From Vegas Stages To VIP Magic: How Caesars Builds Unforgettable Nights

Step onto the INTIX show floor with us in Las Vegas as we sit down with Amy Graca, Senior Vice President of Entertainment at Caesars Entertainment, to unpack how an ordinary ticket becomes an extraordinary night. Amy takes us inside a 50-venue footprint (over 20 on the Strip alone) where the “all-in-one” experience blends world-class shows, signature dining, and artist access into something fans can’t get anywhere else.

We dig into the playbook behind those moments: co-creating with artists to design packages that feel personal and scalable. Hear how Old Dominion’s multi-market synergy drove a Strip takeover, and how Blake Shelton’s Colosseum run links to his Ole Red bar with a gamified, show-specific T-shirt drop chosen by Blake himself. Amy frames it all through the lens of unreasonable hospitality; an operating system where flawless execution, clear communication, and frontline care turn VIP from a label into a promise. That’s how trust is built with artists and why it endures, from opening-night parties to Garth Brooks saluting his ushers mid-show.

We also explore how to offer personalized value across different life stages, whether through lawn bundles with friends or curated lounge access, and spotlight the reinvention of meet-and-greets: Donny Osmond’s intimate story-and-song gatherings, Sting’s interactive Q&A sessions, and Usher’s backstage world transformed into a multi-room experience.

If you care about the craft behind a great show—artist collaboration, operational excellence, and hospitality that dares to overdeliver—this conversation will spark ideas for your team and your next night out. Follow the series, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review so more fans and pros can find us.

Recorded Wednesday, January 28th, 2026
Hosts: Damian Bazadona, CEO & Founder, Situation & Maureen Andersen, President & CEO, INTIX
Guest: Amy Graca, SVP of Entertainment, Caesars Entertainment
Producer: Peter Yagecic, Founder, A Mind at Work

https://situationinteractive.com
https://intix.org
https://amindatworkconsulting.com

Transcript

Live From INTIX Las Vegas

Peter Yagecic 0:04

You're listening to Fandom Unpacked from Situation and Intix, the podcast series where we unpack modern fandom with some of the brightest minds in sports and entertainment. I'm producer Peter Yajisic, and joining me for today's QA are Situation CEO and founder, Damien Bazadana, and President and CEO of Intix, Maureen Anderson. Maureen, we're recording today from the exhibition floor of your flagship event Intex 2026 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. I gotta ask, how's the show going for you this year?

Maureen Andersen 0:32

Oh, it's great. We got 1,400 people from 24 countries, and we're having a wonderful time. Everybody seems really happy. And just a little side note, and Amy brought us Donnie Osman today, so it was really fun.

Peter Yagecic 0:43

Excellent. Well you you've you've tipped the hat of our amazing guest today. Um, you know, we are in Vegas, and it felt only right to invite someone to the QA who can really help us unpack what fans are doing up and down the strip, what they're feeling, thinking, and doing, and we are thrilled to welcome Amy Graca, Senior Vice President of Entertainment for Caesars Entertainment. Amy, thank you for taking the time from your busy conference schedule to join us today.

Amy Graca 1:07

Thank you for having me. This has been such an amazing week already. I am so happy that Intex is back in Las Vegas. Selfishly, we're here at the Paris at Caesars Entertainment, so I'm thrilled.

Peter Yagecic 1:20

Well, we're thrilled to have you. And because we're in her house today and in Vegas, and the house always wins in Vegas, I'm gonna ask Maureen to actually kick us off today with the first question. Maureen, take us away.

Caesars’ Coast-To-Coast Entertainment Footprint

Maureen Andersen 1:32

Thank you so much, and thank you, Amy. So, you know, we've known each other a long time, and I know a lot about you, but I'm not sure that everybody else knows how large the footprint is you have. I mean, you think Caesar's Palace and the Coliseum. That's not all you have. You have a lot around the world footprint.

