Coming to a Casino Near You: Why Classic Rockers Have Found a New Home

Brian Wilson and Al Jardine of The Beach Boys performed at Tampa's MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre. Post-pandemic, artists are flocking to casino venues to reconnect with fans. (Credit Image: Paul Hennessy / Alamy)

Ever since the pandemic, the concert world has exploded in popularity. Partly caused by keeping people, artists, and bands at home ever since 2021 when the planet began to wobble into a post-COVID society, we have seen an explosion in the number and length of musical concerts across all genres. 

We have also seen an increase in the locations that these artists and bands have to choose from regarding where they will play, and they are taking advantage of it.

But why are these artists and bands, especially those many consider past their “sell by” date, turning up at your local casinos? 

It is a ‘perfect storm’ of confluences between the main segments of the industry, which have set up for the windfall (at least the windfall for the concert presenters, artists and bands, and casinos). For the fans, it presents options that may or may not be worthy of your time.

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Concert Industry is Making Up for Lost Time (and Money)

In 2023, Live Nation Entertainment, the preeminent concert operation in the United States responsible for venues, ticketing, and artist management, reported revenues of $18.76 billion. This set a record for revenues for the company, vastly outpacing their 2022 efforts, in which the company’s revenues cracked eleven figures for the first time ($13.49 billion). As rosy as this picture is, however, Live Nation Entertainment is simply making up for a lost two years from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Live Nation Entertainment was on course to crack $10 billion in revenues in 2020. Then, in February of that year, the COVID-19 virus struck, shutting down much of the world and keeping people from gathering en masse for events like sports and concerts. 

It is estimated that Live Nation Entertainment alone lost $9 billion in revenues for 2020 and even in 2021, following the lightening of health restrictions, their revenues were only half ($4.72 billion) of what they had been in pre-pandemic times ($9.43 billion in 2019).

The revenues from 2023 directly translate into the number of events that were presented and the tickets sold. According to the Live Nation subsidiary Ticketmaster, more than 50,000 events were presented, with 145 million fans attending those shows. Ticketmaster sold 620 million tickets for these events in 2023, a 13% increase over 2022's performance.

Casinos Utilizing Facilities for Concert Venues

The casino industry has long recognized that it cannot keep people in casinos on gambling alone. The days of Bugsy Siegel’s quaint little hotel in the middle of the Nevada desert have long been left in the rearview mirror, especially after the debut of “The King,” Elvis Presley, on the New Frontier stage in 1956. 

Liberace, George Liberace, and Elvis Presley at the New Frontier Hotel, 1956. (Image: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy/)

That initial appearance in Las Vegas didn’t exactly wow the crowd, but it set the course for the current marriage of casinos and concert entertainment.

As casinos have expanded across the US, having their own in-house concert venues has come along with it. In some cases, these casinos have not only a major outdoor showcase but also a more intimate indoor theater that entertains smaller crowds. The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa, FL, is a prime example of this, with its outdoor amphitheater that seats 20,000 and its Events Center that can entertain intimate audiences of up to 2000 concertgoers.

The diversity of these entertainment venues allows the casinos to handle any type of show from any type of artist. 

Jimmy Buffett performed at Tampa's MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on June 6, 2017. (Image: Tampa Bay Times / Alamy)

In the case of the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater (the official name of the Seminole Hard Rock location), artists from virtually every genre of music have graced its stage, including Christian artists (Michael W. Smith opened the Amphitheater in 2004), rappers (50 Cent, Kanye West), classic rockers (Jimmy Buffett who holds the record for most appearances with eight) and hardcore metalheads (Black Sabbath, Judas Priest). The smaller Event Center brings in a similar repertoire of artists and bands, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Artists and Bands Get the Big Payday

The real beneficiaries of the recent rise in concerts in casinos are the artists and bands who are playing these shows. The casinos allow these acts to whet their appetite for playing concerts without the expense of massive touring costs (Dweezil Zappa admitted in an interview that it was $200,000 just to get a tour off the ground). This also allows these artists and groups to bank a bigger chunk of their pay.

Pat Benatar and her husband/guitarist Neil Geraldo, who are fond of the smaller venues at casinos, charge between $50,000 and $72,500 per show, according to reports. Recently, Offspring came through the Seminole Hard Rock Events Center; they are reportedly receiving between $100,000 and $145,000 per stop. 

Later this summer, EGOT winner John Legend will make an appearance at the Events Center in Tampa; he rates a whopping $250,000–$362,500 per show. Add into this windfall that the venues normally provide everything that the artists need for their performances—the staging, lighting, etc.—thus meaning the artists and bands only have to pay their personnel.

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa, FL, features the Hard Rock Event Center. (Image: Hard Rock website)

There is another side of performing that provides a monster payday for the artists and bands: merchandising. Because of the pittance that recorded music pays, artists and bands generate substantial amounts of their income through the sale of merchandise at their shows (it is a reason that many of these venues, to the chagrin of the artists, have started asking for a cut of these sales).

In 2018, the biggest pop star in the world, Taylor Swift, made $99.6 million. Of that monster figure, $9 million was earned through record and music sales (digital and sheet music).  The rest was from touring (another example of COVID’s impact: Swift “only” made $23.8 million in 2020 via her streaming and merch sales). 

It is why these artists and bands, even long after they arguably should have retired, are still out there.

The Fans Have the Money (For Now)

The fans are the ones who determine what shows they want to see, however. Recently, major artists Jennifer Lopez and The Black Keys canceled massive arena tours in the US simply because they could not generate ticket sales for their shows. It is a potential sign that the “gravy days” of the post-pandemic world might be ending.

In some cases, fans who grew up listening to the “classic rockers” of old did not have the income to go to concerts presented by their heroes (I paid $15 to see The Who when I thought “Farewell Tour” meant something). 

As these fans are now approaching (or passed) AARP age, they have the income that allows them to see their heroes of old – at least while they are still on the stage. These musical legends are now putting teeth in their “Farewell Tours,” as they are approaching eighty years old (in some cases).

The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles hosts countless legendary performances. (Image: Keith Jefferies / Alamy)

Thus, fans are willing to shell out what would have been previously unheard-of prices for tickets. Swift’s “Eras Tour” saw concert tickets selling for over $30,000; Bruce Springsteen’s most recent tour opened with tickets hitting the $5000 mark, thanks to a ticketing process known as “dynamic pricing,” ensuring the most profit on a ticket purchase (these ticket prices did come down later). 

Even tribute shows are breaking the bank; the recent Keeping the Party Going concert that featured such performers as Don Henley, Sheryl Crow, and Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band and paid tribute to the late Buffett at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles saw tickets over $1000 for first-day sales and still around $200 the day of the show.

A ‘Perfect Storm’

It takes more than just a plank of wood on the ground to bring the stars to the stage. 

The post-pandemic world brought about a unique combination of events that saw concerts at casinos reach monumental proportions. These venues constantly need to have people perform; hence, artists and bands are more than happy to come to play their greatest hits. 

The casinos earn a mint because those concertgoers are not just there for the show, they make an evening of it in the pit or in the restaurants around the casino floor. 

The fans? Well, they get to see their heroes (warts and all – sometimes these shows are disappointing), they get to relive their youth, and they get a night away from their worries.

But how long can this ‘perfect storm’ continue? As we mentioned earlier with the Lopez and Black Keys shows, the fans are speaking with their wallets that they cannot continue to absorb the costs of these shows, which can sometimes enter three figures just for seats up in the nosebleeds.

With the available options of entertainment for people today, the ‘perfect storm’ for concert venues, casinos, promoters, and artists/bands, may be petering out.