Las Vegas mercury on tour sales
The press has been calling Madonna the mother of reinvention (among other, less-pleasant names) for so long, she’s finally taken ownership of the term for her upcoming concert tour, which opens at the Los Angeles Forum May 25-27, and closes Sept. 4 in Paris, France. The Los Angeles Forum gig was initially booked as a single date, but two shows were added soon after the official on-sale time thanks to impossibly quick ticket sales.
Similarly, when Madonna’s May 29 show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Las Vegas‘ Strip went on sale to the public via TicketMaster on Saturday, the first show was essentially already sold out at ticket prices from $79 to $368, plus a hefty service charge.
How concerts can be sold out nearly before they go on sale is a mystery to many, but the trio of answers is fairly simple: sales to ticket brokers, advance fan club sales (premium access tickets for Madonna’s Vegas shows went for $800 each), and hold-backs, the term given to tickets a venue holds in reserve for VIPs and, in Las Vegas, high-rollers.
Within 45 minutes of Saturday’s original on-sale time, a second Vegas date of May 30 was added to the tour, which also soon sold out. 25 of Madonna’s 35 existing dates are “sold out,” with most tickets ranging from $47-$300. Of course, there are seats still available for most shows, including those in Vegas – you’ll just be flashing the platinum to a broker to get one.
From an article by James P. Reza, Las Vegas Mercury