Amy Graca 1:50

We have about 50 venues in our portfolio, coast to coast, including one in Canada. And certainly our flagship is the Coliseum at Caesars Palace. It is the iconic venue that our iconic artists perform at, but we have a summer series in Tahoe, we have a summer series in Stir Cove, just outside of Omaha, which Donnie mentioned today. Um we have Atlantic City, we have SoCal, we have our southern uh Mississippi properties. So again, coast to coast, over 50 venues, uh over 20 venues alone here in Las Vegas. It is a lot.

Designing The All-In-One Night Out

Maureen Andersen 2:29

It is a lot, and you know, spreading across and making sure that there's a lot of consistency about that. Are the footprints the kind of the same? Can you tell me what does a great night out look like at Caesars Entertainment? And what's that, what's the vibe and and to fill me in on what that looks like when fans walk in any property?

Amy Graca 2:54

I want them to see and feel the high energy, the all-in-one experience, top-tier entertainment, world-class dining, and ultimately an iconic experience. And the beauty of this is I can give this to them. And how I'm packaging that together is really part of the future. It's part of what I'm excited about because we're able to not only sell the ticket, but now add on all these other iconic experiences to make this the best night ever.

Maureen Andersen 3:33

Do you work with the artists on packaging and making these things happen too? We do.

Amy Graca 3:37

We absolutely do.

Maureen Andersen 3:38

So they're engaged in this moment to create the experience with you.

Artist Partnerships And Post-COVID Expectations

Amy Graca 3:42

To create the experience, to create something that arguably fans can't get anywhere else. And that to me has really been the key over the last couple of years because looking back, you know, everybody kind of says at this point, whatever happened before COVID happened. Then COVID happened, and coming out of COVID, it was everybody just wants to get out. Now it's what experience am I going to that I'm perhaps paying for in a different way, right? And so how the conversations I'm then having up front when we're booking these shows, when we're talking to artists, when we're you know talking to the production shows, I always say across the street, you know, um, what what do those conversations look like so that we can create an experience that when you come to Las Vegas, you go home and you tell everyone you know, guess what I got to do in Las Vegas?

Maureen Andersen 4:48

So it's like a brand meld.

Case Study: Old Dominion Synergy

Amy Graca 4:50

It really is. And it's, you know, Donnie said it best today. He loves his showroom at Harris, he loves Caesars Entertainment. And I'm listening I'm using Donnie as as our our you know uh example here today, but you know, we we say that with a lot of different artists. And the beauty of this is we work with so many artists that we also uh also play multiple venues across our our portfolio, and so that's part of the other, you know, unique experience here is that we're able to say, come play with Caesars Entertainment because we're gonna create something for you. And you're going to play seven, eight, nine properties, and here's what we're gonna do across them. Can I give you an example? I hope so. Um Old Dominion. Oh, yeah. Uh Barbara. I don't know, did you guys see this by chance? It's well, I wish I could show you this picture because I love this picture so much. Um look it up, Google it, it'll show it, it'll come up. They were at our Stir Cove property the day the album went out. We were then also announcing the Las Vegas shows for December. Oh they ended up filming something at the property in Council Bluffs to then use as part of the announce here, and we took over we did we did a uh marquee takeover on the strip. It was just it was such it, there was so much synergy, and it was really the epitome of working with Caesars and why our footprint, our our are the you know, the power of Caesars and what we can do when we collaborate with artists. Power of Amy Grace of making these things work.

Maureen Andersen 6:44

I know you have a huge team, but that's a good point. I know you're a fan of the of the book, Unreasonable Hospitality. And with these kind of brand melds and the importance and and putting it all together, hospitality is a big deal, and it is what makes experiences now. How deeply does hospitality go through the organizations and how does it fuse into how the customers and fans are entering your venues?

