Ahead of the Beatles’ only two concert performances in Las Vegas on August 20, 1964, the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper warned of “thousands of adolescent females ready to tear down brick walls with their bare hands to get a look at the furry foursome.” They weren’t wrong.
With a population of fewer than 200,000, Las Vegas was by far the smallest of the 23 US cities in which John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr performed that year. The local sheriff’s department was sufficiently concerned about the impending frenzy to mandate riot training for all its officers two days prior.
After playing the Cow Palace on August 19, the Fab Four flew directly to McCarran Airport. A planned parade for them in San Francisco had to be called off due to security concerns. The subsequent schedule change from a noon landing on August 20 to an arrival at 1:35 a.m. turned out to be fortuitous, as tens of thousands of teenage girls were expected to await their chartered Lockheed Electra by sunrise. Back then, anyone could simply walk up to the gate.
Despite the late hour, hundreds of fans had already gathered outside McCarran’s brand-new main terminal, defying a countywide 10 p.m. curfew. To avoid the throngs, police directed the Beatles’ plane to the old terminal, over a mile away.
A small group of dignitaries and photographers were assembled to meet the band in secret, with strict instructions to keep their headlights off when coming and going. This was only the second stop on the band’s first North American tour, and no one, including the Beatles and their manager, Brian Epstein, anticipated that Beatlemania would grip America as fiercely as it had Europe the previous year.
Just six months earlier, the Beatles were booked for a single appearance at the Sahara’s 700-seat Congo Room. Realizing its inadequacy, Sahara entertainment director Stan Irwin rebooked the group for two shows at the Las Vegas Convention Center, adding a 4 p.m. show so that Strip performers such as Liberace and Pat Boone could see and meet the Beatles without interfering with their own performances.
Upon arrival at the Sahara, where they were to stay according to the original deal, hotel officials congratulated themselves for the discreet landing — until they saw the Beatles-hungry mob surrounding the casino hotel. The band’s car was directed to a shipping dock in the back to slip them onto a freight elevator. According to Irwin, hotel staff had to form “an arm-in-arm link,” creating a human fence to hold back the girls, who were grabbing at British hair and flesh. “If any of us had fallen, we would have been stomped to death,” Irwin said.
The Beatles had originally wanted to see Las Vegas and gamble — all except for Lennon, who had no interest. However, because many of their fans were under 21, the management was concerned about restricting younger fans from the casino floor. It had also become clear that the Beatles would not be safe leaving their hotel room for the duration of their tour. On the morning of the show, the Sahara brought gambling to the Beatles. In Suite 2344 of the Sahara’s Alexandria Tower, the Fabs tried out two slot machines as they clowned around for invited photographers and reporters.
Nearly 17,000 fans packed the two sold-out performances at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Ticket prices ranged from $2.20 to $5.50. The Beatles received a $25,000 appearance fee plus 60% of the ticket sales, totaling $33,000. The convention center’s UFO-shaped rotunda opened its doors at 3 p.m. for the 4 p.m. show. The opening acts, The Exciters and The Righteous Brothers, failed to fully engage the audience, which chanted “We want the Beatles!” Finally, Jackie DeShannon almost got drowned out by the chants.
The Beatles, introduced by Irwin, played their set from 5:30 to 5:59 p.m. Their performance, including hits like “Twist and Shout,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” was met with incessant high-pitched screams, making it difficult for the audience to hear the music.
After the concert, the band headed back to the Sahara, where young female fans were hiding in elevators, stairwells, janitorial closets, and balconies in hopes of meeting their idols. Two fans even attempted to climb the hotel’s outer wall to reach the Beatles’ balcony but miraculously avoided injury.
Between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on August 21, 1964, two underage girls were found in John Lennon’s room at the Sahara. The discovery followed a call from the front desk, informing the group that a woman claimed the Beatles had kidnapped her twin daughters. Longtime Beatles roadie Mal Evans found the girls and woke radio reporter Larry Kane around 5 a.m. Kane, traveling with a business suit, was asked to meet the woman. Before taking the elevator, Kane opened Lennon’s door to find him asleep with the girls watching TV at the edge of his bed.
No one can say for sure what happened, but the perception was the problem. Any scandal could have jeopardized the band’s image. Manager Brian Epstein reportedly quashed a lawsuit threatened or filed by the girls’ mother upon her return to LA. It’s claimed a $10,000 payment was made to settle the issue.
Thus, the Beatles departed Las Vegas at 11:24 a.m. on August 21, 1964, en route to that night’s concert in Seattle and the rest of their illustrious careers.
