Well it looks like Garth and Steve Wynn are damned if they do and damned if they don't. The new Vegas heroes are finding that you really can't make everyone happy.
When tickets went on sale for Garth's new Vegas show, there were a lot of angry fans who were unable to get tickets because the phone lines and computer system crashed due to overload. Then there are people who are mad because they did get tickets but are now getting phone calls from Wynn's company wanting the names of all people who will be going to the show, if that person isn't there to collect their own ticket then the ticket will reportedly be canceled.
Well now comes word that the war against ticket resellers may be coming back to bite Steve Wynn in the wallet.
It seems the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) is calling foul and putting their money where their mouth is by pulling its annual summer conference and trade show from Wynn's hotel, which has hosted it for the past several years.
“Fans should have the right to buy and sell the tickets they want without having to RSVP their guests or risk cancellation based on new, arbitrary rules. They’re changing the rules in the middle of the game, and it’s only going to hurt the fans who can’t find tickets, or are stuck with ones they can’t use," Gary Adler, General Counsel to the NATB, said in a statement. “These actions aren’t meant to address any problems with brokers or the reselling of tickets. They are meant to restrict the open market and eliminate any competition for tickets."
Adler continued, “NATB brings hundreds of brokers each year to the Wynn at our annual ticket broker conference, but now they’ve lost our business. These actions are hypocritical and disrespectful to the very industry that supports their acts and their customers.”
Steve Wynn understands that his fight isn't very popular with some but stands by his choice to be tough.
In an email statement to ticket buyers, Wynn says, "While we understand that this is an inconvenience, it is especially so for the unauthorized sellers. Our efforts, initiatives and communication with you may continue until such a point we are satisfied that all scalping activity has ceased."
I can definitely see where both sides are coming from, but I think that I side with Steve and Garth a bit more on this. I mean we're not talking a few fans who maybe can't go to the show and want to sell their tickets, we're talking people with 43 credit cards buying upto 6 tickets with each card and then selling the tickets at $1000 a piece for a profit of a little over $800 bucks each. That's what sucks. Fans can't get tickets because some company hoping to make a pretty penny has bought up hundreds of tickets in the hopes of selling them.
Maybe we should just go back to the days before computers when you had to actually get off your butt, head down to your local grocery store, gas station, or some other ticket seller and buy your own tickets. Or you went to the box office and sat in line for four days trying to get tickets to the hot shows. Yep, those were the days.
Mr. General Counsel to the NATB did bring up a good point, “Fans hire brokers to help them find the tickets they want, for the price they can pay, or to resell the tickets they can’t use," Adler said in a statement. "Wynn has no right to tell these fans ‘hey, tough luck - unless you bought them at our box office within two hours of going on sale then you can’t go to the show.’"
If only it was a few fans and not the professional scalpers we were talking about, I don't know that we'd be having this conversation at all.
Hey, that's a pic of Garth in Bakersfield when he came for the unveiling of his statue at Buck Owens Crystal Palace, the same night he proposed to Trisha. You can see the B.O. guitar and radio station in the background. Too funny.
Posted by: TMP | October 29, 2009 at 01:00 PM
I applaud there efforts but it seems like the brokers find a way around it to get their money. We need some laws against scalping. Maybe Mr. Wynn and Garth can head to Washington and get some laws passed.
Posted by: Gail | October 28, 2009 at 07:53 PM
I agree with you and Garth here. Working for a Ticketmaster agent, it's very frustrating to see legitimate fans wanting tickets, but not being able to get any because I just sold the last ticket to a known scalper. And for the record, Mr. Wynn has the right to set up whatever restrictions he sees fit. It's hit joint.
Posted by: Jacob | October 28, 2009 at 03:06 PM