If you find yourself in a VIP box at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, you might want to reconsider ordering food directly to your box. Instead, walk to the nearest concession stand where you can get a full pepperoni pizza for $40 instead of $300.
On Saturday night, during the game in which the UNLV Rebels triumphed over the San Diego State Aztecs with a score of 41-20, Las Vegas-based professional sports bettor Bill “Krackman” Krackomberger shed light on the extravagant food prices in a tweet. He shared that a friend of his discovered the hard way just how pricey the food can be when ordered to a VIP box.
“Never realized what it was going to cost for this slop,” Krackomberger captioned alongside photos of an overpriced pizza and wings, as well as the receipt. “It’s like being in a club with bottle service for luxury suite guests,” he remarked.
The receipt, tweeted by Krackman, showed the breakdown of the charges:
$300 for a pepperoni pizza pie ($50 per slice including tax and fees)
$190 for chicken tenders
$112 for an “administrative charge”
$50.48 for sales tax
It’s important to note that this total of $653 did not include a tip. The receipt indicated that the 23% administrative charge was not a tip or gratuity and was not distributed to service employees.
Twitter reacted strongly to Krackman’s tweet, which garnered 575,000 views and countless angry comments within three hours. “Unbelievable, disgraceful,” commented one user. “Isn’t the point of a box that it comes with free food and drinks (usually alcoholic beverages even)? At least from my experiences,” added another.
One user suggested that the exorbitant price is a way to maintain an illusion of wealth. Another pointed out that the net worth of Mark Davis, the owner, has tripled since moving the Raiders and building Allegiant Stadium.
Critics also noted the irony of such high costs in a facility heavily subsidized by the public for the benefit of billionaire owners and millionaire employees. One user, expressing frustration over the service charge, stated: “I don’t know what the answer to fix this is, but if you are going to hit me with a service charge, I’m not going to tip. I know how unpopular a statement that is. But, in order to get behaviors changed by management, the front line people are going to have to bear some of the short.”
