A tale of two divas

One gets great reviews. The other sells records. Guess which matters in Vegas? The new Vegas likes to see itself as a bit more happening than the town's reality justifies.
Saturday night was a good example.

Both Celine Dion and Bjork played significant shows in Vegas on Saturday night.

Celine Dion played her final show in Vegas. Selling out the 4,000 available tickets for her 717th performance at Caesars was a given: The only question was what the high bid would be on EBay.

Meanwhile, at the Palms, Bjork played her first concert ever in Vegas and she sold only half that number of tickets (with hundreds of tickets left unsold) to her Vegas debut.

(Photo by Sarah Gerke)

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10:15 AM PT, Dec 17 2007 in Celine Dion | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Celine Dion's Vegas moment

Photographer Sarah Gerke captured this Vegas moment for the Buffet. Celine Dion's final night in Vegas on Saturday was as over-the-top as any of her high notes. It included a 45-minute late start (unheard of in Vegas), a maudlin and self-congratulatory introductory video, 11 standing ovations, 10 minutes of Celine Dion rambling to the audience about the various nuances and shades of meaning the night held for her ("It is amazing what believing and love can do. Most of us have left our families every night to give ourselves every night. I can assure you it was worth it." Yeah, we all go to work. etc.) and ended with 100,000 rose petals falling on the stage. Each performance Dion gave a rose to an audience member. On this night her son gave the rose back to her.

Dion's show grossed more than $400 million and was a regular sellout in the literal (as opposed to the more shady Vegas) meaning of the word. "As a business model we could have kept this going for years," a wistful CEO for the promoter said. Embracing her son (I am not going to pick on a child's hair), Dion went out as perhaps the most successful headliner in Vegas history.

(Photo by Sarah Gerke)

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10:07 AM PT, Dec 17 2007 in Celine Dion | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

How Celine Dion broke the curse of 'fat Elvis'

From "The Producers" (at Paris) to Hans Klok (at Planet Hollywood), to give two recent examples, shows close in Vegas by issuing a press release that announces the end of the show's run and then the press release declares that the show was a fantastic, sold-out, major success. Of course, why such a success isn't staying put at the casino is never addressed in the press release.

In truth, if a show is doing really well on the Strip, the show will not close. The only true sign of success on the Strip is to continue to exist in the increasingly brutal world of headliners and production shows. But on Saturday, I am going to see an exception to this rule: the final performance of Celine Dion's "A New Day."

When "A New Day" closes on Saturday night with Dion's 717th performance, almost 3 million people will have seen the show since it opened in March 2003.

Back then, Dion's show was considered a big risk that included the creation of a $95-million Colosseum for her to perform in, complete with Wolfgang Puck snack venues. A lot was being asked of the audience too in order to fill the 4,000 seats of the Colosseum, with top ticket prices kicking in at over $200. And, if that wasn't enough to make Harrah's executives nervous, they did not create this show, but bought the company that owned Caesars Palace.

The signing of Dion's "A New Day" and the building on this project was already underway when Harrah's stepped into the ownership of Caesars. High-end entertainment has never been a Harrah's speciality in Vegas. But whatever the initial jitters, Dion's show, with its vanity store, proved to be the most successful thing to hit Vegas since Cirque du Soleil opened "Mystere" 14 years ago (a show that is still running).

Unlike Elvis and Sinatra, Celine Dion was not past her hit-making prime when she came to Vegas. Her fame seemed to be undiminished by being here and also by being off the road and out of the studio.

Vegas kept her profile high.

In fact, if anything, people who might not have even been big enough fans to see her perform in their hometowns still wanted to see "A New Day" in Vegas.

"I am not a big fan of Celine Dion's, but I really wanted to see her show when I was here," was a common sentiment. For many visitors, acquiring tickets to her show became a must-do on a Vegas trip. Call it a guilty pleasure or a holy pilgrimage: You had to see Celine Dion while in Vegas.

Dion's success directly paved the way for Elton John's "The Red Piano." John has even continued to tour and record while doing his show in Vegas. Certainly, Barry Manilow also owes his presence in Vegas to the success of Dion.

And Manilow managed to jump-start his career during his Vegas tenure (that might be a first, too) thanks to his first hit albums in decades.

Finally, even Prince, a gold standard of the eccentric artist, chose to set up a home base at the Rio for a while.

