On Tuesday, more than 1,400 INTIX attendees from 27 countries woke up in Las Vegas, a city built on spectacle, storytelling, production and unforgettable moments. The tone was set immediately with a powerful Welcome General Session capped by a standout surprise guest.
“Las Vegas understands fans and the power of live events. It is the perfect backdrop for our conference dedicated to advancing the live-event and ticketing experience,” said Maureen Andersen, President and CEO of INTIX. “Looking around this theater, how cool is it for us to experience our own live event inside of a live event space? This is the first time we've actually done this, which is just fantastic.”
Maureen Andersen addresses INTIX 2026 attendees in the Paris Theater.
What came next was a phenomenal surprise. Andersen introduced the morning’s surprise guest — Colin Cloud, the internationally acclaimed mentalist known as “The Real Life Sherlock Holmes.” He is the only mentalist in history to perform sell-out runs on London’s West End and Broadway, and now does his own show at Harrah’s, which is rated the number one show on Ticketmaster and Vegas.com.
Cloud didn’t just walk onstage. He strolled straight into the room’s collective brain. Cloud began by recruiting David Winn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, handing him a long scroll hang on to and a crumpled paper ball to lob to a random audience member. The catch? The recipient had to confirm he had cash on him, then count it and hang onto the ball for later.
Next, Cloud asked Winn to select three more ticketing professionals from the audience. When he did, Cloud approached them with a small notebook and asked each to pick a random page, then simply think of the answer to the question. Cloud called out the three topics, then delivered all three answers without matching them to their owners — because one was a bank card PIN.
Calling on a woman elsewhere in the theater, Cloud correctly named the first person she had ever kissed. Then he returned to the ticketing professional holding the paper ball, guessed the total amount of cash he was carrying to within a single dollar, and had him open the ball to reveal a dollar bill inside.
For the finale, Cloud asked three audience members to call out random numbers and invited everyone to pull out their phones and use the calculator to add and multiply along. The answer was nine digits long and revealed to be on the scroll Winn had been hanging on to. When the scroll was flipped around, the numbers spelled out “INTIX 2026.”
David Winn and Colin Cloud.
As the applause finally settled and Cloud left the stage, the focus shifted back to the week ahead. Attendees were welcomed by 2026 Conference Co-Chairs Lindsay Radic, Senior Director of Entertainment Ticketing for Caesars Entertainment, and Siobhan Steiermann, Vice President of Ticket Operations at the Las Vegas Aviators.
“We are so happy to welcome you to our home,” said Radic. “There is always an endless list of things to do, and that is not stopping anytime soon. I have been told many times that I have the coolest job in the world, and I agree, and in what I think is the coolest city in the world.”
Lindsay Radic (left) and Siobhan Steiermann (right) address INTIX 2026 attendees.
The moment also made space to honour two recent losses in the ticketing and live events community — Shane Mealor and Dion Moric. It was a poignant reminder of the importance of relationships, and of choosing to give our time, care and attention to the people who matter most.
“I would guess many of you are here today with someone that means [so] much to you personally or professionally. The thing about loving your job and loving what you do is that those lines blur easily. Coworkers become friends, and many of those friends become family,” said Radic. “So don't forget all the learning that you're exposed to this week. It's definitely a top priority. But also put the people and connections first as well. Say hello to a new face or a face you've seen many times before but never actually spoken to. This ticketing profession gave me one of the best friends of my life, and I know many of you in this room have someone who makes you feel that way. Let's make the most out of this amazing week.”
Shannon Reynolds, Senior Regional Sales Operations Manager-West Coast for Broadway Across America and Chair of the Conference Program and Education Committee, took the stage next. “This year, we received 84 submissions and whittled those down to 42 workshops plus six breakouts by venue type, four inspiration stage sessions, five leadership and five general sessions, including keynotes, town halls and the roundtable. The complete education program across three days is an amazing 72 workshops, and this year we added new programming, with four hours of accessibility and ADA program content with expert Betty Siegel. She's amazing. If you get a chance, go to that session and the new four-hour risk and fraud bootcamp.”
