F1 In Vegas?

Hello all, i am wondering if this is the appropriate thread to try and sell tickets to the LVGP. We have purchased 4 grandstand tickets early on when they had first opened up the sales and the hype was high. I am a long time F1 fanatic for as long as I can remember, and was really excited when this GP came to reality. However, a very unfortunate event happened in our lives that we sadly cannot go anymore.

I do not want to ruffle any of the moderator's feathers, so kindly let me know if this is not the correct thread (or platform) to post this. I can post a link to the ticket info if it is appropriate and if there is any interest.

Thank you.

Alex

 

There may be trouble ahead ...


LAS VEGAS HOSPITALITY WORKERS THREATEN A STRIKE AHEAD OF F1 VISIT TO SIN CITY
REUTERS 3 NOVEMBER, 2023

Las Vegas hospitality workers threaten a strike ahead of F1’s visit to Sin City (gptoday.com)

Some 35,000 Las Vegas hospitality workers are ready to walk off the job on November 10 in a strike against casino and resort operators MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts if they do not have a labor contract by then, their unions said on Thursday.
The Culinary Workers and Bartenders Unions have been negotiating for about seven months, and 95% of their members voted at the end of September to authorize a citywide strike.
The strike would be the first for the unions since 1991 and mirrors activity in the entertainment and auto industries where employees are seeking better compensation and benefits to deal with the higher cost of living and a tight labor market, and comes as companies report record profits.
The Las Vegas unions, considered among the most powerful in the country, are demanding higher wages, stronger protections against new technology that may threaten jobs, a reduction in steep quotas for housekeepers and improved safety for workers.
The union said it has some agreements in place with the casinos. “Economically, the companies have made some movement but we are millions of dollars apart,” Ted Pappageorge, Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer told reporters on a call.
MGM and Caesars did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Wynn declined to comment on the strike deadline.
“When we reach an agreement on the contract, it’s going to be the largest increase that our employees have seen in the four decades since we started interacting with the Culinary Union,” Caesars Entertainment CEO Thomas Reeg told investors on an earnings call on Tuesday.
The city is gearing up for major events in November including the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix which is expected to bring more than 100,000 tourists to the city.
Reeg said he could not say whether a new contract was “going to happen next week, a couple of weeks from now, or a month from now. But we are in dialogue constantly with the union and have further meetings this week.”
The union said no additional big table negotiations are currently scheduled with the three casino operators, including Caesars. (Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo)

 

Alex post an ad in the Classified Section.

 

wait.... the race starts 10pm local?

sjd

 

Most people Vegas are just starting the party...

 

that's because it's 111010092990 billion degrees during the day.

 

You can sell them on Ticketmaster.

 

Actually its in the 70's now. For the race people will need some kind of light jacket or layers.

 

I'm secretly hoping for a freak snowstorm

 

Picking this date actually made a lot of sense. The weather is quiet mild and its the slowest week in Vegas normally. SEMA is this week. Thanksgiving is a bad week for travel. The week between is no mans land. So having a race with a lot of international guests between those two works out best. And it was hoped that the season would still be a close fight as it neared the end of the season (not much luck there on that one.....)

The airport had to add 3 times as much parking for private planes for this and the Super Bowl next Feb.

 

Yes but...There are still lots of good fights up and down the grid. Norris and Piastri are interesting to watch. Will Norris win one this year? Can Ferrari get a race right and win from pole? Will Albon surprise? Will Ricciardo show some glimer of his former self? Russel and Hammy are always good for some drama. It's still going to be fun.

 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f1-not-alarmed-about-spiralling-rising-las-vegas-gp-costs/10542196/

F1 not alarmed about spiralling Las Vegas GP costs
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei says Formula 1 isn't panicking about the rising costs associated with the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as it believes the investment will pay off long-term.

Author Adam Cooper
Published Nov 4, 2023, 2:11 PM


The event is the first promoted directly by F1 owner Liberty, and the company has borne the cost of buying the land for the pit and paddock area and creating the permanent buildings that are on it.

The costs have risen over the construction period, while other expenses connected to putting on the race have also escalated.

An insight into the rising CapEx costs was given by Liberty Media CFO Brian Wilding in a call with Wall Street analysts.

In August, he noted that the company expected to spend "close to" $400 million on the project and that $155 million had been spent in the first six months of 2023.

