Don't But Passes For Empire

[MysticRain]

Empire Ballroom not honoring passes. I couldn't tell you how many customers I had tonight that were pissed because they had bought passes specifically for this weekend that cost them up to $50 and they were not able to use them. They are also having trouble keeping their customers satisfied and their employees are not happy as well since they seem to be having money trouble. Hmmmm....is Empire gonna have to throw in the towel soon. Guess we'll see. Anybody having problems with them?

[limodriverlv]

Yes i think their mgmt and hosts dont take care of customers. Took a group there a while back and they said buy 2 bottles get one free at a certain price. Bill came and it was for 3 bottles at a higher price. Then last weekend went back, the last time i take anyone there. I much prefer seamless and drais

[detn8or]

Nobody is accepting passes this weekend, Empire, Pure, ICE.... they may be dicounted at best... Its memorial day weekend!!! all holidays are like this in Vegas.

I have a hard time thinking you are not Bias, cause you work for Drais, your competetor. Even if you don't its right on your profile, Location: DRAIS

Empire has been one of the busiest clubs in Vegas this weekend and tonight they have Tiesto.

If you don't want to deal with the madness, then go to Drais or elsewhere that isn't packed. Empire offers out of town talent... they had Prince yesterday. They are making plenty of money and do very well every week. they are not going anywhere anytime soon. Drais on the other hand??? are they even still open??

Don't Hate!! Empire is where to be for afterhours... Drais is washed up!!

[detn8or]

P.S. If you are a tourist.... do not buy passes from anyone this weekend for any club... most will not work this weekend.

If you are local you should know a promoter to get them for free... if you don't message me and I will put you in the right direction.

[lalate]

DV - can you tell us more about what they bought and from who.

[milehi]

friends of mine were there for a bachellorette party - 20 girls - bought pre-paid tickets for sat night (5/27) - and they said the place was total CHAOS... totally understand that it is MDW weekend, and empire probably underestimated the crowd they were gonna get, but the girls said they were getting pushed around like crazy, almost got into five fights just waiting in line, then when they finally got up to the front, they didn't honor the prepaid tickets (they got their prepaid tickets from wanttickets)

it sucks because i have had a blast at empire, love the venue, eh, i suppose i'll wait and see if it was just a crazy weekend, but i hope their heads don't get too big and this becomes a recurring problem over there...

and for goodness sakes, make it up to the people who bought their prepaid tickets, that's just ridiculous to make them eat that cost...

and for the record, the girls went over to drai's and had CRAZY CRAZY time - empire spends their money on the internation dj's, etc, but i still think drai's has THE BEST local house dj's spinning, and IMO - the music & vibe that brought us all to drai's in the first place never left... it's still there...

[dannyde]

I had no problem using my pre-paid tixs I bought from wantickets.com but, we had to grease the bouncer to bypass the lines.

[dirtymike]

That place was a fucking cluster fuck outside on sat for Boris. No organization at all. I fucking hate shit like that. Then they have the nerve to jack up the price to get in every ten minutes. I had a the pre paid tickets so I was ok. But the wait sucked. Once I got in it was a good time.

[danswat79]

The confusion on Saturday night with presales was Empire had 2 parties on sale from wanttickets. They gave me a hard time when I got there too - we had tickets for the Rubber party (John Huntington's party before afterhours) - and they said they weren't honoring them - only for Late Night @ Empire w/ Boris.

We were lucky and got it straightened out - but I'm sure there were a ton of people that got screwed - anyone who knows these people should have them contact their credit card company immediately.

I would have paid double to get in though - Boris fuckin rocked that room!!

[djmasterweb]

I can't believe they didn't honor pre-paid tickets, no matter what time of the night it was - that's just very bad business, because now wantickets would be foolish to allow them to sell tickets again on their platform - chargebacks are the worst things that can happen to an online merchant. Further, and I have nothing personally against Empire at all, every person I know who is involved with outside promotions and street ticketing for them claims Empire screws them, throws away many of their tickets (which should result in commission), and then doesn't pay them on time if at all - for whatever that's worth.

[djmasterweb]

Nobody is accepting passes this weekend, Empire, Pure, ICE.... they may be dicounted at best... Its memorial day weekend!!! all holidays are like this in Vegas.

