Ticket discounters attract variety of bargain hunters

The Tix4Tonight staffer did his best to push $8 tickets to Madame Tussauds wax museum at The Venetian, as well as assorted buffet and dinner coupons.

But Canadians Lyle Martin and his wife, Lisa, didn't care. They joined the queue in front of the Fashion Show mall for one reason only: tickets to Cirque du Soleil's "Mystere" at Treasure Island.

"She's wanted to see it forever," Kyle said, after plunking down $70 for two of the cheap seats to a recent Monday show, normally $120.

A random survey of customers at the Tix4Tonight booths at this location and the Fremont Street Experience revealed an equal number of customers seeking a specific show, having a wish list of two or three, or with no idea of what they wanted to see.

Zac Aiuppa of Milwaukee and his friend Iris Gonzalez entered the Four Queens Tix4Tonight with a wish list headed by Penn & Teller at the Rio and Cirque du Soleil's "Zumanity" at New York-New York. But the saucy sorcerers were dark and "Zumanity" was sold out. That left "Ka" at the MGM Grand. They paid $85 per ticket, discounted from $117. (Although Tix4Tonight advertises its tickets as half-price, most were about 40 percent off.)

"Basically, ("Ka") was the last one that interested me," said Aiuppa, who had seen clips on the Internet while doing his research several weeks earlier.

Of those who sought help, all took the advice of Tix4Tonight staffers, who are paid a flat commission based on dollar value, according to independent producer David Saxe.

After staring for 10 minutes at the Vizio flat screens by the ticket booth at Four Queens -- which flashed an alphabetical list of shows, 10 at a time for 30 seconds -- Copenhagen, Denmark, tourists Kristoffer Johansen and Marco Moller approached the salesman.

"We didn't really know what to see," said Johansen, who followed the salesman's advice and purchased two tickets to "Absinthe" at Caesars Palace (discounted $13 each to $56), as well as vouchers to the Planet Hollywood restaurant in the Forum Shops at Caesars.

Like every other customer surveyed, Johansen and Moller said that the images flickering from an additional TV monitor on the desk -- of shows including "Divas Las Vegas" at Imperial Palace and the Riviera offerings "Crazy Girls" and "Dr. Scott Lewis: Outrageous Comedy Hypnosis Show" -- had no bearing on their entertainment decision.

A few of those who came knowing exactly what they wanted became those with no idea when that choice turned up unavailable.

Josh Musclow of Linden, Mich., and his guest wanted to see "The Price is Right -- Live" at Bally's, but it was sold out. So they listened to the clerk and purchased two $43.99 tickets (face value: $79.99 each) to "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding" at the V Theater in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood.

"It sounds like fun," Musclow said.

Another of the clerk's suggestions, "Menopause: The Musical" at Luxor, didn't.

"I'm not really down with seeing a two-hour show about menopause," Musclow said. "If I was with my mom or something, it might be a little funnier."

When the same situation confronted Edmonton, Alberta, resident Ken Riess and his wife, Jennifer, they turned away from the Fashion Show mall outlet to walk back to their hotel. For them, it was Garth Brooks at Wynn Las Vegas or the highway.

"We'll see him one way or another," Riess said.

Contact reporter Corey Levitan at clevitan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0456.