INTIX’s popular FUNdraising activities are back, supporting the Professional Development and Education (PD&E) Fund, which helps ticketing professionals who are new to the industry or whose organizations cannot fund their travel to attend the conference. Attendees who make a minimum $25 donation can choose from tickets or vouchers to a wide variety of Las Vegas live events and attractions by visiting the INTIX booth in the Exhibit Hall. The always-anticipated Surprise Boxes return Wednesday at 3 p.m., also at the INTIX booth. They are priced between $50 and $500, and each box has a guaranteed value higher than its purchase price. The much-loved 50/50 raffle is back as well, proudly sponsored by Saffire. Tickets can be purchased from the volunteers rocking blue Saffire-branded aprons.
Linda Forlini (left) and Amy Pelzl (right).
“This industry is demanding. It's fast-paced, detail-heavy, and often invisible when it's done well. We have a lot of respect for the people in this room who make it all happen,” says Cassie Dispenza, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Saffire. “We are so grateful to be a part of this community and super grateful to be here. To that end, we hope you can all reserve at least $20 from your slot machine donations to support the INTIX 50/50 raffle. The money supports scholarships and continuing industry education, which I know by virtue of you being here, you care deeply about, like us.”
Welcome General Session
Designed to set the tone and tempo for the days ahead, the Welcome General Session showcased a big-picture global perspective on the forces shaping live entertainment worldwide. Two trusted industry voices — Jason Mastrine, Global Head of Ticketing Strategy for Project Group, and Jamie Snelgrove, Director of Snelgrove Consulting — brought deep expertise from the UK, West End theatre and the international ticketing landscape. Their conversation touched on topics such as legislation and consumer protection, industry collaboration, the velocity of change, audience behavior and artificial intelligence (AI).
Jason Mastrine (left) and Jamie Snelgrove (right).
“The next ticket you may sell at your venue may not be to a human,” said Mastrine. “They need to know how to read your website in order to do that … I think we are still talking about optimizing AI for humans when really I think the next disruption is optimizing for machines acting like humans.”
Snelgrove noted that audiences are increasingly turning to AI tools for recommendations. He emphasized that organizations must ensure their websites are readable and optimized for AI or they risk losing visibility and business.
INTIX Villages
Karyn Elliott, Chief Member Officer at Tessitura, and John Jakovich, Chief Innovation Officer, led the Tessitura Arts Village workshop titled “From Resistance to Resilience: Transforming Your Organization for Growth.” It was an interactive session on embracing reinvention, overcoming barriers, avoiding common mistakes and engaging stakeholders to drive lasting change.
“We now know the change you seek, potential obstacles you face and a little bit about the cast of characters,” said Elliott. “How do we successfully achieve that vision? How can we overcome those frustrating blockers? We are going to look at one framework that has proven results, and these fundamentals can really help drive change for the future.”
Karyn Elliott at the Tessitura Arts Village workshop.
Elliott took attendees through eight accelerators from leadership and change management expert John Potter, including establishing a sense of urgency, building a guiding coalition, developing a vision and strategy, communicating the future being sought with excitement and enthusiasm, empowering broad-based action, generating short-term wins, consolidating gains and producing more change and anchoring new approaches in your culture.
“Those eight principles are designed to combat the most common obstacles that keep an organization from really transforming,” said Elliott. “Too often, organizations allow complacency or lack of strong leadership to guide the process, or they just fail to clearly communicate the compelling vision. Without visible wins, the status quo prevails.”
At the Ticketmaster Sports Village, “Lessons Learned: Actionable Insights From the Venue Planning, Opening, and Renovation Processes,” three industry veterans shared insights from venues at every stage of their lifecycle.
With the Athletics’ move to Las Vegas approaching, Josh Ziegenbusch, Senior Director of Ticket Sales, Service and Operations, shared insights into what the organization is prioritizing as it plans the design and sales strategy for MLB’s newest venue. He also reflected on lessons learned during the team’s temporary time in Sacramento and how they are shaping their thinking for the future.
Josh Ziegenbusch addresses INTIX 2026 attendees.
Andrew Bragman, VP of Ticket Operations at SoFi Stadium, YouTube Theater and Hollywood Park, discussed topics including opening a new building, changes to the stadium since its opening, and his prediction on the use of facial recognition technology in response to an audience question.
“I thought it might happen for the World Cup this year, where there was forced biometrics. It didn't. For the Olympics [and Paralympics] in two years, I wouldn't be shocked if that is the case,” said Bragman. “Part of it [would be] great [because] we would know every person that's come in, and we all talk about the data from that. But on an event like this, where the security is a real-world thing, I think that's going to be something that may come down the pipeline.”
