Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
8
It's Showtime
More than a hundred stages compete with
gaming tables for your time and dollars
L
AS VEGAS IS AS MUCH ABOUT SHOWS AS IT IS ABOUT GAMBLING
.
EVER
since the days when Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack boozed their way through leg-
endary performances at the Sands (even rolling a bar cart onto the stage to mix
drinks in between songs), casinos have featured heavily promoted entertainers
alongside their roulette wheels and craps tables.
The emphasis was once entirely on individual stars. Vegas, according to the
spin, was where all the big names came to cut loose in the desert, performing as
they would for close friends around the piano at home. If you wanted to see Elvis
or Dean Martin at their best, you made your way to Nevada.
Today things are a bit different. Very few shows simply feature a famous voice,
a bunch of horns, and a handful of comely showgirls. Over-the-top is the key
word, with million-dollar-sets populated by battalions of acrobats, dancers, jug-
glers, and genetically perfect (or enhanced) women.
But the raison d'être hasn't changed all that much. On Vegas stages all is com-
edy, good times, bare breasts and butts, and stars who seem to be performing
for the sheer fun of it (shh . . . don't tell the audiences about those multi-million-
dollar paychecks Céline and Barry are taking home).
A MASSIVE ATTRACTION, A PRICEY CHALLENGE
It's a formula that
works well. City promoters call Vegas the “Entertainment Capital of the World,”
and the numbers support their boast. There are currently over 80 permanent pro-
ductions on the boards, plus dozens of other 1- and 2-night concerts and touring
events, making Vegas one of the biggest theater towns in the U.S. So, yes, if you're
in the mood to see a show, Las Vegas is a heck of a good place to visit.
But as with so many things in this town, you're going to have to pay more to
do so . . . or be savvy about finding a discount. In 2006, the
Las Vegas Advisor
reported that ticket prices had catapulted to an average of $62 per night, up a
whopping 15% from 2005, and 50% from 2002, when the average seat was just
$40. Twelve of the shows have ticket prices topping $100, with another six just
scraping that ceiling at $98 a pop.
HOW WE'LL CUT THE COST
Is everyone paying those outlandish prices?
Of course not. Sure, you'll probably have to pay full price for a show as popular as
Cirque du Soleil's
KÀ
or Barry Manilow when Vegas is busy. But sometimes even
the hits have slow nights (see the discussion below). And as with everything else in
this status-conscious city, there's often one price for the common folk, one price for
the big rollers . . . and one price for those smart enough to game the system.
