Rod Stewart bought me a pint in Las Vegas – One Celtic fan recalls an unforgettable night with the music legend
"We didn’t expect him to actually attend"
Rod Stewart’s affection for Celtic is well known. The legendary singer takes every opportunity to make his love of the hoops clear.
One night after a show in Las Vegas Rod showed his generous side to the hoops fanbase. It was after completing a successful residency at Caesars Palace in 2015. Stewart took to the microphone with a simple offer that he’d also put out on social media. Any supporter who had attended his last concert of the residency was invited to Gordon Ramsay’s Pub across from the Colosseum wear Rod was performing. Rod offered to buy a pint for any Celtic supporter wearing the club shirt.
It was a gesture that Rod Stewart probably thought would attract a handful of supporters to Ramsay’s. Obviously a windup towards the Rangers supporting chef.
After the concert dozens of Celtic fans descended on the pub, creating what Caesars Palace later described as a Rod Stewart and Celtic takeover. Sure enough the Singer and his band turned up to the bar for an end of tour celebration.
For most people, it became a story they read about in the newspapers. How Rod was supposedly charged over £5000 for the tab he opened for supporters that night.
Fans were stunned when Rod and his band showed up
Over a decade later, Celtic DNA has spoken to one lucky supporter who was there that night in Las Vegas. Our very own writer Tim Lisbon.
“I couldn’t really believe it to be honest. I went to the pub as instructed after the gig but we never expected Rod himself to turn up. The supporters took over Ramseys Bar and Grill to the point that they stopped letting people in. I’m guessing Rod chose that location as a cheeky dig towards Rangers supporting Gordon Ramsey.
We didn’t expect him to actually attend but sure enough Rod walked past me and asked if I had got a drink yet, I told him I hadn’t. He said just go the bar and order a pint, say it’s on Rod, they’ve started a tab he said. So I ordered a pint and told the barman it was on Rod.
Afterwards Rod came over and got a photo with the fans before flying back to his house in LA. It was a great experience after a great concert. A bit surreal. He gets a lot of flack Rod but his love of Celtic isn’t in doubt for me. He didn’t need to do that. It was a great gesture.”
Sounds like a special night in Vegas for the Celtic fans in attendance.
This is the start of our Celtic Stories series. If you have a special moment relating to supporting Celtic you would like to highlight then please get in touch.
All views expressed on Celtic DNA are personal opinions and are for commentary and discussion purposes only