Anthony Esposito, Senior Vice President of Ticket Operations for the Atlanta Braves, shared that part of their agreement and long-term approach to Truist Park includes a commitment to reinvest in the building rather than treating it as finished after opening.
After five seasons of operating the ballpark, the Braves began making strategic off-season updates to keep the venue fresh, responsive to fan needs and aligned with how audiences actually use the space. Suites were renovated and additional suites added to meet growing demand, along with new premium spaces and seating. A children’s area was relocated to an area outside the venue, a store dedicated to game-used merchandise was built, rooftop patios were added and food and beverage options were expanded. Additional enhancements will continue to roll out in the years to come.
In the AudienceView Entertainment Village, “Beyond the Ticket: The Future of Intelligent Event Commerce,” speakers urged organizations to shift from transactional thinking to relationship-building that drives long-term value.
“I instituted a first-time buyer discount [when I was at Paper Mill Playhouse]. Every single time a first-time buyer came into our venue, we followed up with a specific offer. It brought in $250,000 in revenue just from that one offer,” shared Brian Moran, Director of Ticketing and Revenue Management at Blumenthal Arts. “I don't necessarily know how much it engaged people to come back who wouldn't have come back, but as we know, getting people into your doors a second time can be so difficult. This was one of the many tools that we used just to get them back, and we did see some pretty good success from it.”
“We have a membership, and if you sign up for a specific level, you get 10% off, and we've built that natively into our checkout experience. When you are selecting a seat and adding it to your cart, it tells you dynamically in real time how much you're saving by adding a membership to your cart. We have seen insane increases in our membership just through implementing that at the beginning of the season,” shared Summer Roth, Director of Marketing at Scottsdale Arts.
Roth added, “I think membership has really shifted from a nonprofit perspective. It's no longer because they want to support your organization. It's really transactional, and they're looking for something that has value immediately. But then what happens is … if they've purchased a membership and they're coming to the show because they purchased it with tickets, we can write them a handwritten note and leave it at their seat and say, ‘Thanks for becoming a member. We hope you have a really great time.’ That begins to build the relationship, even though it started [as being] very transactional.”
Over at the Spektrix Global Village, in the session “From Burnout to Breakthrough: Building a Thriving Organization,” speakers discussed the impact of staff turnover and employee dissatisfaction, as well as how to translate increased attendance into revenue growth. In partnership with INTIX, a Spektrix survey of 200 ticket office professionals offered insight into concerns, priorities and aspirations for the future of the profession. A deeper dive into the survey findings will be shared in an upcoming feature story for INTIX Access.
Situation, a full-service marketing and advertising agency and the INTIX partner producing the Fandom Unpacked podcast, presented the Leadership Village session, “Prediction 2026: What the World’s Live Entertainment Leaders See Around the Corner.” It was powered by data from a 2026 global prediction survey. What were the top predictions as to where live entertainment is heading?
“AI was the most consistent signal across the survey. Not as a replacement for people or creativity, but as a force that will increasingly shape how organizations operate, make decisions and scale,” said Damian Bazadona, Founder and President of Situation.” Leaders see AI touching nearly every function, from analytics to marketing to operations, which tells us it’s no longer a future conversation; it’s a present one.”
Situation Leadership Village session at INTIX 2026.
One of the biggest surprises shared during the session was how often leaders reacted to the same challenges but described them very differently depending on where they sat. “The data didn’t show disagreement so much as perspective gaps, especially around cost, opportunity and priorities,” said Bazadona. “The optical illusion we shared of the rabbit/duck resonated because it captured how two things can be true at the same time.”
What was the top AI takeaway from the session? It was that AI itself isn’t the risk; uneven adoption is. “Some teams are already experimenting and gaining leverage, while others feel left behind or unsure where to start,” shared Bazadona. “The real opportunity is aligning teams around the work they want AI to help with, rather than chasing tools for their own sake.”
Bazadona added, “What gave us optimism was the level of confidence leaders still have in their organizations, despite the pace of change. The mood wasn’t fear or paralysis — it was curiosity. Leaders are asking better questions, looking for clarity over certainty and genuinely trying to bridge perspectives across their teams. That’s a healthy place to be heading into 2026.”
