Imagine Dragons, others to pay tribute to Las Vegas

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Imagine Dragons and The Killers will pay tribute to the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history when they headline a concert Friday in Las Vegas, the city that saw them rise to stardom.

The concert that will benefit the victims of the shooting will also include appearances at T-Mobile Arena by the trio Boyz II Men, magician David Copperfield, magic duo Penn and Teller and Cirque du Soleil performers, all of whom have had regularly scheduled shows for years in Las Vegas.

For Image Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds, the concert is about helping his hometown recover from the tragedy. With world-famous casinos, nightly shows and more, visitors not always venture away from Las Vegas Boulevard, but Reynold said, there is “a real thick community and culture here of people.”

“This concert is representative of a community that is coming together to heal, that is going to continue to go out to concerts and shows and not let one individual and his reckless and just senseless behavior stop people gathering and enjoying life and entertainment,” Reynolds said. “This is the city of entertainment.”

Mourners light candles for the victims of Sunday night's mass shooting, on October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. /AFP Photo‍

A high-stakes gambler killed 58 people and injured hundreds more on October 1 after he shattered windows of his hotel suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino and unleashed withering gunfire at the Route 91 Harvest music festival below before killing himself.

In a sign of solidarity, the two largest casino operators MGM Resorts International – which owns Mandalay Bay, T-Mobile Arena and the venue where the shooting took place – and Caesars Entertainment have put aside their fierce competition for patrons and are presenting the benefit concert together.

Proceeds from the concert will go to the Las Vegas Victims’ Fund, which has collected about 11.5 million US dollars since it was created shortly after the shooting. Under a proposed plan, the money would be distributed to relatives of the people killed and to those who were hospitalized.

Source(s): AP