Aerosmith

Peace&Harmony Nov 10, 2020

We originally bought tickets to see Aerosmith’s DEUCES ARE WILD concert in Vegas on September 26, 2019, for our 27th wedding anniversary. The day of the concert, we learned that Steven Tyler lost his voice and the concert was cancelled. As a consolation, the hotel gave us a $100 gift card to any restaurant in the hotel. We quickly got online and purchased tickets through StubHub for the following Saturday, September 28th. We were staying at the Park MGM (where the concert was being held) and although we were supposed to check out that morning, we asked for a late checkout to 6:pm so that we had time to change clothes and freshen up before Saturday’s concert. That morning, I got up early and went down to the business office and printed off our tickets. We ate lunch, did a little gambling, packed, checked out of the hotel and went downstairs and got into line for the concert at about 7:15 and as we were entering the stadium, my son and daughter were in one line and we were beside them in another, the ushers were unable to scan our tickets. After trying all four tickets repeatedly, we were informed that our tickets were invalid and were told to go to the box office. The representative at the box office also confirmed that our tickets were invalid and in fact, pointed out that they were actually tickets from Thursday’s concert that someone had poorly edited and then passed off online for Saturday’s concert. In a nutshell, we had been scammed.

The box office advised us to call StubHub and see what they could do for us. Upon learning that it was a completely sold out concert, StubHub informed us that the only thing they could do was refund our purchase. We reluctantly agreed and while my daughter was on the phone providing them with the required information, I was standing in the middle of the casino feeling pretty bummed, so I decided to walk over to the theatre entrance just in case anyone was selling tickets that they couldn’t use (even though I wasn’t real sure how I was going to pay for them). By this time, nearly everyone had made their way inside so I walked up to an usher and told him our story and about the incredibly bad luck my family and I had been having trying to see Aerosmith. With nothing left to lose and since we had legitimate tickets for the canceled concert on the 26th, I decided to ask if sometime after the concert started and it was less chaotic, if someone would be able to escort us into the lobby for 5 minutes to get a glimpse of Aerosmith’s restored van on display and maybe take a few pictures with it before we left Vegas. The usher, who was visibly saddened by my plight, said he was truly sorry for all that happened but, unfortunately, wasn’t authorized to give permission for that. He apologized but said that he would do his best to talk to someone higher up to see if he could get permission. I told him that I understood and would walk around the casino and check back with him later… just in case.

Then my son and I walked maybe 15 feet away and sat down at a blackjack table. My son was consoling me and reiterating the fact that, for whatever reason, we weren’t supposed to be at that show. After about 10 minutes, a man in a suit approached me and said, I understand that you were scammed on the tickets that you had to tonight’s show. I said yes and told him that we had also purchased tickets to the Thursday night cancelled show. He asked to see my tickets and I pulled them all out of my pocket and gave them to him. He then asked if the rest of our party was nearby. We said yes and he said, “get them over here, there might be something I can do”. We immediately called my husband and daughter who were still standing down by the box office and when they walked up to the Park Theater entrance, the man asked us all to wait there. About two minutes later he came back and handed us each a neck lanyard with a VIP pass attached to it. He also gave me four physical tickets showing section 202, BVP. He told us to follow him and we walked into the stadium and along a hallway that took us closer and closer to the stage. When we got down to the front about 10 feet from the stage, he led us up a few stairs to a private section of couches and directed us to our seats. We were seated in an area approximately 8 ft x 10 ft and it had a couch, coffee table and waiter. The man told us to enjoy the show and left. Just then we looked up at the screen and there was an Aerosmith video playing and in the corner it said “Show starts in 22 minutes” (a sign from above)! It was the most incredible experience and will always be my favorite concert memory… Dream until your dreams come true!