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Vegasizing the Country
Travel Web site takes gaming on the road to attract visitors
By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Blackjack, roulette and craps games are cropping up at concert venues in Los Angeles and elsewhere in an effort to "Vegasize" the country, a spokeswoman for Vegas.com said.
The strictly-for-fun casino action is part of a multimillion-dollar investment by the Las Vegas travel Web site to introduce people to Vegas-style gambling without the pressure of having to put their money on the line.
"You'd think people in L.A. know that gambling for money isn't allowed, but on the first night, people were throwing $100 bills on the table," said Pamela Johnston of Vegas.com.
With a downturn in air travel, Las Vegas has had to rely more heavily on its drive-in traffic from Southern California, which provides roughly 26 percent of the city's visitors.
That's six times higher than any other feeder market.
Vegas.com recently signed three deals with House of Blues Concerts, Clear Channel Communications and the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where the promotion was rolled out.
"We didn't just sign one deal," Johnson said. "We want to take over Los Angeles so you can't go to a concert without getting a taste of Vegas."
Venues such as the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion in Southern California will have casino scenes set up before shows and at the intermission.
"This marketing approach, allowing tens of thousands of individuals to sample a part of Vegas, is an ideal way to reach the Southern California entertainment audience," said Mike Gullo, director of sponsorship for Clear Channel Entertainment.
Clear Channel Entertainment, a producer and marketer of live entertainment events, is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Worldwide. It owns or operates 135 live entertainment venues in North America and Europe.
The travel industry experienced major discounting after September's terrorist attacks, particularly hotel rates and air fares.
Johnston said 21 percent of U.S. leisure travelers are booking their trips less than 72 hours before departure, looking for last-minute deals on the Internet.
"While anyone can discount, Vegas.com has committed to put prestige before price and offer VIP access to the most coveted entertainment events, even when seats are sold out," Johnston said.
"Everyone's trying to compete on price. You're going to need such tremendous demand and booking levels to make up for discounting."
By HUBBLE SMITH
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Blackjack, roulette and craps games are cropping up at concert venues in Los Angeles and elsewhere in an effort to "Vegasize" the country, a spokeswoman for Vegas.com said.
The strictly-for-fun casino action is part of a multimillion-dollar investment by the Las Vegas travel Web site to introduce people to Vegas-style gambling without the pressure of having to put their money on the line.
"You'd think people in L.A. know that gambling for money isn't allowed, but on the first night, people were throwing $100 bills on the table," said Pamela Johnston of Vegas.com.
With a downturn in air travel, Las Vegas has had to rely more heavily on its drive-in traffic from Southern California, which provides roughly 26 percent of the city's visitors.
That's six times higher than any other feeder market.
Vegas.com recently signed three deals with House of Blues Concerts, Clear Channel Communications and the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where the promotion was rolled out.
"We didn't just sign one deal," Johnson said. "We want to take over Los Angeles so you can't go to a concert without getting a taste of Vegas."
Venues such as the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion in Southern California will have casino scenes set up before shows and at the intermission.
"This marketing approach, allowing tens of thousands of individuals to sample a part of Vegas, is an ideal way to reach the Southern California entertainment audience," said Mike Gullo, director of sponsorship for Clear Channel Entertainment.
Clear Channel Entertainment, a producer and marketer of live entertainment events, is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Worldwide. It owns or operates 135 live entertainment venues in North America and Europe.
The travel industry experienced major discounting after September's terrorist attacks, particularly hotel rates and air fares.
Johnston said 21 percent of U.S. leisure travelers are booking their trips less than 72 hours before departure, looking for last-minute deals on the Internet.
"While anyone can discount, Vegas.com has committed to put prestige before price and offer VIP access to the most coveted entertainment events, even when seats are sold out," Johnston said.
"Everyone's trying to compete on price. You're going to need such tremendous demand and booking levels to make up for discounting."