Trump and Melania ditched Mar-a-Lago NYE bash, but guests still had to pay $1,000 to attend with no discount
Even though guests who gathered at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, never got to see the star hosts of the New Year's Eve bash -- Trump and first lady Melania Trump -- they didn't get a discount on their tickets.
Only hours before the much-awaited gala commenced, Trump and his wife returned to Washington D.C., foregoing the festivities amid his last-ditch effort to reverse the results of the 2020 election in his favor and to resolve the highly-anticipated COVID relief bill in the Congress. Nevertheless, the bash went ahead as planned with his friends and family members gathering maskless at his Mar-a-Lago estate along with a stream of other guests.
Photos and videos from the event showed dozens of maskless guests sitting around tables and making merry with plenty of food and wine. One person who attended the gala told Daily Mail that guests had to cough up $1000 for tickets to the event. In addition, anyone who was not a member of Mar-a-Lago or a was not a guest of a member could not attend the bash.
It was not immediately clear how many people attended this year's New Year's Eve gathering. However, it has been reported that at least 500 people had reserved tickets by Wednesday, December 30. It is not unusual for hundreds of people to attend each year as the main ballroom can hold 700 people and there are smaller ballrooms available to add to the crowd size.
It was also unclear beforehand as to what kind of coronavirus precautions was to be taken taken place during the annual event. A member of Mar-a-Lago also told CNN that the resort has appeared to have "little regard for the pandemic" as "people are going for dinner as usual."
We previously reported that with each passing year, the ticket prices of the Trump gala on New Year's eve have gone up. In 2018, members of the president's private club spent $650 for tickets, up from $600 in 2017 and $525 in 2016. Guests of Mar-a-Lago members paid $1,000 up from $750 in 2017 and $575 for guests in 2016. In 2004, 700 people attended the New Year's Eve gala whereas the number dropped in 2008 as only 300 people attended the event. In 2013, 400 people attended the New Year's Eve festivities. About 800 people visited the 2017 New Year's Eve party.
It won't come as a shock that several big celebrities and public figures have attended the event in the past, as it is hosted by the president and first lady of the USA. Some of the personalities who have attended the event in the past include Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, actress-singer Vanessa Williams, late Regis Philbin and his wife Joy Philbin, Michael Gelman and his wife, Laurie Gelman, Penny Lancaster-Stewart, Rod Stewart, Woody Allen, Robert Kraft, Lisbeth Barron, Serena Williams, Annelise Winter, Marla Maples, former CEO and chairman of NASCAR Brian France, Sylvester Stallone, former baseball star Keith Hernandez, casino owner Steve Wynn and media personalities Lou Dobbs and Dr Gina Loudon.