two Life is Beautiful Saturday tickets for me and my 14-year-old daughter,” she said.
She made a small dent in that, gathering about $15, she said.
“I started to realize that because I’m short, I probably should stay lower to the ground,” Herskowitz said. “If I did that, I probably would have had more money.”
Tony Hapiuk said his strategy was to “hopefully stand still and it will all fall on me,” while Manny Benavides learned that staying in the middle seemed to be most fruitful.
For an idea that the Lights came up with and pulled together in less than a month as a way to reward fans, the cash drop seemed to go off without a hitch.
“People will talk about how crazy we are off the field, and we are proud of that,” Lashbrook said. “We wear it