Unreasonable Hospitality As Operating System

Amy Graca 7:14

It's arguably what everything is built on. What everything is built on starts with unreasonable hospitality. And I love that book so much because it talks about, you know, honestly, what I'm passionate about is being able to look at things differently. And to be able to say, I want to create something that is not the standard. Listen, everybody can do the standard, right? We it's it's the my opinion, it's the definite definition of competition. We have the standard. What what sets us apart from everyone else? And that is really what I've tried to bring into the entertainment team, and and you know, in what as you know, what I like to call my era. Uh no pun intended, my era. But but really to to look at the business differently. And so what does that mean? That means from the booking side, from the artist side, from the artist engagement, from the ticketing side, from the marketing side, um, all the way up until the fan gets here. And even then, it's you know, we talked about it a little bit earlier. It's even the customer uh service piece. And how can we create something, and or as simply as help customers in a fruitful way that they remember this and they go back and say, or or pay it forward in some form or fashion, or it drives them to come back to a Caesars property because they saw horseshoe Hammond and they had such a good time at Horseshoe Las Vegas that they're going to that property when they get back home. And that is the epitome of what Caesars Entertainment is.

Damian Bazadona 9:13

Hey guys, Damian here. I just want to take a quick moment to say if you're enjoying this podcast right now, odds are you're in the business of selling live experiences. And if you don't know my team at the advertising agency situation, you most definitely should. Aside from just being an awesome group of human beings, they're a global team of professionals covering a brand base in sports, arts, theater, culture, museums, or any live experience that requires people coming together. Big, small, all shapes and sizes of brands. You can hit them up at the information below in the show notes. What have you seen? I feel like you book and have seen so many iconic brands and artists. And what are the commonalities to those that I don't know, the brands of the artists that get fandom, that they just get it, they do it best. There are commonalities to it between the artists and the shows and people you're talking to. What do you see?

Amy Graca 10:14

There's so many examples, but I'd like to believe that we do it with these teams. Because there is an operational execution on anything that we decide to do that ultimately falls on the venue. And so I'd like to I like to say and believe it really is a relationship that we build with these various teams to say this is this is what we want to create. I'll give you another example. Um Blake Shelton is here at the Coliseum right now, across the street, and we created a VIP package, and we partnered with Old Red, which is his bar across the street, which another plug we had our opening night party at on Monday. I have to believe that was the best attended opening night party, by the way.

Maureen Andersen 11:06

Great. They loved it too. Four stories of joy. It was great. It was really great too. With the view of the fountain right across the street.

Peter Yagecic 11:13

Oh, it was so good.

Trust, Execution, And VIP Packaging

Maureen Andersen 11:14

So good. Well, she was creating radical hospitality with me. From day one, she goes, You're going to Ole Red. And when Amy tells me I go, I go. There wasn't another place to go. Blake Shelton's plate. And that, and really, and that's when we started to think about what does a package look like, we got Old Red involved, we got his team involved, and we

Amy Graca 11:35

now, with this with this package that we're selling this week, even, every show has a different t-shirt with a different picture of Blake on it. And not only just a different picture, it's a picture that he picked, that he wanted. So, I mean, there's some really funny pictures on the on these t-shirts, but it's kind of also gamified this package in a way of, well, I wonder what shirt it's going to be this week. And so between the social side of this, where that has then caught some some uh some you know, it's viral uh moments, and we've been able to, you know, sell these and execute these, and then you get to go to old red, you get the you know, all the the swag from old red, it's just been a really great example of something we've been able to do.

Damian Bazadona 12:25

And I would imagine like the idea of trust, right, and and almost like you're also your gut instinct, right, in collaborating with these artists, because there's a lot of like, I'm sure there's a lot of promises. Here's our relationship to our fans. But the reality is it's only on the execution. At the end of the day, like, can you actually execute? It's gotta be a big instinct thing as you're negotiating with the artists, their teams, kind of going like, right? Like it's gotta be an instinctual. You see a lot, I'm sure a lot of people say a lot of stuff, but they don't fully deliver. It's a gigantic trust game, right? Like, take us inside that it absolutely is. Take us inside that world a little bit as you're negotiating or think or speaking with artists about a potential, whether it could be also a residency or even touring, obviously a little different, but I'd love to hear.

