Las Vegas headliner’s gut punch: That tip money was fake
I always say of Chase Brown, “He leads the league in tips.”
The Las Vegas country showman is heartthrob to scores of fans at Notoriety Live at 6 p.m. Fridays, and also occasionally at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red.
Brown thought he’d made a windfall at his gig at Notoriety Live the night of Nov. 21. But a closer look at a half-dozen $100 bills sent to the stage showed they were fake, for motion-picture use only.
This currency is always worth a double-take. Of all the fake money I’ve encountered over the years, from Usher’s UshBucks to Christina Aguilera’s fake cash at Voltaire, these C-notes are the most realistic.
They fooled Brown, at first, until his manager, Denise Karpa, noticed the movie money wasn’t real.
Who would do this? It’s a mystery to Brown.
“There was a couple dancing in the back handing the fake hundreds to unsuspecting ladies to go up and tip me,” Brown says. “To say it was a gut punch is an understatement. I’m still in disbelief.”
Brown’s signature set piece is a stepladder covered in thousands of tiny mirrors, the Disco Ladder as we call it. He hooks his legs around this this contraption and hops around the stage, often with fireworks involved. Don’t let the guy near a Home Depot.
But such stagecraft is a cash cow for this cowboy. Brown collected $1,800 at his 100th show at Notoriety in March 2024. He usually banks between $400-$800 every performance, the majority of that haul in cash sent to the stage.
Brown made $300 overall in real money on fake-cash night, not bad but something of a come-down when you think you’ve made $900. Someone got a cheap thrill. It’s a stupid little joke at the expense of an entertainer simply trying to make a buck, for real.
As of Friday, Brown didn’t know who sent the counterfeit Benjamins to the stage. He says, “Hope they stuff our stockings for Christmas to make up for it.” The next opportunity is his “Christmas in Las Vegas” show with the fab Kelly Vohnn, 7 p.m. Dec. 17, back at Notoriety Live.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
