Lion King

The Lion King - tickets were bought months before the price increase for around $65 per ticket. I have seen a few shows in Vegas but nothing as long as this show. I understand that its a musical but it was too long (2 1/2 hours) for a Vegas show in my opinion. So long that it required an intermission, that may be okay in NYC but this is Vegas, we have something to do after the show. I am actually unsure why it took so long to tell the story of a cartoon that took 88 minutes beginning to end unless it was the obnoxious overly loud singing that went on and on. Hubby hated it! I was okay with it but seeing this show made me leery of "musicals" as big ticket shows. Maybe I am uncultured but this was not for us. I did however enjoy seeing the animal creatures come to life with human costumes. This show has ended it's run in Las Vegas.

All Stage Pass

All Stage Pass for $99 see as many shows as you can in a 48 hour period. We purchased our All Stage Passes for $233, somewhere around $35 in fees for the two passes @ 2:35 pm. We managed to see 6 shows in the 48 hours as follows: 5-31 Matsuri @ 4pm, Absinthe @7:30pm and X-Burlesque @ 10pm (wanted to see George Wallace but he was on vacation) 6-1 The Price is Right @2:30pm, Defending the Caveman @7pm and The Improv @ 8:30pm, we could have taken in a 7th (Mac King @1 or 3pm or Nathan Burton @ 4pm) on 6-2 but didn't because we had seen both shows already. You can see a show after your purchase time, if you have the tickets before your pass expires. Show tickets can be obtained up to two hour before show time. This kept us on the strip running fron casino to casino box office, seeing a show or waiting to buy tickets to guarantee we could see the show. We found that we spent a lot in food cost for those 2 days because eats aren't cheap in the strip and very few places offer BOGO's. If you decide to buy the pass I would recommend having a plan in place before actually buying it as the clock starts ticking at the time you buy. None-the-less we are happy with our results for the All Stage Pass as this was out 10th trip to Las Vegas. If you have limited days or you are a first time or two visitor you may not want to invest in this package as it consumes a lot of you valuable Vegas time. Reviews to follow.

2012 The Improv & Defending the Caveman Show review

The Improv was basically three comedians doing a 20-30 minute set with your headliner, the most famous of the three, doing his set last. I really don't even remember who our comedians were but remember that the headliner was previously in a movie or two.I have seen a good many comedians over the last 10 years and there is no way to review a rotating comedian show other than to say in my opinion a good croud will improve a bad comedian. If the show isn't full the comedian will put forth less effort. Laugh but don't be rude with converstaion. As part of the All Stage Pass you are automatically given the back seats so that paying customers can get the front seats. We came in 5 minutes before show time and since the theater wasn't full we were seated upfront.

Defending the Caveman - is a FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY! one man show great for couples or anyone ever in a couple relationship. I laughed so much and so hard my stomach hurt. Hubby even liked the show. There are lots of BOGOs for this show if you don't buy The All Stage Pass. Go see it!

2011 The Price is Right Show review

The Price is Right - I have wanted to attend this show since it appeared at Bally's a number of years ago. Similar to the TV show, this show tries very hard to maximize as many patrons on stage as possible. You actually can win BIG prizes but we didn't have any BIG winners during our show (there is not a default {closest to the price} winner) and "The Car" was not an option the day we attended. You have to sign up at the box office and buy tickets and then you have to wait in another long line to register for the show and get your name tag. I never got called on stage but I did get drawn inbetween for 1000 Total Rewards Points worth about $10. Was an ok show to see with the All Stage Pass but I am glad that I didn't actually buy the tickets at full price. There is an option at the end of the show that you can pay a fee and have your picture taken with the host, model and the big wheel. Pictures are not allowed to be taken during the show.

2011 X-Burlesque & Matsuri Show review

X-Burlesque - Although I have never been to one myself, this show is basically an upscale strip club with assigned seating and no tips. There was a comedian that did a couple of sets inbetween the girls stage appearances.

Matsuri (Japanese for Festival) - was an action-packed, non-verbal production that showcased extreme athleticism through a series of unique variety acts, performing stunts ranging from the Human Jump Rope and Judo Tango to the Lion Dance and Foot Drums. I found this show super entertaining the entire show. Unfortunately this show has ended its run in Las Vegas. I am glad that I got to see it before it's final day.

