“Absinthe” Announces Shut-Down, Calls Out F1
Don’t freak out. Yes, “Absinthe” is closing, but just from Nov. 16-29, 2026. It’s for a renovation of the Spiegeltent.
Not the biggest news, but the way this temporary closure was announced involved shaming F1 and the bone-headed officials that enable them. Or possibly it.
Anyway, as with all things “Absinthe,” the statement was weird. Producer Ross Mollison chose to use the show’s Gazillionaire character to make the announcement. The Gazillionaire is known for not mincing words. Let the awkward begin.
Mollison’s alter ego, The Gazillionaire, said of the November closure, “I had been delaying repairs to this place as I figured one of the never-ending stream of owners of Caesars Palace would inevitably blame their most recent bankruptcy on my show and chuck us out. So, rather than waste my money, we kept buying buckets to cope with the leaks, and I’d get Maxim Popazov to climb up on his chairs and stick gaffer over the holes in the roof.”
Good-hearted teasing is The Gazillionaire’s love language.
His poke at Caesars refers to the looming acquisition of Caesars Entertainment by Tilman Fertitta.
One of the pillars of comedy is exaggeration. Caesars Entertainment hasn’t really had that many owners. Caesars Entertainment got its name under the ownership of Park Place Entertainment. Then there was Harrah’s Entertainment, Apollo/TPG and most recently Eldorado.
The bankruptcy joke was bold, including the “most recently” part, implying Caesars Entertainment has filed bankruptcy many times. The company filed bankruptcy in 2015.
We hate when people (literally always men) fact-check our jokes, but The Gazillionaire’s playful jabs require some context.
Maxim Popazov is the only performer who has been in “Absinthe” from day one. He opens the show by climbing an impossibly high stack of chairs.
“Gaffer” is a kind of tape. The name comes from the chief lighting electrician on a film or television production, the (wait for it) gaffer. Not to be confused with the key grip (head of the crew that rigs and moves cameras and lighting equipment) or dolly grip (moves the camera dolly), or even the best boy (the gaffer’s or key grip’s chief assistant).
Yes, “best boy” is still widely used despite being sexist. It’s sort of the same reason a stick man is still called a stick man even if it’s a woman. Some TV and movie production companies have started using “best electric” or “best grip” or “assistant chief lighting technician,” but those are less colorful.
In the Spiegelworld statement, The Gazillionaire reminds everyone that while “Absinthe” will be closed for a few days in November, visitors can see the other Mollison-produced shows in town: “The Party” at Superfrico restaurant inside the Cosmopolitan or “Atomic Saloon” at Venetian.
Good job, Gazillionaire. A little cross-promotion never hurt nobody.
The closing quote of the statement was the real gem: “I chose those dates to refurbish the Spiegeltent and lose money with all the lost shows, as it is the shittiest time of the year for live entertainment. The F1, being so late in the evening, just kills us and all the other shows and restaurants on the Strip.”
Oh, snap.
As we’ve said often, F1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix is terrible for the vast majority of businesses in Las Vegas. Public officials and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have completely ignored this fact and have extended the event for another decade.
Despite our frustration, we have talked about F1 with objectivity and restraint, including our recent story, “Las Vegas Grand Prix Extension Through 2037 Spits in the Face of Las Vegas.”
It appears that The Gazillionaire, and by extension Ross Mollison, shares our ire.
The F1 race causes chaos on and around the Las Vegas Strip for months before and after the event. It’s brutal not only for shows, but also most casinos. It’s so bad, downtown’s collection of casinos hosts a music festival, the Neon City Festival, to try and draw visitors despite F1 driving them away in droves. Taxpayers donate $1 million to that festival, but that’s a fraction of the donation taxpayers make to F1, to the tune of $10 million a year.
Don’t get us started.
Any day “Absinthe” is closed is a day when Las Vegas is less bawdy and funny and eye-popping.
Here are some highlights from the 15th anniversary of “Absinthe.”
We have no idea what the sway pole performers are going to do during the “Absinthe” downtime, but we have communicated our willingness to keep them company during what we trust will be a very challenging time. We’re thinking a pajama party and pillow fight could help raise their spirits, but we’re open to other ideas.
If we are known for anything, it’s our compassion and selfless support of local entertainers.
In closing, F1 sucks.
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