The unexpected death Friday of popular showroom star Danny Gans at 52 is only one more shock to the already stunned system of Las Vegas.
Tourism is down. Convention attendance is down. And what was seen as a path paved in gold -- the pop star with decades of hits performing 50-plus shows per year -- is starting to crap out at the casinos.
Last week, Elton John packed up his red piano and bolted after delivering 241 performances over the course of five years at the Coliseum inside Caesars Palace, grossing more than $125 million and filling the hall to better than 95 percent capacity each night he headlined.
His total was dwarfed only by Celine Dion, the woman who made Vegas believe in the pop star residency concept until she packed it up in December 2007. Dion, consistently among the top five concert attractions during her four years and eight months at the Colosseum, grossed $400 million in ticket sales from 717 concerts, according to Billboard Boxscore. (See accompanying story on what the top stars make.)
The economic downturn, not to mention the lack of acts with staying power of Cher or Bette Midler, who now hold down the fort at the Colosseum, indicate a limited future for the residency concept when it comes to concerts.
Indeed, downscaling in ticket prices, expectations and the number of shows booked is emerging as a new model for 2009. During a four-day run at the end of March, Midler played to just 78 percent capacity, selling fewer than 15,000 seats.
Until his death Friday, Gans was one of Sin City's biggest attractions, despite the fact that he barely made a blip outside of Vegas. In residence since February at hotel moguls Steve Wynn's Encore Theater, Gans had been voted Voted Las Vegas’ "Entertainer of the Year" for 11 of the past 13 years.
Vegas has a significant question on the table: How much do the economics need to be revamped to make the residency model work?
When Dion called it quits -- she promptly went on an international tour and grossed more than $90 million -- AEG executives were looking to keep the Colosseum going with residencies and use the renovated Joint at the Hard Rock for one-nighters.
That plan has changed at the Hard Rock, with Carlos Santana coming on board to play 36 shows per year this year and next. It will be the first test of a rock ‘n' roll residency in Las Vegas. Age-wise, the demographic is the same as those acts that have played the Colosseum, but the Santana booking is based on an act that is music-driven rather than theatrically driven.
Santana's first run of 12 shows starts May 27 and runs through June 14. After a tour of Europe, he returns for another eight in Las Vegas between Aug. 26 and Sept. 6. Tickets went on sale April 1 for the 2,900-seat venue, and as of Friday none of the shows had sold out.
