VEGAS.com Mobile Innovations Add to Las Vegas' Tourism Technology

Business Wire, July 21, 2008

Las Vegas Concierge and Box Office Services in the Palm of Your Hand

LAS VEGAS -- VEGAS.com, the largest seller of Las Vegas show tickets and source for Vegas information, is launching Mobile Concierge and Box Office in Your Pocket. The applications are the first-ever deployment of mobile show ticketing in Vegas combined with mobile concierge services.

The Mobile Concierge service is for customers already in Vegas, with current day and next day show and tour listings. The Mobile Concierge also has extensive, updated information on Las Vegas hotels. It is available by texting 777 to shortcode VEGAS (83427) or by visiting mobile.vegas.com on handheld devices.

Customers can browse show times, ticket prices, reviews and, soon, view video clips on specific shows. Customers select a show or tour offering, click when they're ready to buy and are instantly connected to a live expert in VEGAS.com's 24-7-365 contact center who quickly completes the transaction by taking the customer's name and credit card number.

"We didn't want customers trying to peck away at tiny keyboards while they're in motion to enter credit card information," said Howard Lefkowitz, President of VEGAS.com. "Visitors have the convenience of browsing and making selections on their mobile devices, and then use a very capable device that they are quite familiar with - their phone - to complete the transaction."

Confirmation information is e-mailed to the customer's mobile device or a standard address (their choice). Customers then have the option of picking up their tickets at a box office or they can choose to save a tree and use VEGAS.com's Box Office in Your Pocket application, which introduces innovative mobile show ticketing with tickets sent directly to a customer's phone or PDA.

At supported VEGAS.com-operated Box Offices, customers will utilize a 2D barcode ticket displayed on their mobile device to directly enter the theater. Currently operating at the Wynn Las Vegas, VEGAS.com's Box Office in Your Pocket will be deploying at additional locations in the upcoming weeks.

"From your PDA you can browse what's available in Vegas, book entertainment experiences and not miss a minute of your trip," Lefkowitz said. "The Wynn is the first hotel to take full advantage of the technology, enabling customers to use their phones as a show ticket. When visiting Vegas, there's only one bookmark to put in your mobile device - mobile.vegas.com."

According to a North American Technographics Benchmark Survey from 2007, 86 percent of U.S. leisure travelers own a mobile phone. Forrester Research analyst Henry Harteveldt further supported mobile travel applications, stating, "The sixth generation for electronic distribution is mobile technology."

Customers can interact with VEGAS.com in person, on the phone, on the web and on the go, while local Vegas tourism partners get the benefit of a multi-channel platform to attract customers to their offerings. VEGAS.com runs concierge services desks at more than 70 locations, manages box offices at properties including the Wynn, Las Vegas Hilton, Flamingo and Rio, among many others, and sells a line of Vegas Arrow logo merchandise inside five retail locations in the city in partnership with Marshall Retail Group. The world's largest city travel website, Arthur Frommer called VEGAS.com "a model for city sites around the world."

The application, engineered in partnership with Icon Mobile, adapts to fit different phone and screen sizes and looks slightly different on each device.

About www.VEGAS.com

VEGAS.com is the largest city destination travel website in the world with extensive, constantly updated information and a full range of travel products including hotel rooms, air-hotel packages, show tickets, tours and golf. A state-of-the-art contact center provides customer support, expert information and sales 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to complement the information on www.VEGAS.com and espanol.Vegas.com. VEGAS.com, through its Casino Travel & Tours unit, operates retail and concierge desks at more than 70 locations including the Palms, Paris, Harrah's, Bally's, Mandalay Bay, Excalibur, New York-New York, Luxor and more. The company also offers a variety of excursions including city tours, the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. VEGAS.com is a member of the Greenspun Family of Companies, privately owned and operating in Southern Nevada for more than 60 years.