Training A 50+ Venue Network

Amy Graca 13:08

I cannot talk about my team, teams that we have as part of entertainment because they are so dedicated to making sure every detail is spot on. Because you're right. If an artist comes in and they have something that they want to do and it's not executed well, it reflects poorly on so many layers. And I'm so adamant because I think, you know, I came up on the operational, on the ticketing side of things. How do you communicate, articulate to the ticket purchasers, this is what you're going to receive, this is what time you should show up, this is what door you should enter, this is how you get your um, I think Betty was talking, you know, bobbleheads for sports, but whatever the the tangible things are, how are we creating these experiences to take it to the next level, even as simple as that execution? And it is really important to these artist teams that they can trust us. Listen, it's why they either come back or or candidly they don't, because it is this relationship that we build over time to trust each other. And and I'll I'll I'll share this with you. When Garth Brooks was was approaching the end of his residency, unbeknownst to me, on the second to last show, he did a special song and dedicated it to all of the ushers in the room. The camera got yeah, the cameraman then filmed all the ushers and all they knew where all the spots were. They highlighted all the ushers in the room while he was singing this song. And I'm by the way, I've never seen this before. It was so touching because when you, and I always say we live together, right? When we live together with these teams, because it can be months and or you know multiple years, you really do form this bond to be able to put this level of entertainment on, it takes more than just a a one-night, you know what I mean, a one-night stop.

Damian Bazadona 15:33

And as you, and I would imagine the challenge, because I I listen, every time I've seen you speak, uh, even at this conference multiple times, you're holding yourself to a standard of excellence, right? With the artist relationship, the patron relationship. How do you do that at a geograph at different geographic regions, different geographic needs? Like, how does fandom and that kind of ecosystem work when you think about you have to implement this across what, 50 plus properties, including cash? It's a lot. And does so how do you think about that?

Amy Graca 15:58

Um I'm so glad you asked me that because I'm so proud that I'm gonna say 10 years ago, it might even be a few more. Being a part of Intex for this long, I kind of came up with the idea that I wanted to bring all of the ticketing folks from the Caesars properties together once a year. And it started with probably eight, nine of us, and you know, we came here one year, we went to Chicago one year, we went to AC, and it was small-ish. This past year in October, we had over 64 people that came to Las Vegas. We had vendors come, we had our ticket master partner come, we had marketing people from the properties come.

Maureen Andersen 16:42

Donnie Ozman came today.

Amy Graca 16:46

But really, like we have had such an overwhelming response to getting together as a company and as a as a uh company department to share best practices, to talk about how do we execute certain things. And so, listen, the the fast and and and hard uh answer to that question is we really do engage with with each other. I care about every venue and what's happening, and we send people out to train. And it really is this um community, we've heard that a lot this week. This community of wanting to make sure that we are all operating and servicing our fans in the same way.

Tech And AI: Data, Gear, And Reality

Damian Bazadona 17:34

Hey guys, Damian here. If you're listening to this podcast, I'm gonna bet that you're probably thinking about how your team works and adapts right now in this new technology landscape. That's why the one person I always point people to is my co-host, right here, Peter Yajisic, and his company, a Mind at Work Consulting. They run smart, tech-infused workshops that help teams build new skills and actually put ideas into action. Peter is way too humble to brag, but I have no problems bragging for him. So if you're serious about what's next, talk to a Mind at Work Consulting. More in the show notes below.

Peter Yagecic 18:16

Um, Peter, I know you had some uh some questions from the floor. We do, yeah. I mean, this is uh the third day, technically, I think, of of Intex. And uh, you know, we've been here all week. We we knew we told people that we're gonna we were gonna be interviewing you, Amy, for Phantom Unpack. And so uh we we did get a couple of questions from some people. So this is the voice of the people. The first one, this one really stood out to me because this kind of speaks to my background. Uh in your goal to provide unreasonable hospitality, um, can you talk a little bit about what what role does technology play in that in the best of times? I mean, I think technology is such a part of providing excellent fan experience. It's part of the production for the shows that you work on. But but is there is can you talk a little bit about how your team is using technology to meet and exceed fan expectations? And and as a second part to that, as you're thinking, is there something on the horizon that you're you're excited about?

