Niantic was forced to ask those without tickets to 'Pokémon Go Tour: Hoenn – Las Vegas' to "refrain from joining us at the park."

The first day of the in-person event took place in Sin City on Saturday (18.02.23), but due to an extra 17,000 people turning up without tickets, on top of the 50,000 with tickets, there were connectivity and other technical issues with the game.

The second event on Sunday (19.02.23) was also plagued by similar issues.

Niantic tweeted: “Trainers! We appreciate the enthusiasm you showed today at Pokémon Go Tour: Hoenn – Las Vegas.

“An additional 17,000 Trainers without tickets joined us at the park, causing spotty connectivity throughout the day. This led to Trainers disconnecting from raids, being unable to log in, and other issues with gameplay.”

The developer continued: “We ask that Trainers who do not have a ticket for Pokémon Go Tour: Hoenn – Las Vegas refrain from joining us at the park tomorrow, to ensure a smooth event for Sunday ticket holders and Trainers who have the Sunday Extra Day Add-On.

It added: “We apologise for the issues Saturday ticket holders experienced.”

Niantic faced a backlash as many people felt it was wrong to ban players form a public park.

As part of the apology, the event was extended by three hours and players were gifted Premium Raid Passes and three Remote Raid Passes in a bundle from the in-game shop.