Welcome Lunch
Sponsored by SECUTIX, the INTIX 2026 Welcome Lunch showcased speakers, fundraising initiatives to support INTIX Professional Development Grants through the PD&E fund, Pollstar Ticketing Star award winners and more.
Michael McDermott, General Manager of the Americas for SECUTIX, shared a global perspective on where the industry is headed, outlining the three biggest changes he sees shaping ticketing today. He engaged the audience with real-time polling to gather their input and spark discussion. Topics included the strategic direction of ticketing and fan engagement in the year ahead, which, McDermott suggested, will increasingly hinge on identity. This, he said, relates not just to understanding who is buying, but also who is attending, how they are engaging and how those interactions can be transformed into long-term loyalty.
McDermott also discussed dynamic pricing, an area that will be covered during his Wednesday session at 3:45 p.m., “Show Me the Money: Real-Time Pricing, Packaging & Omnichannel Reach.”
Pollstar Ticketing Stars
INTIX is proud of its long-standing partnership with Pollstar. The publication’s editorial team has spent nearly two decades recognizing top ticketing talent through the Pollstar Ticketing Star Awards, with honorees nominated and voted on by their peers. Ryan Borba, Managing Editor at Pollstar, was on hand to celebrate the class of 2026. Four recipients joined us in person, while two were unable to attend due to weather-related travel challenges.
In alphabetical order by last name, the 2026 recipients are:
- Ben Baker, Head of Ticketing (Venues), Venue Nation, Live Nation
- Brittney Chapman, Box Office Manager, The Orion Amphitheater
- Timmy Gorham, Director of Ticketing, Big Night Entertainment
- Oskar Muller, Director of Pricing and Ticketing, Wasserman Music
- Ashley Voorhees, Vice President, Patron Services, Omaha Performing Arts
- Lonnie Wilkerson, Senior Director, Ticketing, Powers Management Company, Nashville Predators, Bridgestone Arena
Left to right: Ryan Borba, Brittney Chapman, Ashley Voorhees, Timmy Gorham and Oskar Muller.
After lunch, ticketing pros attended a two-hour ADA session on accessible ticketing practices and various breakout sessions organized by venue type. These were followed by an afternoon networking break sponsored by Thanks.co.
Opening Keynote
Since INTIX 2018 in Baltimore, Ticketmaster has been INTIX’s collaborative partner for the opening keynote.
This year, “Radical Hospitality Meets Ticketing Imagination” featured the fantastic, first-person tale of Randy Weiner’s career journey as a producer, venue owner, playwright and Founder and Partner at Outside the Box Amusements.
From his early days of putting on shows in the common spaces of his Harvard university housing building to co-writing the Off-Broadway musical The Donkey Show, which was a disco adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, producing Sleep No More and creating Usher’s Residency in Las Vegas and beyond, he had attendees on the edge of their seats with tales of the unique experiences he has imagined and brought to life. He talked ticketing, working with Andrew Lloyd Webber on Masquerade, the Phantom of the Opera experience in New York City, and how he never said no to opportunities to create engaging, immersive and imaginative programming, no matter the challenges he anticipated.
Randy Weiner.
Inside the INTIX Exhibit Hall
There was a lot of buzz surrounding the INTIX Exhibit Hall Grand Opening Reception, sponsored by AXS. It brought together vendors and industry professionals eager to explore the best products and solutions the industry has to offer. This dynamic space is the ultimate destination for discovering the tools and technologies that keep ticket offices, organizations and venues running smoothly and profitably.
A Night to Remember
As the evening progressed, attendees were eager to mix and mingle, and the Sin City Social Club was the perfect place to connect with old friends and meet new ones. A big thank you to our friends at Protect Group for hosting this gathering and for your partnership.
In the News
True Tickets announced a partnership with Colorado Ballet, one of the Rocky Mountain region’s leading arts organizations, on Jan. 27. The collaboration supports the company’s goal of delivering a more seamless, controlled ticketing experience while gaining clearer insight into its audiences to support long-term growth and stronger patron relationships.
The INTIX 2026 conference continues on Wednesday with more opportunities to learn, connect and ignite success. Attendees will gain insights on successfully navigating and leading change in the INTIX Leadership Town Hall, connect with top vendors in the Exhibit Hall, engage in learning during conference workshops, celebrate colleagues at the annual INTIX Awards Lunch and more.
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