Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Newsweek: Don’t count on Celine alone to save the city

Celine Dion Arrives at Caesars Palace

Scott Harrison/Retna/HarrisonPhotos.com

Celine Dion, with husband Rene Angelil, son Rene-Charles and twin boys Eddy and Nelson, arrives at Caesars Palace on Feb. 16, 2011.

In its current issue, Newsweek has focused on Celine Dion’s return to Las Vegas. The headline, “Rich Vegas, Poor Vegas,” atop the subhead, “Sin City has no jobs, and the newly homeless are living in drainage pipes. But it also has its biggest act since Elvis,” leads into a grim recitation of the city’s economic condition over the past three years or so and how Dion plays into a Vegas recovery.

Celine Dion Arrives at Caesars Palace

Celine Dion's arrival at Caesars Palace on Feb. 16, 2011. Launch slideshow »
Click to enlarge photo

Marquees on The Strip welcome back Celine Dion to Las Vegas on Feb. 16, 2011.

Click to enlarge photo

Celine Dion, with husband Rene Angelil, son Rene-Charles and twin boys Eddy and Nelson, arrives at Caesars Palace on Feb. 16, 2011.

The drainage pipe is to the scores of homeless people dwelling underground in the concrete drainage system at the south end of the Strip. Local author Matthew O’Brien brought this subculture to light in his book “Beneath the Neon.” O’Brien conducted his research for the book, released four years ago, before the current downturn took hold.

The Newsweek story, which was reported in part by Las Vegas-based freelancer Steve Friess, reminds a national audience that Las Vegas suffers from the highest unemployment rate among large cities, and Strip resorts have lost more than $6 billion over two years. But Dion can’t solely change the trend, even as she is worth at least $114 million a year to the local economy and responsible for thousands of jobs.

Essentially, as Nevada Gaming Control Board analyst Michael Lawton says, Dion is mostly replacing the now-departed Cher at the Colosseum. But the return of Dion is as much a psychological as financial boost. It does speak to the long-term viability of Las Vegas as a destination city when Dion packs up and moves back to down, and that Caesars Palace is willing and able to invest in putting her back onstage with 31 musicians in a spectacle that should be among the top shows on the Strip, again.

What the Newsweek piece accomplished was specify and colorize what those of us who live here already realize, that Las Vegas has been badly wounded by the recession (since it was reported, the Sahara has announced its closing). Even for those immersed in the city, there was compelling information and commentary throughout. A few highlights:

• Numbers disclosed in the piece reminded of Dion’s impact: Her contract to perform at Caesars Palace pays her a reported $100 million over the next three years (her original number of shows, 210, has since been boosted to 226 as the hotel announced 16 more dates from December of this year through January 2012). During her previous residency at the Colosseum, from 2003 to 2007, Dion sold out more than 700 consecutive performances and brought in more than $400 million in ticket sales.

• Dion says she gained more than 60 pounds during pregnancy, but “When you work hard and breastfeed, it gives you your shape back.”

• Dion’s husband, Rene Angelil, won $1.6 million in a poker tournament just before leaving the city in 2007 and has taught the couples’ son Rene-Charles how to play. He’s quoted as saying, “I’m not proud of that.” In mortgaging his house to produce Dion’s first record, Angelil says, “Sometimes when you gamble, you get up from the table with a fortune. That’s what happened with Celine in my life.”

• Barry Manilow, set to release “15 Minutes,” his first album of new songs in more than 10 years, says of Dion, “She changed the perception of performers here.” He’s brought $60 million to the city himself, and says, “We’ve been doing really good business. It hasn’t gone downhill for me.”

• Flamingo headliner Marie Osmond, who unlike Manilow lives in Las Vegas full time, said she has been hit with signs of the flagging economy in her own neighborhood. She recalled taking her kids trick-or-treating last Halloween. “All the homes were empty. You go up to them, and there’s nobody there, there’s a (foreclosure) sign in the window. Even in our neighborhood.”

• Luxor’s Criss Angel is brought in to note his own financial impact -- $150 million annually, as he is far busier than many Strip headliners. Holly Madison is referred to as fronting a show, “Peepshow” at Planet Hollywood, that is said to be “recession-proof” (though the show opened with two highly paid stars, Mel B and Kelly Monaco, and a full, live band, which has since been cut to save money). Madison notes that she got her 5,000-square-foot home at a great rate. “I found one that was half price. I got lucky.”

So it’s Miss Las Vegas who puts it all in perspective. I came out of this story feeling the same way I did coming in, that it will likely be a couple of years before financial confidence returns to Las Vegas, and we’re better off with Celine Dion in residence than without.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow Kats With the Dish at twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy