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Las Vegas Sphere reports $98.4M loss; CFO quits

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Re: Las Vegas Sphere reports $98.4M loss; CFO quits

#61

Post by reks123 »

falcolas wrote: post #26

Meta: Someone please correct me. The outside of the Sphere is pretty damned awesome, with its interactive elements and novelty. I'd visit Vegas just to watch it, not that they'd make any money off me for that. The inside looks like an IMAX theater combined with a few planetarium features (lazors?). And, well, I have a really nice IMAX theater only an hour away from me. Why would I pay a premium to see the one in Vega…

I think you’re missing the shear size of the thing (much larger than any IMAX—this is an 18,000 person venue vs ~500 for the largest IMAX), clarity of the interior dome (yes, it’s like IMAX), brightness of the interior dome (it’s a super bright LED screen and provides all lighting in the venue—not projection), and audio (hearing is believing—the “beam forming” tech has the presence of an arena show without the ear fatigue and can also feel intimate almost like an acoustic cafe show).

The screen to some extent will be dependent on content produced for it (some very cool optical illusions are possible with a spherical screen), but I hope the audio tech will make its way into most large music venues over the next few decades—it’s just that good.

Re: Las Vegas Sphere reports $98.4M loss; CFO quits

#62

Post by res0nat0r »

munk-a wrote: post #20
nightski wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I understand you can't scalp, they scan ID. There are many tik toks of people buying tickets from either 3rd parties online or just scalpers and they are rejected at check in.

Still, the involvement of ticketmaster will scare off a lot of potential customers - that company is more toxic than saying "Brought to you by Comcast and Bank of America".

You can't book an event of any decent size in the USA without it being a required Ticketmaster venue, so unfortunately if you want to see any reasonably popular artist or a show at a big venue they are your only option.

Re: Las Vegas Sphere reports $98.4M loss; CFO quits

#64

Post by derefr »

t3rabytes wrote: post #3

I gotta be honest, I'm not sure what was expected? They spent $2b building this thing, it's brand new tech, it didn't host many shows last quarter (it was open for 1? full month of the quarter). I still think The Sphere is super damn cool and I can't wait to go to an event there.

It hosts shows? And here I had assumed it was just a big weirdly-shaped billboard, and that their business model was "selling ads on it."

Re: Las Vegas Sphere reports $98.4M loss; CFO quits

#65

Post by cmcaleer »

bluedino wrote: post #46
goatforce5 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I visited Vegas for the first time this year and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. I was surprised to learn that, despite its reputation as a party city, it isn't technically legal to consume cannabis on the Strip. I guess it's in the interests of MGM and Caesars to keep the alcohol flowing, and all of the profit that comes from that.

Technically? It's all you can smell when you're in that stretch between Linq and Flamingo

Technically is the correct term to use here. It's de jure illegal but de facto fine.

Re: Las Vegas Sphere reports $98.4M loss; CFO quits

#66

Post by logicalmonster »

I despise giving an endorsement to anything Dolan is associated with and can profit from as he is an awful and genuinely petty human, but the Sphere is a technology worth seeing.

I wasn't super impressed with the sphere's screen when I went in there with the thing turned off and saw the very steep stairs to the seats. It initially looked like a bigger movie screen.

But once it's on, with the right shot, it completely envelops your field of view and is quite mesmerizing. I'd love to see some action movies specifically shot for that screen. The way that it wraps around you and can potentially show you a full field of view in front of you and to the sides would be quite exciting for a chase or combat sequence for a movie.

Re: Las Vegas Sphere reports $98.4M loss; CFO quits

#67

Post by mvdtnz »

alexstore06 wrote: post #40
extraduder_ire wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The loss seems surprisingly low, considering the cost of building the thing. I don't expect this to end up like Brand-Briesen Airfield, or other massive buildings built and quickly sold at bankruptcy, anytime soon.

I would assume that operating loss wouldn't include the initial cost of building. Could be wrong though.

You don't need to assume, it's confirmed in the very first sentence of the article.

Re: Las Vegas Sphere reports $98.4M loss; CFO quits

#68

Post by bombcar »

gosub100 wrote: post #18

The vegas strip is full of real estate stories where a major undertaking flops initially but gets turned around. The stratosphere was built, sold at a huge loss, and then flipped for an enormous profit (I'm sure there's way more to the story that others are aware of). I wouldn't be surprised if the Sphere ends up the same. I'm really excited to see it, it's very cool thinking about the potential for promoting visual…

It's a mathematical certainty that there will always be real estate that is "self sufficient" without a debt load (or with a lesser one) but can't sustain the current load.

Re: Las Vegas Sphere reports $98.4M loss; CFO quits

#69

Post by nemo44x »

goatforce5 wrote: post #39
lvspiff wrote: post #8

How is this thing not filling nightly with $1000 tickets to Laser Floyd? Vegas has dispensaries - this seems like a no brainer.

I visited Vegas for the first time this year and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. I was surprised to learn that, despite its reputation as a party city, it isn't technically legal to consume cannabis on the Strip. I guess it's in the interests of MGM and Caesars to keep the alcohol flowing, and all of the profit that comes from that.

> I visited Vegas for the first time this year and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.

I always felt this would be a great tagline for the Las Vegas tourism commission. Use it to advertise in places that people that maybe wouldn't think of going to Las Vegas tend to be. I felt the same way the first time I went. The place is just amazing and unique.

"Las Vegas - you'll enjoy it more than you think"

Re: Las Vegas Sphere reports $98.4M loss; CFO quits

#70

Post by erulabs »

mmanfrin wrote: post #28

It was open for 2 days of the fiscal quarter. The CFO quit after being yelled at by the notoriously combative CEO. The news has been running with this headline because it's drawing clicks but it's not really painting an accurate picture.

Isn’t “not screaming your executive into quitting” kind of a leaders main job?
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