Walking through the stands of Allegiant Stadium, ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys was stopped by a Warriors fan who just wanted to say thank you.

Because for the first time in his 70-odd years, he’d found a reason to leave New Zealand.

“That made me so happy,” V’landys said. “This bloke’s first international trip was to here to Vegas to follow his Warriors, and we made that happen.”

The Las Vegas concept has had plenty of knockers. Question marks over whether the venture would yield a financial windfall dominated the conversation leading into its inception last year.

The spectacle left fans in Australia yearning to get a taste of Sin City for themselves, yet the question remained. Was the glitz and glamour translating into an impact on the game’s bottom line?

It’s a closely guarded secret at NRL headquarters, but it’s estimated the game lost close to $1 million in the first year it sent players to the United States.

Jakiya Whitfield celebrates a try for Australia.Credit: Getty Images

Now, just two years into a five-year plan, the NRL was trumpeting a small profit.

“It’s not all about money,” V’landys says, probably for the first time in his career.

And in this instance, it wasn’t.

Rugby league is on the map. It took over Las Vegas - injecting almost $US80 million into the city.

The NRL has dominated the headlines for a week. In their ongoing war with the AFL, the bigwigs in Melbourne must be watching with envy........

© The Sydney Morning Herald