Vegas History

By Pat Christenson Vegas Event Insider is a weekly blog covering the history and stories about the Las Vegas event industry. In September of 2016, I met Bill Walton in his suite at the Venetian to interview him for my Book “Rock Vegas.” The following blog includes insights, pictures and stories that made up the life of…

By Pat Christenson Vegas Event Insider is a weekly blog covering the history and stories about the Las Vegas event industry. Sam Boyd Stadium: Final Dead Run The Grateful Dead had a 5-year Sam Boyd Stadium run, and year four came with complications. Routing issues pushed the shows into mid-June, forcing them to start around dusk, right…

By Pat Christenson Vegas Event Insider is a weekly blog covering the history and stories about the Las Vegas event industry. The Grateful Dead: Opening Acts “Sometimes the lights all shining on meOther times I can barely seeLately it occurs to meWhat a long, strange trip it’s been“ The Early Years: Growing the Dead’s Vegas Presence The…

By Pat Christenson Vegas Event Insider is a weekly blog covering the history and stories about the Las Vegas event industry. Not Such a Strange Trip After All Clark County Commissioner gets lesson in the power of the tie-dye April 27th, 1991, was a beautiful mid-70s-degree day. A $23.50 ticket got 60,000 fans in to see Santana…

By Pat Christenson Vegas Event Insider is a weekly blog covering the history and stories about the Las Vegas event industry. Booking the Dead in Sam Boyd Stadium In the eighties, While Deadheads flocked to the Aladdin for the annual show, I made my way across the valley to see Bob Barsotti, Bill Graham’s promoter rep. With…

By Pat Christenson Vegas Event Insider is a weekly blog covering the history and stories about the Las Vegas event industry. A Grateful Dead Concert “And now, for something completely different” -Monty Python A Grateful Dead concert is a destination, communal experience from a band that was more conscious about their fans’ experiences than the precision of…