Simmons says the band plans to revisit Kiss residency
Gene Simmons is currently developing a Kiss museum that is expected to open at the Rio in Las Vegas in March 2022. Simmons tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he is expanding the Kiss By Monster Mini Golf by 2,000 square feet to accommodate his private collection.
“I was in Las Vegas to start working on the Kiss museum, which is really just my collection, because I’ve got a half-century of Kiss stuff. I want the fans to see it,” Simmons says. “It’s going to be breathtaking. I was there the first day, as my stuff started to come in. We have three tractor-trailers full of stuff, and it’s going to be spectacular. The fans are going to dig it. You can play golf, you can have your photo taken, you can take videos of yourself onstage with Kiss, and then go visit my private collection.”
The museum, featuring thousands of items, will be attached to what will become a 15,000 square foot Kiss-themed space in the Masquerade Village below the Chippendales theater.
In October, the band canceled its Las Vegas residency at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood due to “soft ticket sales.” The 12 date residency was set to run from December 29th through February 5th, but Simmons says they plan to revisit the idea at a later time.
“Our original plan was to come in just before New Year’s, but it was just too busy. When I came into town and joined my friend Dave Grohl on stage, that same night you could see George Strait at T-Mobile Arena, literally across the street. You go down the street and you can see many more artists. I mean, it’s packed. There are more artists per square inch in a city that never sleeps than anyplace on the planet,” Simmons states. “With all due respect to other all the other artists who are terrific, and who are great and iconic, we’d rather wait for the traffic to die down and bring the best show on Earth, period.”
Earlier this month, Simmons made a surprise appearance on stage at a Foo Fighters concert at Park MGM. He was donning a face mask as he handed Grohl a note before walking off stage.
Over the summer, Simmons purchased an 11,000 square foot mansion in Henderson. A few months later, he listed the property for $14.95 million before slicing the price to $13.5 a month later. Simmons says he decided to sell after his family opposed visiting during the summer months.
The band is set to resume its End of the Road Tour in Australia in March.