That's not true. Nobody was accepting general passes this weekend, but if a club specifically advertises a Memorial Weekend event, and includes an offer, then people will get pissed if that offer is refused after waiting in line for 2 hours. Bad business.

[detn8or]

That's not true. Nobody was accepting general passes this weekend, but if a club specifically advertises a Memorial Weekend event, and includes an offer, then people will get pissed if that offer is refused after waiting in line for 2 hours. Bad business.

Pre-paid tickets are one thing... and I agree that there is absolutely no reason to not honor those. I mean thats why you sell pre-paid tickets, so you don't bother with the cover charge. If you advertise Memorial Day passes or pre paid tickets, of course there should be no question about them.

But she said passes at first. I know most of the clubs that make passes that you see most of the hustlers on the strip sell, were not accepted for free admission. Maybe reduced admission. I know ICE, Empire, Pure were not accepting those free passes. And most of the time on big holidays and special events they will not.

I apologize for being harsh at first, but it seemed like an attack on Empire, and I have always enjoyed that club and have never seen that happen before. But as for any club or concert for that matter when that many people are trying to get in one place, sometimes you may never get in. shoving 2000 people all at once into one entrance is always going to be a cluster fuck!

[greenie]

From the folks I talked to this weekend, the only problems were with the folks who bought Rubber tickets but didn't show up until after 3am.

I'm not suggesting that Empire was justified in not honoring the tickets, but I for one found it very odd that you could buy tickets to the 10pm-close Rubber party for a lower price than you could buy tickets to the 3am-close Boris-only event. As always, buyer beware.

As for service at Empire, I did join up with some friends for a table on the balcony for Tiesto/Faarsheed and the service was professional and exceptional, whether host, security, wait or bus staff, right until Faarsheed closed his set shortly after 10am. When some ass walked up to the balcony railing and decided to toss his drink down onto the crowd below, it took seconds for a club host and security to toss him -- and make sure the tables below were accommodated.

If Empire is having any financial problems, I can only imagine it's coming from mismanagement. Every time I've gone for late night the ballroom and deck have been packed, and that's not just for the "big international DJs." Faarsheed's marathon sets have been pulling out big crowds, with all tables occupied.

[djsienpileggi]

well to stand in line for 2 hours in the COLD WIND. .to pay $100 to get past the first line.. only to come and stand in another line.. and then a 3rd was really jacked..Then to be told the price has gone up was a joke. But hey I guess when you are the top club in vegas for afterhours I guess you can do things like that and not worry about people being pissed..

With the money that was made from PRINCE and TIESTO and BORIS .. there really shouldnt have been any reason for them to try to shake everyone down.

I have gone to almost every rubber event in vegas. and never had to go through anything like this before.

[vegasrey]

Its funny how people are always so quick to bad mouth somebody without hearing both sides. Empire had its biggest weekend to date with 2 Prince concerts, Club Rubber's 10 year anniversary and after hours Fri, Sat & Sun. I knew we would be busy but honestly it was overwhelming at a few points. We were short staffed in every department but we had no choice but to suck it up and get through it the best we could. BTW we are looking for cocktail waitresses, bussers, bar backs and security guards pm me if you're interested.

Prince was not booked by Empire, he took over the room for 2 nights. Empire could never take a chance on booking an artist like that who gets 200k easy. He set the ticket prices and the table prices we just operated the club. As for Rubber it was their door Sat from 10pm-3am thats why there were 2 purchase options for tix. One for Rubber the other for Late Night. Empire has a great relationship wantickets and we always honor their tickets as long as people show up for the right event. We had a line set aside for those with presale tix all 3 nights but people don't always get into the right line. Anyone who purchased a ticket from Wantickets can contact them and all complaints will be handled on a case by case basis. We have already come up with a ticketing solution with Wantickets that will solve any future problems with presale tickets. I agree the door could have been run a lot smoother and believe me we will be addressing those issues. It was so unbelievably busy that we simply couldn't get people in fast enough. There's only 1 way in and everyone has to go get carded, get clicked, pay the cover or have a ticket written up if they want a table.

MDW is possibly the biggest weekend of the year and every club in town tries to cash in. Its not uncommon for a club to raise the cover based on occupany, raise bottle mins based on table inventory and take money at the door for people who want to skip the line. I don't know of any other club that takes better care of locals than Empire. Certainly not Drais because the fact they didn't was a big factor in Late Night taking over so easily when we first started after hours. We have an unlimited guest list every night unless we have a special event and we regularly offer 2 for 1 bottles on any night as long we have have table available.

