Rod Stewart superfan 'devastated' after being sold fake Las Vegas gig tickets

Kim Russell, of Wootton Fields, purchased two tickets for her and her partner worth £340 from the heavily criticised ticket resale website Viagogo back in December to watch Rod Stewart perform at Caesars Palace earlier this month.But after spending just over £3,000 on a week-long trip to see the Maggie May singer, the hairdresser was refused entry at the hotel door as her tickets were void.

She claims Viagogo sold the tickets on twice and a member of staff at Caesars Palace told her that if she and her partner would have arrived minutes earlier they could have watched the show instead of the duplicate ticket owners.

But nothing could be done by staff at the hotel to pin down who owned the real tickets on the night. Kim said she was told by Vegas bosses that the duplicate e-ticket owners had "squatters rights".She said: “I handed our two tickets over, I was so excited at that point! Caesars Palace then informed me that my tickets were fraudulent and I never got in.

"This trip has cost me more than £3,000 in all but it’s not even the financial loss – it’s the whole emotional experience that I would never want to repeat or for anyone else to go through.

"It’s a shame Rod’s people don’t get to hear about the heartache genuine fans are going through.”Just last month the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) referred the secondary ticket site to National Trading Standards after “failures to make changes to misleading pricing information on its website” following an upheld ruling by the ASA, published in March.Viagogo was told to stop claiming that there is “100 per cent guarantee” for entry, referencing how Ed Sheeran turns away fans if they’ve bought tickets from the resale site.The superfan, who has enjoyed Rod’s music since she was nine and has seen him about 30 times, said she had used the website before and has never had problems.

She added: "[I was] devastated as I bought tickets from Viagogo months ago to see Rod Stewart at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on June 12."I obviously booked tickets before the flights and hotel as the show was our only reason to be going to Vegas.

"Rod has been playing at Caesars for a few dates a year since 2011, it seemed such a fantastic venue to watch him, it's always been my dream."Now, Kim is calling on Viagogo to refund her in full for atleast the cost of the tickets.Viagogo has been approached for comment.