Pricing, Personalization, And Value

Amy Graca 19:18

I'm gonna talk a little bit about AI because it's such a hot topic right now. And arguably, I'm not sure that anybody knows exactly where this is gonna go as it pertains to entertainment. Um we have a lot of data. Arguably, we have so much data, one could say it's overwhelming. And I would love to better be able to aggregate that data. I would I would love to be able to use our partners, our ticketing partners, to be able to give me more data at the at the beginning of that booking stage versus just using it for marketing purposes. So that to me is I think one of the biggest opportunities we have collectively as an industry. Um a technology standpoint, you look at all of these new venues that are being built. And it's millions, I mean the sphere is billions of dollars. And the technology that goes into these venues is top-notch. So then we look at our venues that are 20 years old, whatever the whatever the aging factor of that may be. But really, then you also need to compete in this technology world, and it's not it's not cheap. So, how do you stay relevant from a technology standpoint? And you know, I'm talking about sound, lights, all you know, everything that goes into LED walls, everything that goes into these venues, because you want the artist teams to have the best that's available. That's what they want. Um, so that's certainly something that I'm constantly working on to improve new equipment, new gear, you know, for our for our venues. And back to AI, I was talking to somebody earlier about this. The scary side of this is when you go and say, okay, well, you're asking about certain facts for you know, a venue or how many shows were at the Coliseum. It's only pulling what's been reported. It's not so where I'm going with this is how do you know when it's real and when it's not? And that's going to be part of the discovery, I think, in the future of how much do you rely on this? Or no or not.

Peter Yagecic 21:53

Yeah, and and I I think we're all kind of learning what these generative AI tools excel.

Amy Graca 22:00

Yes.

Peter Yagecic 22:01

And it's tempting to think that they're good at everything, but they're really not. But if they can help find those patterns that you were talking about, then that is the superhuman ability that they may have or supercomputer ability. The trends. But there may be certain things that, you know, when it the old school way is still more tried and true because you know it's a reliable, repeatable answer.

Amy Graca 22:23

Right, exactly. And and and more trends, right? Than specific, perhaps specific points. Listen, I I I'm I love change. I will say that. I love change. I've always been a change proponent. I adapt it. I uh I'm an advocate for change. And so I am really interested to see how this industry, and I do, I I mean ticketing, I mean booking, I mean operations to some degree. You know, when we're sitting here in five years, have me back, please. And I want to talk about, guys, remember when we sat here in 2026 and we were just on the cusp of this, and we're trying to predict what's gonna happen in 2031. I don't know which city we'll be in, but she'll have me back here. But, right. Let's talk about this and what has changed in five years because of AI. I'm I'm very curious.

Peter Yagecic 23:25

It'll be like those uh you watch now the old TV clips of Brian Gumball talking about uh the internet. Yes. You know, it's like, what is this thing? The internet, you know, this could be so pervasive that we'll we'll look back and kind of cringe at how we talked about it.

Amy Graca 23:40

It's not even gonna be called AI by that point.

Peter Yagecic 23:43

Right. Uh Maureen, kicking it back to you.

Maureen Andersen 23:46

I have a question, and it's going kind of back to the the, you know, our ticketing roots. So we've got dynamic pricing and we've got the data, and we've got personalization, and the whole thing about creating packages and experiences for specific people and types of people, groups of people, regionalization. Do they work together, dynamic pricing and personalization, or are they running in parallel, or are they still fractured and go like this?

