Saturday was the 1,000th performance of JERSEY BOYS at the Palazzo. It’s a remarkable show enjoying a remarkable run. Check out Trip Advisor’s ratings here http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g45963-d1081728-Reviews-Jersey_Boys-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html if you don’t believe us.

To celebrate the milestone, the show held the Walk Like A Man Shoe Drive to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada. The plan was to give away 1,000 tickets to Saturday night’s show for 1,000 pairs of shoes to benefit underprivileged kids in Las Vegas.

The first ones in line arrived at 5 a.m. Seven hours before we started passing out tickets. By 10 more than 1,000 were in line, which began snaking into the Palazzo casino. By 11:30, it wrapped around the casino and headed into the Venetian. More than 3,000 turned out for the tickets. Many showed up, saw the line, handed over their shoes and said, “Thanks for doing this. We’ll try next time.”

The initial 1,000 tickets were gone in 38 minutes. Then the producers of JERSEY BOYS did something extraordinary: they gave the green light to another 1,000. Then more after that. Las Vegas has embraced JERSEY BOYS since opening night, so it was the show’s turn to embrace it right back. If you brought shoes to help a child, you were getting a ticket. Maybe not Saturday night, but some night.

The spirit of giving carried over into that night’s performance. The crowd was electric and the show ran long because the applause after each song wouldn’t stop.

The officials at the Boys and Girls Club said that very often self esteem starts with shoes. It’s hard to feel good about yourself in old, worn-out shoes. Beginning this week, at least 3,000 kids will start feeling better about themselves, thanks to Las Vegas and JERSEY BOYS.