As for promoters not getting paid thats a flat out lie. I'm the one who issues checks and everyone has paid what they are owed. We have been late from time to time because of cash flow issues. New management took over in Jan and we have been slowly but surely catching up on past due bills. That's what makes a weekend like MDW even more important to a club like Empire.

Even with the problems people had getting in this past weekend I don't know how many people came up to me and thanked me for the great time they had all 3 nights. I had good friends and clients that had paid a lot of money for table packages that I had to make wait outside because Prince went late or there were so many people to accomodate. Once they finally got in they quickly forgot about the inconveniences outside. The reason is Late Night is hands down the best party in town. We have the best local DJs on our roster and we bring in the best international DJs. The door will get straightened out, the service will continue to improve and we'll continue to take care of those who support us!

We are offering no cover and 2 for 1 bottles all weekend for anyone with a local id or industry business card. Contact your Late Night VIP Host or email rsvp@latenightempire.com to make sure you get a table

Thanks again for your support and understanding!

[epope]

Well!!

Well VegasRey you could not have put it any better. As most know on this site I am a patron of all the clubs in Las Vegas. Most of my friends are in the industry here.

This weekend was insane. I have never seen Vegas like this. Biggest weekend in Las Vegas ever. You have Prince, Madonna, and Tiesto 3 of Billboards largest. As well as all the other headlining talent.

And I will admit there were some things that went wrong but you know what I understand Memorial Day Weekends and insane holidays and I try to exercise as much patients as I can.

I was one of the loyal clients and friends of Late Night and I made sure to send my thanks to Ray as well as many others at Late Night because they are a small club but yet these guys were jumping through hoops to accomodate people as best as they could.

Keep in mind this is their first Memorial Day Weekend they are not located inside a Casino who has an endless amount of security. Often times their parties were hosted by an outside promoter and they still did they best they possibly could.

I might recommend that people need to be more intelligent when they walk up to a club. For one you need to find a employee that is not overwhelmed and ask him a intelligent question about where to go or where you should be for what you want to do. I.E. Table, Pre-paid, Line...And I am sure they will point you to the right direction. And not just getting in the mob and trying to work your way to the front.

I must say that Late Night Empire has a all-star cast of host and management. Much props to Ray, Jaime, Jimmy, Chad, Adam, Keith, Rob and the others...Way to keep your heads on straight and maintain a professional manner while dealing with the stresses of HIGHLY INTOXICATED people.

I just want to say thanks to Brian at Tryst, Jack, Adam and Chad and the rest of Human Events for an awesome day at the pool on Sunday. And thank you to Jimmy and Ray for all your help on Saturday and Sunday at Late Night Empire. Great job guys keep up the good work.

Everett....

[djmasterweb]

As for promoters not getting paid thats a flat out lie. I'm the one who issues checks and everyone has paid what they are owed. We have been late from time to time because of cash flow issues. New management took over in Jan and we have been slowly but surely catching up on past due bills. That's what makes a weekend like MDW even more important to a club like Empire.

Sorry but your own statement proves that it was NOT a flat out lie. If Johnny spends 30 hours busting his ass to give out Empire tickets, and gets 100 customers into the club, and then finds out his promised pay cannot be delivered on time due to "cash flow" issues, then it is completely accurate if he goes around saying Empire screwed him. I have no problem with Empire, but I can state for a fact that some of the good street promoters won't work for Empire due to the reputation of not paying, or not paying on time.

[greenie]

Vegasrey -- would just like to add that I really appreciate your taking the time to respond frankly and directly on this board regarding Empire's policies and anything that may or may not have happened. Same goes for Masterweb and OPM.

I may not agree with some statements and/or policies, but it's nice to see that at least a few establishments are not only reading the comments here, but are willing to take the time to respond.

cheers to you both.

That said, I hope the big lesson learned by Empire is that trying to combine two independent events (Prince and Rubber) with your own event (Boris) is too herculean of a task. Even the most established operations with their ticketing and door operations down to a science would struggle to pull all three off without a hitch.

