Caesars Entertainment released a statement verifying it is canceling all of its Las Vegas shows through March 31 in response to the coronavirus.
“All ticketed live entertainment for Caesars Entertainment venues will be suspended beginning Sunday, March 15 through March 31, 2020. Refunds and exchanges for affected dates are available at the point of purchase.”
“We are taking bold steps now, but look forward to welcoming our guests back to our world-class entertainment experiences as soon as possible. We thank everyone for your patience and understanding as we work through these challenging circumstances.”
Caesars officials were not available for further comment. The company is directing its customers to its coronavirus guest information page, to highlight its health and safety procedures.
Caesars has not answered how ordinary employees such as bartenders, box-office personnel and others would be compensated during the shutdown.
Caesars Las Vegas Venues
Caesars’ has seven properties in Las Vegas, including well-known venues such as the Colosseum at Caesars Palace and Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood. The last shows to perform at those venues were Shania Twain at Zappos Theater and Rod Stewart appeared on stage at the Colosseum.
Other well-known headliners that will be on sabbatical for two weeks are Wayne Newton and Dionne Warwick who play at Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace.
Likewise, the Righteous Brothers at Harrah’s Showroom, Mat Franco at The Linq Hotel, Mac King and Tape Face at Harrah’s, Piff the Magic Dragon at Flamingo, and Criss Angel at Planet Hollywood have all gone dark.
Penn & Teller also announced they were suspending their shows at the Rio.
Caesars production shows canceled include the long-running hit “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace, “RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!” at Flamingo Las Vegas, Bronx Wanderers at Harrah’s, “X Burlesque” at Flamingo, “Menopause the Musical” and “X Country” at Harrah’s, “Wow” at the Rio, and “Crazy Girls” at Planet Hollywood; Crazy Girls has been running continuously since opening in 1987 at the Riviera.
With very bad timing, “Extravaganza,” at the former Jubilee Theater at Bally’s, opened, then was suspended less than 12 hours later.
The Comedy Cellar at the Rio, Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club and Raiding the Rock Vault and “Little Miss Nasty” at Rio’s 172 club were also suspended.
Performers React to the Cancellations
“To my knowledge, this is the very first time this has happened in Las Vegas,” Newton commented. “But the safety of everyone needs to be the top priority.”
Mac King, who has headlined at Harrah’s for 20-years, remembered working through 9/11 on the Strip. He noted a definite divide in how entertainers on the Strip are dealing with this crisis compared to 9/11.
“Following 9/11, we kept doing our shows, determined by whether people wanted to show up,” King said. “At the time, people were glad there was something to go to. People wanted to get away for an hour or two. Nobody was telling us not to sympathize.”
Shania Twain posted a social media message that her March show dates would be rescheduled: ”The well-being and safety of my fans, my touring personnel, family and anyone else who could be affected is my top priority.”
Mac King had been performing his two-afternoon shows until the recent edict from Caesars.
“I did two shows Saturday as well as doing shows all week,” King noted. “I made one joke about the coronavirus, where I had somebody onstage lick an envelope and I said, “Maybe that’s not a good idea.’ That got a little bit of a chuckle, but it changed the energy for the last 20 minutes of the show. You could feel the audience was a little down after that.”
Magician Mat Franco is a five-year headliner on the Vegas Strip. The 2015 “America’s Got Talent” champion will be working on improving his show until the hiatus is over.
“In the meantime, I’m continuing to edit the show from my home, to be socially responsible in terms of social distancing,” Franco said. “Given that my magic show is very interactive, during the last few weeks we already began taking precautions, as well as making changes in how we manage participation.”
