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VOLTAIRE’s Shocking 180 – A Vegas 411 Exclusive

Venetian’s troubled performance venue makes a major operational change…and you may have VEGAS 411 to thank.

No, the management team at Venetian Resort‘s VOLTAIRE didn’t officially make the above announcement. But a major change to its business model amounts to a full-on confession. And while this might not seem like big news, it truly is…and you should know why.

Media outlets like VEGAS 411 have actively pushed back on new gouging practices. We want our visitors to enjoy the Sin City experience without fear of being ripped off. Resort fees, paid parking, COVID recovery fees, CNF charges, restaurant checks with separate “suggested tips” for servers and kitchen staff, labor surcharges, random “service charges” that appear without explanation….the list keeps growing. If nothing is done, these practices become a “new normal”…and that’s not okay.

Image via @VitalVegas on X

VOLTAIRE opened last November and labeled itself as “a new entertainment experience.” All this meant was that they attached an outrageous mandatory beverage fee to an already-expensive show ticket. Whether you wanted to drink alcohol or not, your credit card would be pre-charged hundreds of dollars per person before you could enter the theater. Wrap your mind around that.

When this writer learned of VOLTAIRE‘s unacceptable “Minimum Spend” requirements for ticketed performances, I pushed back hard…really hard. I blasted the venue via detailed exposés here, here, and here. And even here. I labeled the place as “Gouging, Redefined”, “Luxury Trash”, and “the Spirit Airlines of performance venues”.

“While it’s admittedly “bad form” to wish failure on a business, VOLTAIRE deserves to be kicked in the knees until they break. The business model this pompous fiasco brought to Las Vegas needs to be stopped.” – Sam Novak, VEGAS 411 8/1/24 

Even though none of my colleagues joined the charge against this latest cash grab, I vowed to keep fighting for our tourists and residents. Venetian Resort has refused to respond to numerous messages and no longer includes VEGAS 411 in its media releases. But exposing their unethical practices and “customer abuse”, in which hundreds of paying guests were placed in physical danger, seems to have worked.

I failed to rally other media outlets in exposing VOLTAIRE, but musical artist Jason Derulo became an unwitting ally. Fans of VOLTAIRE‘s previous headliners (Kylie Minogue and Christina Aguilera) would do anything to see their idol. But Derulo attracts an entirely different demographic, whose tolerance for being ripped off would test the limits of VOLTAIRE‘s bullshit:

Sure enough, after just a few performances, Jason Derulo disappeared from the schedule and VOLTAIRE sat empty for over a month….a half-year into its multi-million-dollar debut. Aguilera eventually returned to finish her residency and Dita Von Teese announced a new VOLTAIRE production (replacing the failed BELLE DE NUIT, reviewed here).

Earlier this week, VOLTAIRE boasted the return of Jason Derulo…for only two late December dates. Still referring to his shows as a “residency” on its website, Venetian’s problematic venue had also quietly instituted a MAJOR change:

Look closely and you’ll see that the mandatory bar fee has been replaced with a bar CREDIT. That’s right….your ticket price now includes $200 worth of booze, caviar, and ice cream.

Before Derulo’s return, performer Jess Glynne is scheduled for two VOLTAIRE shows in late October. Ticketmaster requires a two-ticket minimum for seats, and a one-drink minimum will be enforced. But that’s a far cry from $300 or more per person.

Dita Von Teese‘s show, which closed prematurely at Horseshoe Casino (formerly Bally’s) in June, is also requiring seats to be purchased in pairs. The new production opens at VOLTAIRE on September 19th, and this time, there is no mention of drink minimums…at all.

Don’t discount the importance of this operational change. After ripping off thousands of angry customers, VIP services manager Brandon Handy and the rest of the VOLTAIRE team may have finally gotten a clue. Let’s hope no other Las Vegas venues attempt this blatant nonsense. They’ll be in for a rude awakening.

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