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<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n By Scott Roeben<\/a>, on August 14 2024 <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood has quietly rebranded to PH Live. Thank gawd. Nearly 85% of people were pronouncing \u201cBakkt\u201d wrong. It\u2019s like \u201cbacked.\u201d Which is now a completely useless \u201cfun fact.\u201d Sigh.<\/p>\n
Anyway, Caesars Entertainment is between naming rights sponsors. Prior to the name Bakkt, it was the Zappos Theater. Before that, it was The Axis. At some point in there (2012-2013), it was PH Live.<\/p>\n
Confusing? Definitely. Just ask any rideshare driver.<\/p>\n Bakkt Theater has been called that since early 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why has Bakkt backed out of its five-year sponsorship deal with Caesars Entertainment after a little more than a year?<\/p>\n Well, Bakkt shares<\/a> have lost about 73% in value since the beginning of the year.\u00a0Or as its called in the world of stock trading and investing, \u201can epic shitstorm of dumpster trainwreck clusterfuckery.\u201d<\/p>\n Bakkt describes itself as \u201cCustody, Trading & Onramps for Crypto.\u201d You know, they\u2019re a crypto infrastructure provider. What could possibly go wrong?<\/p>\n In our story about the renaming from Zappos to Bakkt<\/a>, we said, \u201cBakkt is a cryptocurrency company, so we trust Caesars Entertainment got its money up front.\u201d<\/p>\n We were joking, but as anyone we\u2019ve ever been in a relationship with will tell you, our \u201cjokes\u201d are actually a passive-aggressive way of undercutting things that make us feel awkward. It\u2019s also a way of saying how we really feel without committing to it. It\u2019s complicated<\/a>.<\/p>\n The fact is Caesars Entertainment took the nature of Bakkt\u2019s business into account when structuring its deal. Specifically, it front-loaded the five-year contract. Bakkt bought out the rest of its obligation. We could probably find the numbers buried in the financials of Caesars Entertainment, but that would involve \u201ceffort\u201d and perhaps even \u201cjournalism,\u201d so that\u2019s not happening.<\/p>\n Naming rights deals are found money for companies like Caesars Entertainment. Like selling its World Series of Poker<\/a> brand.<\/p>\n The theater at Park MGM is Dolby Live. The former Mandalay Bay Events Center is now called Michelob Ultra Arena.\u00a0Allegiant Air pays $25 million a year for naming rights of the Raiders stadium. There\u2019s also T-Mobile Arena on The Strip.<\/p>\n Naming rights deals are notoriously underwhelming marketing investments with little concrete, measurable return on investment.<\/p>\n Bakkt Theater was one of the clumsiest naming rights deals in town, just because the company isn\u2019t well known and \u201cBakkt Theater\u201d wasn\u2019t memorable or pleasing to the ear, at all.<\/p>\n So, if you\u2019re trying to see a show at Planet Hollywood, tell your Lyft or Uber or taxi or limo or party bus driver all the various names of the theater and one will ring a bell.<\/p>\n We\u2019re curious to see whose name gets slapped on the (placeholder) PH Live<\/a> theater next. If we hit Megabucks, you already know the answer. First residency in the Vital Vegas Theater will be Duran Duran. Shocker.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/vitalvegas\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/ph_live-845x563.jpg\"\/)
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