KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons believes that the band's "End Of The Road" tour will gross nearly $200 million. The trek launched January 31 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is expected to last two to three years and extend around the world. Asked by The Wall Street Journal in a new interview how much money he will personally make from the tour, Gene said: "Let's just say Paul [Stanley, KISS co-founder] and I are partners, and everybody else works for the organization. Everybody gets paid very well. I don't want to quote figures, but this will be $150- or $200-million gross tour, not counting ancillaries, licensing, merchandise and stuff like that. It goes without saying that we also, in our restaurants and other places, hire vets, give to philanthropy and stuff like that. But how embarrassing is it before each show if I held up a check and said, 'Look what a nice guy I am'?" Simmons, who will turn 70 in August, went on to say that the reason he is still touring after all this time is "to make more money. And we're making bucket-loads, and I'm happy to say that," he said. "The guy that wins the lottery jumps up and down and runs to everybody and says, 'Oh my God. I just made $100 million,' and everybody applauds. But the guy that works for it and makes $100 million, oh, he's just boasting. Bitch, I worked for that money, I deserve the accolades more than the guy that walks in and did nothing to win the lottery. So I tour, and I work hard. We have a restaurant chain, and I have a cannabis company, and soft drinks — Moneybag Sodas — and there's all kinds of stuff coming that people can't wrap their heads around. You're alive, you're supposed to pump your heart, keep making more money." The Vancouver concert was attended by a sold-out crowd of 13,373 with a gross revenue of $1,551,414, according to Billboard's Boxscore. According to Pollstar, KISS reported 1,292,121 tickets and a total gross of more than $61.6 million in 2000, when the band's first farewell tour was in full swing. Pollstar has record of 127 shows that year, and for most of that run, KISS kept prices between $35 and $85. KISS came in at No. 79 on the 2016 Year End Top 200 North American Tours chart, with a $15.4 million gross and 233,262 tickets on the year. Although Simmons recently admitted that he has "made millions every year for more than 40 years," he told the BBC News in a 2015 interview that he won't stop looking for ways to make himself ever richer. "Life is business, and I approach life the way sharks approach life — they must keep moving or else they will drown," he said. "I'll never stop hunting more money, I'll never have enough." The KISS lineup on the "End Of The Road" tour features the current version of the band — Simmons, Stanley, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer.
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