The Genii Forum

Brad Henderson wrote:

Richard Kaufman wrote:Can someone please explain to me what is going on in this thread?

Bob Farmer killed Las Vegas.

The Bammo Vegas Walloper?

For anyone that /wasn't/ cirque the Vegas dream died 15 years ago as that's when it all switched to 4-walling and took away the incentives for the casinos to help ensure the show was a success. Cirque managed to tread water for the last 10 years but it's worth noting over that period they closed as many shows as they opened and it's widely expected they will be closing 3 shows before the decade is out.

There's at least 2 well established (and on the face of it successful / profitable) Vegas headliners that i know of who are very actively working on leaving their Vegas residency and switching to only doing month long visits during peek season whilst touring other countries / territories for the rest of the year and 2 very Vegas specific major shows that are holding on but only just.

There's a significant downturn in the EDM /nightclub scene; at the end of this year there will be something like half the clubs that started the year either officially closed or "closed for refurbishment" for an indefinite period. At the moment there's an uptick in the number of popstar residencies but that market is about to plateau as Vegas goes from only 2 x 4500 seat venues (Coliseum & AXIS / Zappos) to 8 similar sized space by the end of next year.

The next phase of Vegas is likely to be "experiential" entertainment (ironically making Fuerza-Bruta ahead of its time) with all the casino's having projects on the table (including something that's not a million miles away from the much missed CME) meaning that's where the market is heading next; entertainment projects that aren't time specific. It's safe to say now that the "vegas show" in any format we would recognise is dead and buried.

Are there any big stars in Vegas that are not 4-walling?

Famously Mac King is on something closer to an old-school contract. Donnie & Marie are on old school terms (but about to close permanently) outside of that i can't think of anyone who's on the traditional contract. The big Music star residencies are in a way - each of the mega theatres is operated by a promotor (AEG, Clearchannel, etc) who operate a number of venues around the world; typically they negotiate multi-venue or multi performer deals with the act concerned for a fixed fee plus percentage of the box office so in that respect the performers are on something resembling a traditional vegas deal and it is the venue promoters who are taking the risk as they rent the venue from the casino it's stood on. The sheer size of these venues gives the promotors some clout with the casino/hotel as the headlines and hotel room sales they generate are significant BUT they are still at the mercy of the casino; the Coliseum @ caesers is about to change promotors because the new promoters essentially are prepared to give the casino more than the old ones did.

I've read the comments on Internet articles about the Vegas downslide. Perks like free parking and low priced dinners have been phased out. I kept reading the same refrain: "I'm not going back."

Do Penn and Teller own their theatre?

I believe they are essentially 4-walling though on a slightly sweeter deal than is normal. The marketing uptick from doing FoolUs and their regular appearances on other tv shows are part of a deliberate promotional strategy that seems to have worked as they are producing very solid sales levels. I would expect that they & Copperfield will be staying in Vegas until they retire.

Thank you, Tom.

Criss Angel has just interestingly announced the cancellation of all 930 pm performances. He blames his injured shoulder - but such an enormous reduction of ticket capacity ( so soon after opening ) and for the indefinite future - would appear that he, too, may be unable to sustain demand for two performances nightly.

I fondly remember the days when I could perform twice nightly however I’ll perhaps leave those stories for another time...

Suffice to say that these days it’s more like once yearly, nearly.

A

Now thats funny!

Despite the marketing hype the original show at Luxor was never sold out (I don’t know a single person who saw the show and wasn’t upgraded or witnessed chunks of audience being upgraded) despite the fact it is legitimately a good VEGAS show with some great moment.

5 shows per week is a much more attainable schedule though as per my previous posting, audiences and casinos are moving more towards experiental shows and non traditional showtimes so the smart money would be on further changes to the concept in the coming years.

Tom, you have great insights into the industry & entertainment in general. You really should consider writing more about the trends.

I’d love to read more of tom’s insights on the actual goings on in the biz. A short but content laden weekly or bi weekly newsletter would be cool - like the old PW torch from back in the day.

If anyone needed to be reminded that Criss Angel’s stardom exists mostly in his inflated head, we can see it plainly now with Copperfield doing 15 well attended shows a week and Angel, who has been fruitlessly chasing him for 15 years, relegated to ... 5?


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Brad Henderson wrote:I’d love to read more of tom’s insights on the actual goings on in the biz. A short but content laden weekly or bi weekly newsletter would be cool - like the old PW torch from back in the day.

That’s very kind of you to say - this sort of information and narrative is the bread and butter of our day to day design and consultancy work (no point designing a multi million dollar show if no producer or venue will host it) there’s also definitely not enough active news to sustain a regular newsletter - there are maybe 2 or three important Las Vegas magic stories per year, 2 or 3 cruise ship magic stories per year, 2 or 3 tv magic stories per year that highlight trends or changes worth paying attention to; it would be the shortest newsletter ever.

In the sign of the times - Cirque's latest show is dropping the acrobatics, is down to just 75 minutes and promises to attract a different type of audience.

https://www.latimes.com/travel/lasvegas ... story.html

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“If you’re buying a ticket for ‘R.U.N.,’ the first thing I will tell you is that it is not an acrobatic show,” the company’s president and CEO Daniel Lamarre said Monday. “It’s not acrobatic at all.”

Instead “R.U.N.” will be what Lamarre calls a live-action thriller that will blend stunts and special effects into a story line. The show opens with a gangland wedding that, eventually, sends the bride on the run. Cirque fans will see “a series of fast-paced chases, combat and stunts through the underground of Las Vegas,” a news release said.

The new show is a nod to the changing preferences of some Vegas visitors, Lamarre said. “We have to adapt ourselves to a different genre,” he said. “I think we’re going to attract a different crowd here.”

And seems Mr Angel couldn’t resist a dig at his former employers Cirque ...

Ever on the ball - their retort “Need an opening night invite? See what a full house looks like again?””

https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertain ... d-1653279/