Clubs in Las Vegas remain a hot ticket

The proliferation of nightclubs and day clubs is obviously taking a toll on ticket sales for concerts, showrooms and sports, says Ken Solky, president of top ticket broker LasVegasTickets.com.

"Demand is unbelievable" to get into clubs, says Solky, whose business sells tickets to traditional events but also club admissions and bottle tables.

"The crowd that's coming here from spring to the end of summer, so far, is here to party in the club, party in the pool and drink, which includes the DJ deal," he says.

"Those people don't care about shows and concerts. They want to use their credit card to buy a bottle of booze and shake their thing."

That said, ticket demand has been overwhelming for this year's top draws: Lady Gaga, Celine Dion and Eric Clapton.

The most-in-demand shows are Elton John; Sade with John Legend; and MGM's iHeartRadio Music Festival co-starring Gaga, Coldplay, Black Eyed Peas and others.

Two notable, ticketed disappointments so far: Britney Spears (She's over.) and boxing.

A "dismal crowd" saw Saturday's boxing cards at Mandalay Bay for Amir Khan's KO of Zab Judah, Solky says.

"They went over an hour with no fights," from 6:15 to
7:15, he says. During that time, fans saw a music performance. It was "not only one of the worst turnouts but one of the worst productions ever."

He says boxing is expected to get a good turnaround with the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz fight at MGM on Sept. 17 (Mexican Independence Day) and Manny Pacquiao's bout with Juan Manuel Marquez at MGM on Nov. 12.

Overall, Solky says events have been buoyed by crowded weekends, but discretionary spending and "the type of crowd that was here" in the past isn't what it was in 2005-08. Solky says ticket prices are still generally too high and should be lowered for people earning $25,000-$65,000 a year in this economy.

"You don't have to charge double what you think everybody can afford. Wouldn't you rather have people going to 10 or 20 events a year than five? Wouldn't you rather have them going out every other weekend?"

THE SLOT PROPOSAL

Business consultant Jim Canfield conspired with people at Bally's to have "Will you marry me?" displayed in giant letters on a huge slot machine.

He persuaded girlfriend Paige Ryan to pull the slot machine handle. The question slowly rolled up. He got on one knee and gave her a ring. Surprised, she said yes. The video is at
LasVegasBlog.harrahs.com.

This guy paid for his slot proposal. Bally's is planning to charge around $1,000 for the service.

THE WRATH OF KIM K

It would be funny news if a club hired Melissa Molinaro for a red carpet appearance because Kim Kardashian is suing Old Navy for putting Molinaro in commercials.

Kardashian claims Molinaro is a Kim look-alike. Actually, Molinaro was a finalist in "Making the Band 3" and "Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For the Next Doll." She does look Kim-esque. But what is she supposed to do? Get a face-lift? Change her DNA?

Molinaro has been seeing Reggie Bush, Kim's ex. Ah, the plot thickens.

Anyway, I checked with clubs Monday. Sadly, no one has plans for a Molinaro carpet. Maybe they don't want to upset Mama Kris?

Doug Elfman's column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Contact him at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman.