JULY 21, 2008. 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.