Lady Gaga MGM Las Vegas Residency Shows Casino Operator A-List Entertainment Focus Expanding

Posted on: August 8, 2018, 09:20h. 

Last updated on: August 8, 2018, 09:25h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Lady Gaga will call MGM Resorts’ Las Vegas Park Theater home beginning December 28. MGM announced the deal on Tuesday, saying it has negotiated a Strip residency agreement with the pop superstar that will run for a minimum of 27 dates through to November 2019.

Lady Gaga Las Vegas residency show
Lady Gaga is descending on Las Vegas for a residency at MGM Resorts’ Park Theater starting in late December. The deal will run for at least a year. (Image: Getty/LV Review-Journal/Casino.org)

Gaga Payday

MGM didn’t say just how much Lady Gaga will earn, but it’s been speculated that it’s in the neighborhood of $400,000 per show, or roughly $10.8 million for the run of the contract.

Last month, MGM was rumored to be trying to poach Britney Spears from Caesars following her four-year run at Planet Hollywood. Sources told the Las Vegas Review-Journal at the time that MGM was offering the 36-year-old $500,000 per night.

Spears is currently traveling the country on her summer tour. She’s made stops at two MGM properties: the MGM National Harbor in Maryland and Atlantic City’s Borgata.

Only Elton John and Celine Dion have reportedly earned half-million nightly paydays in Las Vegas. Along with Spears, sources say Adele has also been approached with a $500K per night offer.

Gaga will offer fans two distinct performances. “Lady Gaga Enigma” is a stage production show similar to her worldwide tours that will feature her many hits. “Lady Gaga Jazz & Piano” will be a more casual and intimate affair featuring “stripped-down versions of her hits as well as music from the Great American Songbook,” according to a press release.

Tickets start at $77.90 before service charges and fees, and VIP packages will be available.

The Park Theater is a 5,200-seat venue inside Park MGM, the former Monte Carlo that underwent a $550 million revamp to create two distinct Strip properties with the accompanying boutique hotel NoMad.

Let Us Entertain You

2018 is shaping up to be a difficult year for the Las Vegas gaming industry.

UNLV Center for Gaming Research Executive Director David Schwartz said this week that the industry has long known that gambling per se is not the massive draw that it once was. Keeping acts like Gaga and Spears in town is one way casinos are banking on growing visitation.

Queen and Adam Lambert are set to play the Park Theater for 10 shows next month, and Cher returns in November for nine shows, ahead of Gaga’s December launch.

Gaga appeals to a wide demographic, most importantly the millennial group, of which she is a part at the age of 32. Casinos have been searching to find ways to get the 18-to-34-year-old customer inside their casinos, and entertainment appears to be a successful route for that goal.

Skill-based gaming machines haven’t appealed as casinos had hoped, so for now, operators like MGM are spending serious money to lure big acts. With 77 million followers on Twitter, Lady Gaga should have little problem getting the word out to her “Little Monsters” that Las Vegas is the place to be.