2011 Absinth Show review

Absinthe - Wow! This is definitely an all adult show and not for those that are easily offended by the "F" word or sexual innuendo. Show is preformed in a hard sided round tent outside of Caesars. Best I can tell the auditorium seating is on a first come, closest seat basis but I believe that the booth seats (highest and most rear seating) must be extra or tip driven as they had reserved signs on them and the show we attended wasn't sold out and noone ever sat in those reserved seats. Some really talented circus type acts, adult theater and they don't mind if you take non flash photos or record the show. Be cautioned that if you are up front (we were not) there is a couple that preforms on roller skates on a very small stage. Scared me and I wasn't even close to them. Here is a great video NOT taken by me, I would embed but it would take too long click the link if interested Absinth Roller Skaters.

Shows in Las Vegas 2009

We went to see two shows this year, three if you count Big Elvis's free show at Bill's Gambling Hall. This was really a good free show and I would encourage anyone with some extra time to see it. We went the cheapo route, no BIG name shows this year. Went to see our first topless show Jubilee at Bally's. It was very tastefully done. All of the women in the show have non augmented breast. We used a BOGO and were offered upgraded seats row 1 (not the table seating). We paid $35.00 for both seats. This show has been running in Las Vegas since 1981. We missed the opportunity to see Folies Bergere before its final running earlier this year so we decided to give the old a try. The second show that we went to see was The Magic of Nathan Burton at The Flamingo. We couldn't find a BOGO offer for this show but somehow deep down I knew there was one out there. I waited in line at the box office and asked about a BOGO and the young man told me that they didn't have the coupons and that he wasn't sure where we could get them. I said ok and thank you and left w/o buying the tickets. I told my hubby that we needed to walk The Strip and see if someone was offering them and thats what we did. Within minutes of going outside there were two young street magicians doing card tricks and money tricks, they had the BOGO coupons with an ADDED BONUS of a coupon for two free Paradise Garden Buffets to be used within 7 days. They request that you watch their 5 minute magic act to get the coupon and they have a great sence of humor. They will ask you for a money Bill to preform a magic trick on, have a one or a five ready. They will give it back to you after the trick but ask you for donations before you put the money away, you should donate it to them for their coupon (thats what we did). The tickets ended up costing $50 for two and the bonus was that on Friday for the dinner buffet was a seafood buffet that was regularly $22.00 per person. A great deal for free. My advice is look for BOGO's, I was inline behind people buying show tickets that I knew there were discounts out there, if they would have just looked in one of the many free magazines all around Vegas they could have gone cheaper.

Shows in Las Vegas

I believe that Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world. There is so much to do and see even if you don't gamble. We try to take in at least one BIG show during each of our trips and as many cheapo shows that we can fit in. Big Name entertainment does not come cheap in Las Vegas so this is an item that we always budget for. If its one of the very popular shows tickets may need to be purchased several weeks in advance. I love the Cirque du Soleil shows. We have seen Mystere, Ka and Beatles Love (we actually got to see the first public show opening night). We won tickets to Stomp on a free pull slot machine at Planet Holloywood Casino promotions. I won tickets to see Monty Python's Spamalot at Wynn from an internet sweepstakes from Casino Travel News. When Rosanne Barr was doing her one woman show at NYNY we actually bought tickets to see this show that was way less than what I expected. There are 1/2 price ticket brockers in Vegas and some prices are just discounted and not 1/2 price, although we have never purchased tickets from them that is a way to see a show on a budget. Don't expect to get tickets to "O" or Le Reve there but I have seen Mystere & Ka tickets heavily discounted. There are lots of one drink minium shows (you have to buy at least one drink and see the show for free), however be aware we have paid anywhere from 6.95 - 9.99 for that one drink and thats each person. You could order simply a fountain cola and pay the same price as an alcoholic beverage. Please note that your bartender or server will still expect a service tip even though you are over paying for this beverage. Tipping in Las Vegas thats a whole new future posting. There are also alot of BOGO free coupons in the local newspaper and the visitor magazines for comedy shows.