In Friday's call, he noted that "through the third quarter we incurred approximately $280 million of CapEx related to the pit building structure and track preparation".

That would put the running total for 2023 to the end of September at $435 million, or already some $35 million above his earlier estimate, without counting any expenditure from October onwards.

However, Maffei insisted that some of the costs are one-time only and that the event will be more profitable in future years.

"We did incur significant expense in launching year one in Vegas," he said.

"And that included extra provisions for safety, security and traffic planning, which was required by local regulators.

"And we had several non-recurring items, for example, our first-year-only opening ceremony, and the design and launch of our multi-purpose app, and creation of a fan database.

"We remain highly confident in the increased efficiency to operate there and our growing profitability in years two and beyond. And we remain bullish on the broader value creation at LVGP that far outweighs the increased investment and startup costs."

Pressed on the rising costs, he added: "I outlined some of them, increased security, one-time things like the opening day ceremony, but there were other ones like consultants that helped us set it up, permitting costs that were unusual, and the like.

"So there are a bunch of initial costs that are probably higher than we originally estimated. I remain very bullish, we remain very bullish on, as I said, the impact on F1 overall by Las Vegas, and the potential for this race to be a profitable exercise itself."

Maffei has previously suggested that Las Vegas will be in the top five most profitable F1 races from the start, and he stands by that claim.

"That's still a reasonable estimate on profitability," he said. "I think I noted, we've seen some one-time and start-up costs that may have been larger than anticipated.

"But remembering how this is impactful to us, not only directly, but indirectly, this is a very profitable race for us.

"As far as being measured as a top five obviously, we don't tell the world what the top five are. But we have noted that this one will have that impact. I still think that's true."

Maffei also downplayed a possible impact on the event from industrial action threatened by Las Vegas hotel workers.

According to the Associated Press, the strike would affect 18 casinos, including the Bellagio, MGM Grand, and Caesars Palace, as 35,000 workers are ready to walk off ahead of the F1 race.

"We have worked with the unions, and I believe our race will not be impacted directly," he said. "We're obviously watching what impact that may have on the overall Las Vegas market."

Liberty also insists that the first event will eventually be a sell-out, suggesting that there was always going to be a late take-up by fans.

"We have a handful of tickets left," said Las Vegas promoter Rene Wilms.

"And the demand coming in the last minute, which knowing Vegas it's a last-minute market, we did in fact hold tickets back for that purpose. So we are very excited. And we will be sold out by the time of the event."

Maffei added: "A lot of people from Los Angeles book for Las Vegas relatively late."

 

I believe that many of the first year attendees will end up being one-time attendees. Even though I have a timeshare in Vegas, I won't be back next year. It's just too expensive for the value.

 

As always, there is more to watch in a race than just the leaders.

 

I was a little surprised to see there are zero support races. That's a lot of down time on the track.

 

Madame sends pix, from her 57th floor suite at the Wynn, of the lights and barriers up for the race. Traffico Intenso already.

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[the turn from Sands Blvd to the LV strip straight away]

 

I was offered free tickets. I turned them down. telling them you couldn't pay me to go to Las Vegas. I may watch it on cable. But really not too interested. I love the historic European races. . COTA is always great but Miami and Vegas are hardly worth watching.

 

Unbelievable...

 

https://www.planetf1.com/news/fans-chase-refunds-las-vegas-hotel-rates
Dramatic drop in Las Vegas hotel rates triggers F1 fans chasing refunds

 

Yeah, not in November it's not.

I get Vegas is the city that never sleeps but still. 10pm Pacific Time seems a bit late. Why not have a race through sunset or at least start at 8pm? Oh well, we'll see how it plays out.

As far as the costs involved, the venues do seem nice. I remember when CotA went a bit sideways during the lead up to the construction and first year or so. It seemed to have worked out ok. Hope Vegas works out too.

 

Hahaha

Hopefully this is only the beginning of a disaster to ensure this is a one off event.

 

One off please. I certainly hope the new mud wrestling crowds fade away both LV and Miami. Even with total Wynn suite and full boat comp, we decided to skip it 1] due to the unnecessary night race and 2] what a total cess pit LV is. Viewing among tall buildings requires tv cameras too.

 

I read somewhere that we may have the coldest race on record this weekend.

1978 Canadian GP was 5'C / 41'F
Vegas might be 4'C / 39'F

Would hilarious to race in a desert and break the all time coldest race record