[vegasrey]

Sorry but your own statement proves that it was NOT a flat out lie. If Johnny spends 30 hours busting his ass to give out Empire tickets, and gets 100 customers into the club, and then finds out his promised pay cannot be delivered on time due to "cash flow" issues, then it is completely accurate if he goes around saying Empire screwed him. I have no problem with Empire, but I can state for a fact that some of the good street promoters won't work for Empire due to the reputation of not paying, or not paying on time.

not looking to go back and forth on this but i was refering to promoters not being paid as the lie. getting screwed would be not getting paid ever in my opinion. i acknowledged we have been late at times but we have never stiffed anybody.

[djmasterweb]

OK then I acknowledge you didn't "screw them" -- you just didn't pay them on time as promised for their hard work. Instead you took the door moneys they generated, and allocated it to other expenses. Sorry if I implied that you wronged them in any way

[vegasalist]

WOW! How sad that the once respectful Drais has to resort to bad mouthing the club that has buried them. Funny since most of the Drais employees have either left for empire or have applied. It was an amazing weekend at Empire...the best party i have ever been to and every other week Empire takes care of all the locals which is how they took Drais business to begin with. No slander here i have had wonderful times at Drais but its over...Empire afterhours is the only club rockin after 3am you know it i know it everybody knows it and u should be thankful you at least had a handful of people at Drais...the ones that couldnt get into Empire. Good Luck with your Karma!

[vegasalist]

Masterweb slinging shit at other longtime industry producers...thats smart!! i watched 8 of your staff get personally escorted into empire last night...I know your boss personally and we all co-support so why would u be stupid enough to get involved with Empire's business when they are producing the best party in town at the moment...dont u have enough to worry about with the pressure Caesars has on u guys to close...i hope that never happens but if it does good luck with your next job...i have a feeling it wont be in Vegas.

[djmasterweb]

If stating the truth means I can't work in this town, then so be it. I have a feeling my industry credibility will keep me in this town, despite your attempt to intimidate and silence me.

If my respected friends bust their ass on the street, and then don't get paid on time, while the club they worked for hits capacity each and every weekend, then yes, I feel it is my credible duty to say something about that. Empire does so well that there's no excuse to not pay their street team bills on time.

Like I said, it's nothing personal, and I take care of Empire staff all the time at OPM. It has nothing to do with hooking staff up. It has only to do with not taking care of the "small guys" who help all of us, and who don't have a loud enough voice to be heard.

But hey, it's all good. I do hope Empire continues to succeed. I also personally have respect for you Tony/Gino, etc. However no matter what, that will never stop me from discussing problems that affect all of our credibility when it comes to the people who help all of us behind the scenes.

[lalate]

Note to Drais re: cover pricing -

Much luv always to staff and djs but ..... when you did that run up in cover a few years back (on non 3 day weekends, to everyone and their sister irrespective if they are industry or not) to a price that felt unproportionately too high because there was no true competition, not cool. Not cool.

[vegasalist]

Whats unfortunate is the few bad things that have been unfortunate enough to happen but the truth of the matter is when new management took over Jan 1 of this year there was close to 2 million owed to alot of hard working people that thought it was over and they were screwed only to see the turn around cut that down 70% in just over 5 months. We started on the street so the few times we were a a little late with promoters we were straight up and told them the situation and always made good! What u dont hear about are the times pass returns suck or we get no returns at all and still take care of them even though its based on pay per pass only. This is not about Empire this is about my reputation which ive built impeccably during my 17 years doing it in Vegas and i refuse to sit back while someone questions my character...u dont like the club, the music, the employees thats a persons preference but when someone gets involved who shouldnt be and attacks my character publicly there will be consequences...

If stating the truth means I can't work in this town, then so be it. I have a feeling my industry credibility will keep me in this town, despite your attempt to intimidate and silence me.

If my respected friends bust their ass on the street, and then don't get paid on time, while the club they worked for hits capacity each and every weekend, then yes, I feel it is my credible duty to say something about that. Empire does so well that there's no excuse to not pay their street team bills on time.

Like I said, it's nothing personal, and I take care of Empire staff all the time at OPM. It has nothing to do with hooking staff up. It has only to do with not taking care of the "small guys" who help all of us, and who don't have a loud enough voice to be heard.

But hey, it's all good. I do hope Empire continues to succeed. I also personally have respect for you Tony/Gino, etc. However no matter what, that will never stop me from discussing problems that affect all of our credibility when it comes to the people who help all of us behind the scenes.