Reinventing Meet And Greets

Amy Graca 24:11

I think you're off. I think they work together. Thank you. I really do. I think they work together. We would be remiss not to say in any other industry, and and let's talk about the hotel and or airline industry. If you want to sit in first class, you're paying to sit in first class. If you want to sit in the back of the plane, the last row, because you want the $59 ticket, then that's where you're gonna sit, right? And it's no different than going to the four seasons or going to the W or a plethora of hotels versus if you're going to see certain shows, certain artists, certain sporting events, whatever that, you know, if you're going to the Super Bowl, you guys, I'm not getting a discount on discount.com.

Maureen Andersen 25:05

I'm not, right? And so that's Well, you're not getting a bargain ticket because the experience has a radically different you're pricing to the value of the experience.

Amy Graca 25:15

And that's I think I think that perhaps is the catalyst is the value, the experience. You know, we have just closed the third year of F1 in Las Vegas. I went to the paddock this year, unbelievable. Go if you haven't gone. I understand why the ticket price is what it is. It is a next level experience. And so if that is tied to the price, I I listen, I arguably think that is fair.

Maureen Andersen 25:51

I'm glad to hear it because I think that not everything is is equal, and I don't mean that in a bad way, is that the packages are created for where someone may be at a time and place in their life. And they may grow with you. And so, you know, you may have something that, you know, Piff the Magic Dragon may be an entry level because he's got a dog and a showgirl, and I mean he's a dragon. But, you know, they're gonna grow along the line, and who knows, they're gonna come back and they're gonna be a Blake Shelton fan next, or Rod Stewart, or you know, Dolly Parton, whoever it is, you know, and when you bring Adele back in 20 years or whatever it is, you know, you've got the audience because you're building them along. And you don't price, you know, the kids more environment show the way you do with the Blake Shelton VIP platinum.

Amy Graca 26:37

Well, I even think about it as a lawn ticket. Right. When I was younger, I loved the four-pack for the lawn tickets. My friends and I would go, we love sitting on the lawn. I didn't even rent a chair. Why would you need a chair? You'd bring a beach towel. And that was the best experience ever. I wouldn't do that today, you guys, if you paid me to do that. Right? But it's a good example of, right? But so many, there is an audience for that. And that's great, and that's why we do that. I will not be there. Right.

Peter Yagecic 27:16

My back started hurting just thinking about that. Exactly. A towel. You're gonna go to a cabana now. Um, I I wanted to ask you something uh that was inspired by the session that you did this morning. You gave some really great examples of how some of the artists you work with are kind of redefining the meet and greet, the VIP meet and greet experience. Um I I was fascinated by that because I think you you told a story about how it was solving a problem, but also providing really great and novel fan experience. It wasn't just the stand in line, take a quick picture, and then kind of shuffle out of the room. Can you talk about some of the experiences that that you referenced this morning and and why you think that has the opportunity to serve fans and artists in a better way?

