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Review 1/14/2011
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OWL Entertainment was the promoter for the "NYEOC" event held on New Years Eve at the Costa Mesa Hilton on Bristol (12/31/2010). They allowed far too many tickets to be sold (somewhere between 4000-5000 people showed up, both by published newspaper reports and my own estimate). The entry line was being managed by only 6 (yes, six) personnel. The rate of entry was perhaps less than 1000 per hour, and by 11pm, it became an angry violent mob of thousands of people trying to get in before midnight. I watched many fistfights break out as people pushed and shoved to get in. The entry personnel retreated into the hotel and just held the doors shut. The most violent people were able to shove past them to get in. But at least 500 of the most peaceable people were locked out, myself included, with their New Years Eve ruined.
(Side note: As the event let out around 2am, two people were stabbed right outside the front door, likely due to inadequate security and partygoers' frustration. One died on the way the hospital. The story can be found many places online by searching for "New Years Eve Stabbing Hilton Bristol")
After the event, OWL posted a "Thank You" message on their website, saying the event was "Better than anyone could have imagined". HA! Indeed I never could have imagined getting locked out with my girlfriend stuck inside! Nor could have I imagined someone getting stabbed to death as the event let out.
Better to search the web for reviews of their services than take just my word for it. For example: "My brother attended this (New Years) party at the Hilton. And he said this place did not have sufficient security. The promoters behind this party as well as the Hilton need to be sued..."
and:
"The Producers / Organizers of this NYEOC party were Ones We Love - OWL Entertainment in Newport Beach, website owlus.com. It appears that Ones We Love - OWL has a long history of producing crappy events, that information is all over the web, with bad reviews etc."
But the most important thing to know is that while they are claiming to be refunding tickets for those that were denied admission, they are not. I have tried every email address and phone number for 2 weeks now, with no replies from them. I will now have to take them to small claims court.
For them to sell too many tickets was bad. To be too cheap to hire enough personnel was worse. To lock people out and then not refund their tickets is unforgivable. And now they stonewall and won't even answer the phone or email. This tells you all you need to know about OWL Entertainment.
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