The Rock in Rio USA music festival has announced its 2015 lineup. The two weekend festival has been divided into a Rock weekend May 8-9 and a Pop weekend May 15-16.
The Rock headliners are Metallica, No Doubt and Linkin Park. The Pop headliners are Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran.
Rock in Rio originated in Rio de Janeiro back in 1985 and has since expanded to Lisbon and Madrid. Las Vegas will host the first USA edition of the festival.
The festival is being held at what is being called "City of Rock" which is essentially an empty lot on the Las Vegas Strip directly across from SLS. City of Rock is owned by a partnership led by MGM Resorts International.
For the full lineup, check out Rock In Rio.
Friday, March 06, 2015
Thursday, March 05, 2015
Jon Taffer Opening Las Vegas Bar
Jon Taffer of Bar Rescue TV fame will be opening a Las Vegas bar in the coming months. Taffer talked about the nightclub industry in a recent three part interview with Robin Leach.
Although the new yet unnamed venue will likely be considered more of a bar than a nightclub, Taffer hinted that the bar would have a dance floor, which would allow it to take advantage of the red hot nightclub market and allow the bar to stay hopping well into the morning hours.
Taffer also seems to think there is great opportunity for new bars to cater to the under served mid-market crowd in Las Vegas. With high priced nightclubs being all the rage lately, the mid-market seems to be ignored somewhat. Taffer thinks giving people a better value would let them make more return trips to Las Vegas.
Viewers of Bar Rescue might not know that Jon Taffer lives in Las Vegas. He was a founder of the Nightclub & Bar Show - one of the largest trade conventions for that industry. The 30th annual edition of the Nightclub & Bar Show will take place in Vegas from March 30 to April 1, 2015.
Although the new yet unnamed venue will likely be considered more of a bar than a nightclub, Taffer hinted that the bar would have a dance floor, which would allow it to take advantage of the red hot nightclub market and allow the bar to stay hopping well into the morning hours.
Taffer also seems to think there is great opportunity for new bars to cater to the under served mid-market crowd in Las Vegas. With high priced nightclubs being all the rage lately, the mid-market seems to be ignored somewhat. Taffer thinks giving people a better value would let them make more return trips to Las Vegas.
Viewers of Bar Rescue might not know that Jon Taffer lives in Las Vegas. He was a founder of the Nightclub & Bar Show - one of the largest trade conventions for that industry. The 30th annual edition of the Nightclub & Bar Show will take place in Vegas from March 30 to April 1, 2015.
Wednesday, March 04, 2015
Riviera Closing May 4, 2015
The Riviera will be closing on May 4, 2015. The historic Las Vegas hotel was recently purchased for 182.5 million by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). The Riviera will be imploded as early as June to make way for the Las Vegas Global Business District. The Business District will cost a whopping 2.3 Billion dollars and will extend the existing convention center all the way out to the Las Vegas Strip.
It's always sad to see a classic Las Vegas property close down, but it isn't unexpected. The Riviera has been struggling badly for some time now. The aging casino combined with a bad location made the Riviera seem like a ghost town on most nights recently.
The Riviera could have benefited from a North Strip turnaround, but the cavalry led by Resorts World didn't show up in time. As much as I would have liked to see a comeback story from the Riv, this convention center expansion is probably a better outcome for everyone involved. A 2.3 Billion dollar project could just be the kickstart needed for the North Strip revitalization that we've been waiting on for years now.
It's always sad to see a classic Las Vegas property close down, but it isn't unexpected. The Riviera has been struggling badly for some time now. The aging casino combined with a bad location made the Riviera seem like a ghost town on most nights recently.
The Riviera could have benefited from a North Strip turnaround, but the cavalry led by Resorts World didn't show up in time. As much as I would have liked to see a comeback story from the Riv, this convention center expansion is probably a better outcome for everyone involved. A 2.3 Billion dollar project could just be the kickstart needed for the North Strip revitalization that we've been waiting on for years now.
Tuesday, March 03, 2015
High Roller Averaging 5000 Riders Per Day
On a recent earnings call, Caesars Entertainment revealed the High Roller observation wheel attraction is averaging 5000 riders per day.
The High Roller is the centerpiece of The Linq pedestrian walkway between Flamingo and the newly renamed Linq Hotel (formerly The Quad and Imperial Palace before that).
While 5000 riders is below the 10000 riders originally projected for the High Roller, ridership is growing - up 10% from the previous quarter.
Caesars executives commented about how challenging the marketing aspect of the attraction is, with ridership varying drastically depending on seasonality and demographics. It's possible that once the marketing is fully optimized that 10000 daily riders wouldn't be out of the question as a long term goal.
5000 average daily riders adds up to 1.825 million riders a year, which means roughly 5% of Las Vegas visitors end up riding the High Roller. That seems like an OK number, but Caesars will definitely want to push that higher if they want to fully optimize The Linq.
The High Roller is the centerpiece of The Linq pedestrian walkway between Flamingo and the newly renamed Linq Hotel (formerly The Quad and Imperial Palace before that).
While 5000 riders is below the 10000 riders originally projected for the High Roller, ridership is growing - up 10% from the previous quarter.
Caesars executives commented about how challenging the marketing aspect of the attraction is, with ridership varying drastically depending on seasonality and demographics. It's possible that once the marketing is fully optimized that 10000 daily riders wouldn't be out of the question as a long term goal.
5000 average daily riders adds up to 1.825 million riders a year, which means roughly 5% of Las Vegas visitors end up riding the High Roller. That seems like an OK number, but Caesars will definitely want to push that higher if they want to fully optimize The Linq.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Can Las Vegas Support an NHL Team?
The news that an NHL hockey team might be coming to Las Vegas has sparked much debate whether the city could support a professional sports franchise.
Usually the biggest obstacle for a city attracting a team is to have an arena. With the new MGM arena being built that major hurdle has already been jumped.
The arena's prime location on the Strip should attract both tourists and locals alike. I can imagine folks using a hockey game as another entertainment option on their vacation. It wouldn't surprise me to even see tickets for the NHL team being sold at ticket booths around the Strip alongside traditional shows.
So I think attendance will be reasonably strong when you combine tourists and locals. The larger concern would be whether a hockey team could thrive in the desert and gain a strong local TV following among a transient population. Phoenix has had similar struggles with their hockey team.
Whether the team is ultimately successful or not, bringing a pro sports team would be a victory in defining Las Vegas as a major city and would continue to diversify the city's entertainment portfolio beyond gaming.
Usually the biggest obstacle for a city attracting a team is to have an arena. With the new MGM arena being built that major hurdle has already been jumped.
The arena's prime location on the Strip should attract both tourists and locals alike. I can imagine folks using a hockey game as another entertainment option on their vacation. It wouldn't surprise me to even see tickets for the NHL team being sold at ticket booths around the Strip alongside traditional shows.
So I think attendance will be reasonably strong when you combine tourists and locals. The larger concern would be whether a hockey team could thrive in the desert and gain a strong local TV following among a transient population. Phoenix has had similar struggles with their hockey team.
Whether the team is ultimately successful or not, bringing a pro sports team would be a victory in defining Las Vegas as a major city and would continue to diversify the city's entertainment portfolio beyond gaming.
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