Bon Jovi top Billboard Touring Awards

The Billboard Touring Award were presented on Thursday night at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York. The awards honour the top touring acts, venues and executives for the period of October 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013.

Bon Jovi took home the two biggest awards of the night, with their Because We Can tour winning Top Tour, based on total gross, and Top Draw, for the tour that sold the most tickets. They also took the Eventful Fan's Choice Award based on fan "demand" at Eventful.com.

George Strait was presented with this year's Legend of Live honor for his 32 years of major tours which will wrap up next year with the final leg of his Cowboy Rides Away trek. Strait said in accepting the award "It's just been a wonderful career and when they told me I was gonna get the Legend of Live Award, we were joking 'LOL,' you know. I thought 'OMG. WTF. And BTW' – I got a lot of people to thank for this. I tell ya, I've been touring so long that I kinda got it through the years. Part of it got a little hard for me and the burnout thing was happening. I've always loved the shows – don't get me wrong, but all the other stuff that goes along with it I kinda got tired of. Thanks to Louis Messina for making it fun again for me out there, and giving me a lot years on his team."

The full list of winners:

•TOP TOUR - Bon Jovi - Because We Can
•TOP DRAW - Bon Jovi
•TOP BOXSCORE - P!nk -- Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne (July 7-Aug. 26)
•TOP COMEDY TOUR - Jeff Dunham
•TOP PACKAGE - Taylor Swift's Red Tour, featuring Ed Sheeran, Joel Crouse, Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Casey James
•BREAKTHROUGH - One Direction
•TOP FESTIVAL - Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Indio, Calif.
•TOP ARENA - O2 Arena, London
•TOP VENUE — UNDER 10,000 SEATS - Radio City Music Hall, New York
•TOP VENUE – UNDER 5,000 SEATS - The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
•TOP CLUB - House of Blues, Orlando, Fla.
•TOP AMPHITHEATER - The Gorge, George, Wash.
•TOP PROMOTER - Live Nation
•TOP INDEPENDENT PROMOTER (INTERNATIONAL) - T4F
•TOP INDEPENDENT PROMOTER (U.S.) - C3 Presents
•TOP AGENCY - Creative Artists Agency
•TOP MANAGER - Bon Jovi Management
•HUMANITARIAN AWARD - Marcie Allen, president of MAC Presents
•EVENTFUL FANS' CHOICE AWARD - Bon Jovi
•CONCERT MARKETING & PROMOTION AWARD - The Rolling Stones and Citi for the 50 & Counting Tour
•LEGEND OF LIVE - George Strait
•HAULER OF THE DECADE AWARD - Vans Warped Tour

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