1. F.B.I. INVESTIGATING FYRE FESTIVAL FOR FRAUD: The F.B.I. is investigating the Fyre Festival for mail, wires, and securities fraud. The New York Times: "The investigation is being conducted by the United States attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York and the F.B.I.; it is being overseen by a prosecutor assigned to the complex frauds and cybercrime unit. (A spokesman for the United States attorney’s office and a spokeswoman for the F.B.I. declined to comment.) There are many potential victims: ticket buyers, investors and businesses small and large, spread across the United States and the Bahamas. Blink-182, a planned headliner, can’t get its equipment out of customs limbo. Fyre’s employees have not been paid. MaryAnn Rolle, a restaurant owner in the Bahamas who catered daily meals and rented villas to the festival crew, says she is owed $134,000. Ja Rule was Fyre’s famous face, but at the center of the controversy is Mr. McFarland, a brash, 25-year-old entrepreneur with a gift for networking and buzzy social media. In his short career, he has persuaded people, over and over, to buy or invest in whatever he was selling, leaving behind a trail of aggrieved customers and business partners. He could be the Wolf of Wall Street for the selfie set, or Gatsby run through an Instagram filter. ... The festival hired a series of experienced producers, cycling through them quickly. With guests set to arrive on April 27, the team had a long way to go to deliver the vision that Mr. McFarland had sold. Mr. McFarland and his executive team lived near the site in a resort villa, riding ATVs around to check the progress. Organizers found enthusiastic partners in Bahamian workers, who hoped for a long-term economic boost. Still, residents who had seen Fyre’s ostentatious marketing pitch worried about its distance from reality. 'Something like this, it could build Exuma and it could break Exuma,' said Ian Nicholson, a carpenter working for the festival." http://nyti.ms/2q8Zi5e
2. A.G. SCHNEIDERMAN CALLS FOR CONSUMER-FRIENDLY TICKET-SCALPING REFORMS IN NEW YORK: With New York's ticket-scalping law set to expire June 30, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has called for reforms that would benefit consumers. New York Daily News: "Schneiderman Chief of Staff Brian Mahanna sent a letter Thursday to state legislative leaders urging that instead of again extending the law as is, they address weaknesses that make it harder for most fans to score tickets at face value. 'In short, the industry is not fixing itself and New Yorkers continue to suffer as a result,' Mahanna wrote. Mahanna wrote that the law should require ticket sellers to make public how many seats are being set aside for pre-sales and other 'holds' and should keep ticket brokers from advertising tickets they don't yet own. After Schneiderman in 2016 released a report that found widespread problems within the ticket industry, the Legislature passed a bill outlawing the use of 'bot' software that allows brokers to buy thousands of tickets within seconds of their going on sale. Schneiderman’s report found that 54% of all tickets to hot concerts are set aside for industry insiders or presale customers before they are offered to the general public—and sometimes even more. He said that just 2,000 seats at an 18,000-seat New York City arena were made available to the general public for two Justin Bieber concerts in 2012. 'Fans are in the dark about these facts, so promoters, venues, and ticketing agents (e.g., Ticketmaster) lack incentive to avoid such disproportionate set-asides,' he wrote. 'More transparency would create a fairer and better functioning market.'" http://nydn.us/2rqJ6QV
3. CANNES VENUE EVACUATED IN SECURITY SCARE: A Cannes Film Festival theater was evacuated before a screening on Saturday due to a suspicious package. The Hollywood Reporter: "The city's Debussy cinema was cleared around 7:15 p.m. before the 7:30 p.m. press screening of Redoubtable, the latest film from Michel Hazanavicius, the director of The Artist. The comedy romance stars Louis Garrel, Stacy Martin, Berenice Bejo and Gregory Gadebois. Security officials told the press that it was due to a suspicious bag in the theater. A security guard and a cop told THR that it was a bag left at the entrance to the Palais. The security staff called a bomb expert to check it out, and it turned out to be no threat. Before the situation was cleared up, staff from inside the theater rushed out and told the press to exit the waiting line. Eyewitnesses said there was a massive police and security presence, and people started leaving the cinema. The area was soon cleared, and press members were allowed back in. The film was scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. but the press was still waiting outside at 7:40 p.m. It was about that time that staff came out telling everyone to 'evacuate, evacuate.' The scare caused an estimated 35 to 45 minute delay. A festival spokeswoman and security personnel at the theater told THR that security evacuated festival staff and established a perimeter around the theater, while the Palais itself was not affected. They confirmed that security found there was no threat." http://bit.ly/2rEYd6u
* INDUSTRY NEWS *
The Global Business Travel Association projects that the U.S. will lose more than $1.3 billion in travel-related expenditures in 2017.
* LOCAL NEWS *
ATLANTA: AC Hotel Atlanta Downtown officially opened on May 16. Formerly the Holiday Inn Atlanta, the Peachtree Hotel Group property has a 1,350-square-foot event space that seats 120 theater-style.
LAS VEGAS: The Spas at Green Valley Ranch Resort and Red Rock Resort have introduced a monthly membership program.
LOS ANGELES: D23 Expo, a Disney fan event that takes place every two years, will come to the Anaheim Convention Center July 14-16.
For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles
NEW YORK: The 21st annual Hamptons Heart Ball, which supports the American Heart Association, takes place tonight at 635 Park Ave.
W Hotels of New York's In-House Tattoo Artist Series will kick off May 28. The series, sponsored by Espolón Tequila, gives hotel guests the opportunity to be tattooed by a roster of famous artists at the hotel brand's New York locations. The lineup includes Tuki Carter at W New York—Times Square from May 28-June 3; Joey Pang at W New York—Union Square from July 3-10; Sara Fabel at W New York—Downtown from August 20-27; and Jack Rudy at the hotel's flagship property beginning September 4.
East Hampton Library's 13th annual Authors Night fund-raiser will take place August 12 at the field at 4 Maidstone Lane in East Hampton Village.
Marriott has announced the signing and groundbreaking of the Wick, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, in Hudson, New York. A former candle factory, the hotel is slated to open this fall.
For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork
SAN FRANCISCO: The 22nd annual Silent Film Festival will take place June 1-4 at Castro Theatre. Films will be accompanied by live music.
TORONTO: The eighth annual Joe Carter Classic Golf Tournament will take place June 14-15 at Eagles Nest Golf Club in Maple, Ontario. The event supports the Children's Aid Foundation and other local children's charities.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Dame professor Jessica Rawson will be awarded the Charles Lang Freer Medal for her lifetime work in Chinese art and archeology at a private ceremony on October 28 at Smithsonian's Freer and Sackler galleries.
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With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, Rayna Katz, and Ian Zelaya in New York.
BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
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