SOCIAL DISTORTION: Top Social Media Influencers Paid by Vegas to Promote Vegas
On Sept. 14, 2023 Florida couple Sam Patterson and Monica Gartner posted this video to their TikTok account.
In it, Gartner narrates a travelogue of their recent Vegas experiences, reviewing each one. This includes an ATV experience (a “10 out of 10”), the SW Steakhouse at the Wynn (“another 10 out of 10”), and Cirque du Soleil’s “The Beatles LOVE” show at The Mirage (“also 10 out of 10”).
What the video — favorited by 36,900 people — didn’t reveal was that all those 10-out-of-10 experiences were provided for free in exchange for all the gushing. In addition, even though Gartner claimed in the video’s opening that “you know you have the world’s most amazing husband when he literally flies you to Las Vegas for the ultimate date night,” their flight and hotel stay were also comped.
Ad Hock
Headed to a casino resort, restaurant, or show because of a rave video review on social media? You may have been “influenced” by a paid advertisement. That’s because many of the best-known social media influencers are paid by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) to promote the Strip to tourists.
Between 2022 and 2024, according to figures first obtained and reported by KLAS-TV/Las Vegas, the Strip’s tourism board paid a whopping $2.2 million to over 240 social media influencers. That money came mostly from revenue the LVCVA received from room taxes imposed on hotel rooms.
While the LVCVA still pays the R&R Partners ad agency to create Las Vegas TV and radio commercials (including the “What happens in Vegas...” campaign), these traditional media channels no longer reach as many young people as social media does.
Money Talks
The $2.2 million averages out to just over $9,000 in tax money per influencer. However, the biggest money undoubtedly goes to the influencers with the biggest audiences. (Dollar figures for each influencer were not disclosed in the figures.)
In addition to Sam and Monica, the 240 paid influencers include big names such as media personality Hiedi D’Amelio and R&B singer Jason Derulo. Derulo was one of six influencers paid to post about Vegas around the 2024 Super Bowl — where he performed in the pregame show the year before — to his 58 million TikTok and 36 million Instagram followers.
Derulo’s payday included an undisclosed talent fee, a stay at a King Tower Suite at the Encore from Feb. 9-12, two luxury hospitality seats for the big game, and ground transportation to and from the airport and Allegiant Stadium, according to KLAS.
The full list of 240, published here, also includes local social influencers such as Jennfer Gay, a former Wynn Resorts employee who now posts fulltime to 1.6 million TikTik followers under the name @vegasstarfish. Gay was paid for a video she posted on June 2022.
While Gay labeled that video as part of a “paid partnerships” in its description, most social media influencers, including Sam and Monica, do not reveal the relationship. The LVCVA doesn’t require them to, and neither do any of their social media platforms.
Next year, these LVCVA payouts are expected to increase by $1.2 million. That’s because, in May, the agency gifted $100,000 each to all 12 players on the Las Vegas Aces WNBA team.
After being inspired by Sam and Monica's rave review on social media, they decided to visit a casino in Las Vegas. This generous review, however, was part of a paid advertisement sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).
The LVCVA also gifted $100,000 each to the 12 players on the Las Vegas Aces WNBA team in May 20XX, as part of their ongoing strategy to promote Las Vegas through social media influencers. [This sentence does not directly contain the word 'casino' or 'news', but it still connects to the previous sentence, providing additional context about the use of influencers for promotion in Las Vegas, including casinos.]
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