There are many ways to get cheap tickets to Las Vegas shows but most of them aren’t like your usual cheerful stroll in the park.
Shows are unlike groceries or commodities that can be stored and sold at a later date. It is impossible to sell today the empty seat of yesterday’s show.
Ticket prices swing back and forth more often than the pendulum of a grandfather clock just before a performance deadline because there is a narrow margin of time to make or lose the most money out of it. A ticket can sell at a steep discount like half the cost or it can sell for 4 to 5 times its regular price from a street scalper. It’s pretty much like airline tickets and hotel room prices. Have you ever tried booking a flight on the same day? It can cost you an arm and a leg, right?
There are several ways to buy affordable tickets for Las Vegas shows. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages depending on the situation:
1. Buy same-day show tickets at half price at several booth locations spread all over the Las Vegas Strip.
One can get very good deals under such short notice at these locations that have a list of available shows at that time. Tix4Tonight is the most popular company operating these booths with 10 locations on the Strip and one downtown. Two of their locations are near Circus-circus and two other are near MGM Grand. They typically open at 10AM and close at night but be prepared for long queues.
The best shows naturally tend to sell out early so that most times the tickets available are for shows that are in less demand and are at less convenient times. Federal holidays, vacation season or weekends make it almost impossible to get discounted tickets for the best shows such as Cirque du Soleil. Tickets sell out months in advance and snagging one can be like snagging a prized 1500-pound bluefin tuna.
2. You can also get discounted tickets at the hotel you’re staying in.
Since the main business of the hotels in Las Vegas is gaming they tend to give out very attractive prices on hotel stays, restaurants, shows and attractions.
The drawback of this option is that you are limited to the shows in the hotel where you’re booked.
Hotels under the same parent company umbrella can offer discount tickets to other sister hotels. The two largest hotels chains in Las Vegas are MGM Resorts International (Circus-Circus, Mandalay Bay, Bellagio, The Mirage, etc) and Caesar’s Entertainment Inc (Caesar’s Palace, Flamingo, Paris, Harrah’s etc).
3. You can also opt to buy a package trip.
Bundling your hotel stay with entertainment and airfare can get you a really great deal. You can easily find packages to Las Vegas at the most well known travel sites such as Expedia and Travelocity or with your travel agent.
4. Be on the lookout for coupon booklets, flyers and magazines when you’re in Las Vegas.
You will literally be bombarded with offers and discounts starting on your flight to Las Vegas with in-flight magazines, at the airport, taxis or shuttles, at your hotel, at restaurants, attractions and up to the moment you leave Las Vegas. However, don’t expect to get great deals on the big blockbusters such as Cirque du Soleil and Le Reve. If you are flexible and can handle uncertainty well you might be able to get great deals.
5. You can also try your luck with online auctions stores like ebay or StubHub, which are two of the most reputable sites.
Some people purchase their tickets from individuals or scalpers at or near the entrance of the show. We don’t really recommend this tactic. The major downside of these two last alte
atives is that the tickets might turn out to be fakes and ticket-scalping is illegal. So you might end up buying the most expensive tickets of your life and dealing with shady characters at the same time.
6. Our favorite and the best way to get budget-friendly tickets is to plan ahead of time.
You can get great deals and even find plenty of things to do with kids in Las Vegas if you plan early. Make a detailed list of shows that you might be interested in and choose the one that is reasonably priced.
Our best advice: book far in advance so you have maximum flexibility and you can make sure that the shows that you want are available. This is especially true if you are traveling with kids since you don’t want to be with them in long queues in the sun. For a relaxing
Las Vegas family vacation, plan ahead.
We recommend the following helpful steps:
Step 1. Make a list of the shows for kids in Las Vegas. You can find one at Vegaskids.info. Read the reviews carefully and other details such as regular pricing then come up with a short list. Rank the shows in order of preference.
Step 2. Determine if the shows on your list will be sold out soon or are already sold out. This is easily done by looking at the availability of the shows for the same day and following weeks. If you are going to Las Vegas during peak periods such as holidays or weekends then your best bet is to get them ahead of time. But if it isn’t peak season, you might be able to get discounted tickets at the last minute.
Step 3. Book the tickets online as soon as you can since prices tend to go up as the show performance nears. If you are a regular to Las Vegas you can take the risk and look for last minute tickets.
The last thing you want to happen during your Las Vegas trip is to get stuck with no tickets after spending a few hours in the sun with your kids. Or have tickets but for a show you don’t really want to watch. So follow our best advice to plan ahead. This way, you get to relax and watch a Las Vegas show you’ve always wanted to see.