A Magic Wand For Fan Appreciation

Closing And Where To Listen Next

Amy Graca 28:04

I'll I'll start with Donnie, and he does such an incredible job of when we started talking to him about this. We took a room at Hera's that wasn't being used anymore. It was the old Diamond Lounge, and we turned it into this, it's the Donnie VIP room. And he comes, he will show you pictures on his phone, he will sing happy birthday to people, anniversaries, what you know, whatever you're sell the you're there celebrating. He will tell you stories that he may not have told anyone before. He'll talk about his family, his kids, his grandkids, and he also gives fans the opportunity to ask him questions. And it's just such a unique opportunity to get that glimpse into his lifelong career. When, you know, you can ask him, oh, do you know, you know, he'll talk about when when him and Michael Jackson were were young kids uh playing together, you know, and like it the stories that he has that he shares with fans is remarkable. And he does such a such a good job of engaging, and it you guys, it's like a 45-minute interaction. He'll sing a couple songs, he'll you know, take requests. I don't know how he remembers all of these songs, and then he still does his show. So it's really created this again. Here we go back to the question you just asked me, Maureen. The value, the pricing, people are getting the value for that. Um, Sting, but we created something with him because when we put the shows on sale originally, we had included a meet and greet. COVID happened, coming out of COVID, no one was really doing meet and greets. Instead of doing away with it, we bought some risers, we put them on the side of the stage, and he agreed to come out and do more of a QA. So what was really fun is as people were coming in before the show, we gave them a you know a note card, they got to write down their questions, and we would kind of just rapid fire through all of these questions. But instead of just answering them, he would say, Hey Maureen, or you know, who who who asked this question, and people would be able to raise their hand and engage, and you know, because it was COVID times, he was he was sitting 12 feet that way, but but it worked, and it really told us that there is another opportunity here to still engage with these artists in a different way, and so it made us start to really think about oh, well, what else can we do? I'll mention one more here, and I I want to give our a nod to our dear friend Randy Weiner from yesterday, but he was the one that, and I know he was on, has done a podcast with you all. He he brought up Usher yesterday. And it's so funny from his point of view to see the creative side of that come together. Meanwhile, down the hall from where this creative, you know, the creative experience came to life, we were sitting, that's our office. And so all of a sudden, this entire he, you know, he he described this jazz room, and then it was a meet and greet room, and then it was the Ushbuck room, and then it was there was a lot going on down there, you guys. But it was wildly successful. And we have never had someone come and transform the back of house down under the stage into something that we brought people in the side entrance, you know. Of course you have to Was it the Coliseum? It was at the Coliseum, and it was wildly successful and talk about a unique experience that because people will never see the back of house. Yeah, but it was such a great way, but by the way, they will never see the back of house and they will never see it transformed in the way that it was because I didn't even believe it. And it was just such a neat opportunity.

Peter Yagecic 32:35

Well, um, you know, Amy, I want to thank you so much. We've got probably time for one more question. Damian, do you you want to wrap us up? Yeah, uh let me just say, I've had so much fun at this conference.

Damian Bazadona 32:45

Same. Truly. And I think that starts at the top. Maureen, I think you do a very I think you're just a very warm person, and it you can kind of feel it in the whole energy of the space. I was on two different stages at two different moments, and anytime you go up in front of a group of people, you try to know like how's this audience gonna be? It's been a very warm response. But I've seen that on all the stages, and I think that really speaks to the tone of how you set for the conference. Uh, and it's just awesome to see it. Thank you, James. Very impressive. And Amy, obviously you have an amazing reputation, but I also thought the curiosity that you jumped into with us, I know you're busy, you got a lot going on, but we've had multiple conversations and you're kind of coming in with all curiosity and engagement, and I think it just makes for awesome conversation. So, truly, uh, we thank you for spending the time with us. Thank you. Uh and so, all right, so if you could wave a magic wand, right? Yeah, so exciting. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a magic wand? I'm just so much with this. I want one. But if you had a magic wand, you could fix one thing about how fans experience ticketing or live entertainment. What would this magic wand fix?

Amy Graca 33:53

Fix? I don't know about fix, right? But it's always change the perception of when a fan walks in and sits down and sees this beautiful production show to really have some insight into everything that goes into that. Because I think the appreciation is sometimes lost when you think about every the ecosystem of what has to happen for every show every night. And I I by the way, this is just across the industry, whether it's sporting, whether it's theater, arts, live entertainment, what has to happen for all of that to come together is truly remarkable. Truly remarkable. And I wish there was a magic wand just for a second to somehow articulate the love, truly, the love and passion that I have for this industry for everyone to understand this is this is what it really takes.

Peter Yagecic 34:55

Well, it looks like Garth Brooks and recognizing the ushers. Yes, right? Yes. He was waving that magic wand a little bit. He really was. Yeah. He really was. Well, that is gonna do it for this episode of Phantom Unpacked live from InTix 2026. If you liked what you heard today, please check out all the great QA interviews we've done over at fandomunpack.com or by searching fandomunpack and following the series in your podcast player of choice. We'd also love for you to rate and review the show while you're at it. That really helps us find new fans. We're gonna be back in your feed in a couple of weeks. See you next time, true believers.