Brother, Can You Spare $5 Million? I Want To Take My Friends To The Las Vegas Grand Prix Next November; Caesars Offers $5M ‘Emperor Package’ For F1 Race Weekend
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
Even by Las Vegas standards, where over-the-top promotions are ho-hum commonplace, paying $5 million for you and 11 of your buddies to watch a car race on the Strip seemed laughable at first.
But Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment is serious about charging $5 million for a dozen Formula 1 fans for the ultimate VIP experience dubbed by Caesars as the “Emperor Package” to take in the Las Vegas grand prix race on Nov. 18 next year.
In November, Wynn Las Vegas dazzled F1 fans with a million-dollar offering that provides six people who come up with the $1 million a package of VIP experiences for the grand prix event.
Caesars may have heard about Wynn’s $1 million deal and obviously said, “Hold my Heineken.”
For $5 million, Caesars promises the “most curated experience” to watching the F1 grand prix event during the race’s inaugural event in Las Vegas.
Well, for that money, I would hope there’s a lot of “curated” stuff.
So, what do you get for $5 million?
It starts with five-night accommodations in the Nobu Sky Villa inside Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace. This is how the Caesars press release puts it about the villa: “With its sweeping views of the racetrack and sitting in the heart of the Grand Prix straight away, the villa’s terrace provides unparalleled views of the action.”
Here are a few more details about these accommodations, which includes the terrace that allows for as many as 75 guests to — and I’m quoting the press release here — “watch, celebrate and cheer on what promises to be the race of a lifetime.”
The Nobu Sky Villa features 10,300 square feet and three bedrooms, plus that 4,700-square-foot terrace sitting atop the Nobu Hotel. The outdoor space is 140 feet above the Strip.
When I began reading the Caesars release on the $5 million deal, I figured it was only time when the word, “leveraged,” would appear in this media missive.
And lo and behold, there you go: “Caesars Entertainment has leveraged its roster of celebrity culinary talent to offer an exclusive dining experience that money cannot buy.”
When you put it that way, $5 million is a steal!
The chef’s kiss of the Caesars press release is the part about who will be cooking for the $5 million.
Here’s the culinary punch line: “Chef Nobu Matsuhisa will personally create a special menu and host a private dinner in the Nobu Sky Villa. Guests will feast on Chef Nobu’s signature New Style Japanese cuisine, all the while indulging in the finest sake and Japanese whisky hand selected by Chef.”
And here are the bullet points of the deal:
- 12 tickets to the Paddock Club, a top hospitality product across the F1 calendar and includes an all-inclusive food and beverage package as well as access to the “Pit Lane Walk” and a private Caesars space at this Paddock Club.
- A private dinner for 12 curated and hosted by Matsuhisa in the Nobu Sky Villa
- A personal driver and Rolls-Royce for the entirety of the stay
- A choice of any spa service for six guests in the villa’s private treatment room by artisans from the award-winning Qua Baths & Spa
- Spa services range from the luxurious Qua Signature 24-karat Gold Facial to the Qua Signature Mojave Rain treatment, which incorporates Native American healing traditions using sacred plants and oils
- Personal VIP host to coordinate experiences at all Caesars Entertainment’s Las Vegas resorts, including food and beverage offerings across the city and OMNIA Nightclub at Caesars Palace
- Immediate Seven Star Caesars Rewards Tier Status
And don’t forget that around-the-clock butler service: There’s also “around-the-clock butler service, outdoor Zen Garden with a Japanese onsen tub, media room, billiards table, full bar, outdoor kitchen, sauna and private spa treatment room. Package guests have access to the exclusive Nobu Hotel fitness center and lounge as well as a private elevator and entrance.”
Oh, by the way, grand prix race tickets start at $500 for the common folk.
Here’s the route and the spots along the 3.8-mile circuit:
There are different areas:
- Paddock Club – Sits on the newly- purchased, 39-acre parcel of land adjacent to Las Vegas Boulevard, serving as the central point of the Las Vegas Strip Circuit, with more fans than any other zone.
- Wynn Grid Club – “A 1920s Great Gatsby chic vibe will be set to a modern soundtrack.” Uh, ok. The Wynn Grid Club will be located within the Paddock Club.
- Skyboxes – Private Skybox above the premium start/finish grandstand featuring views of the start/finish as well as the pre- and post-race festivities.
- Suites – Private suites feature elevated views of cars heading into the Koval straightaway.
- Shared Hospitality – Views of Turns 4 and 5 in a “semi-private space.”
- East Harmon Zone – Surrounding the Paddock, stands in this zone feature views of the pit lane, start/finish line and Turns 1-4.
- Sphere Zone – Grandstands in the Sphere Zone will have a view of a hard right-hand Turn 5, high-speed sweeping Turn 6, the Turn 7 / 8 chicane, and Turn 9 that shoots the cars back towards the Strip.
- West Harmon Zone – Views here show pit lane entry and the Harmon Straight, leading into Turn 17 and the finish line.
- General Admission – Experience race weekend with the flexibility of a General Admission ticket. Located in the Sphere Zone, guests won’t miss any immersive F1® action under the lights of the majestic MSG Sphere.