Of course, only in Vegas could such a middle-of-the road adult contemporary performer like Celine Dion be said to have paved a path later taken by Prince. But it would be hard to imagine Prince at the Rio (also owned by Harrah's) without Celine Dion having first broken the nostalgia barrier for Vegas entertainers, a.k.a. "the curse of fat Elvis," by being a contemporary hit maker who chose to be a Vegas headliner while still having other options for her career.

It is also important to note that the success of Celine Dion happened just before the nightclub revolution.

Nightclubs have rapidly begun to replace going to a show as the crucial Vegas activity for the new generation of young, hipster Vegas tourists. The nightclub boom has probably, more than anything, been responsible for the difficulties Broadway shows have had finding audiences in Vegas.

Now-closed shows like "Avenue Q" (Wynn) and "Hairspray" (Luxor) seem like they were meant to appeal to the twenty-somethings who instead chose nightclubs. Yet, even when Pure, among the hottest clubs in Vegas, opened at Caesars, nothing impacted the power of Celine Dion to draw an audience every night she performed.

Vegas entertainment is a game of imitation. There is a reason Cirque has five shows running and a few more on the way. There is a reason a half-dozen Broadway shows were signed at around the same time. It is the same reason almost every resort on the Strip is trying to open a hipster nightclub now if they don't have one yet. Vegas resorts love being on a bandwagon.

Yet the very uniqueness of headliners poses a challenge. How do you replace a Celine Dion? For now, of course, Caesars has picked Bette Middler. Middler is a solid if unimaginative choice. Her decades in showbiz as well as her sense of theater will make her a good fit in the traditional headliner way. But Bette Middler's show will not mark a change in Las Vegas entertainment like Celine Dion's "A New Day" did.

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10:30 AM PT, Dec 12 2007 in Celine Dion | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

After Celine: Bette is next

Hats off to local journalist Steve Friess (whose blog I discovered and recommended on the Buffet the other day). As anyone covering Las Vegas entertainment knows (or thinks we know), tomorrow was set to be the big, big announcement that Bette Middler will be replacing Celine Dion (whose contract is expiring) next year as Caesars' headliner. But today Steve Friess has taken a lot of the bang out of that announcement by already confirming Middler's upcoming Vegas residency. The details are now on his blog.

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10:07 AM PT, May 2 2007 in Celine Dion | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Celine Dion Sings Ennio Morricone?

I tuned in to the Academy Award's last night just in time to catch the syrupy performance by Celine Dion of "I knew I Loved You." The Vegas headliner managed the near impossible: make the music of Italian composer Ennio Morricone sound like a B-side to "My Heart Will Go On." Of course, Morricone has written some amazing music. Who doesn't feel their pulse start picking up speed when hearing the theme from "The Good the Bad and the Ugly"? And, if you want to see how deep and far out his music can be explored and interpreted by other artists, check out John Zorn's wild takes on Morricone compositions. Of course, there is no substitute for the original scores, and for that there is the fantastic two disc "The Ennio Morricone Anthology: a Fistful of Music" that came out in 1995.

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09:16 AM PT, Feb 26 2007 in Celine Dion | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Ramblin' Gamblin' Man: Rene Angelil

I am beginning to feel sorry for Celine Dion's husband, Rene Angelil. For the past week his gambling habits have been the subject of constant press speculation, all beginning after I wrote on the Buffet about Harrah's executive Jan Jones, looking for an example of a responsible gambler, claiming in an interview published in England, that Angelil gambles $1 million a week here. Jones is likely in a position to know (despite her subsequent denial) since Dion performs at Caesars, a Harrah's property and all resorts are thought to closely track the exact play of their high rollers. But resorts usually do not share those numbers with the public in interviews. Blaming press speculation, Caesars then released an unprecedented statement claiming that Angelil's loses were small. (if you can call hundreds of thousands of dollars, small) and referring to his offsetting poker winnings at tournaments mostly at the Bellagio. This caused me to wonder on the Buffet how much Angelil gambled at the Bellagio, an MGM property outside of Harrah's orbit. Now, Norm Clarke of the Review-Journal (who today launched NormClarke.com) answers that question. According to Norm, Angelil's has lost more than $2 million at Bellagio where he maintains a $1 million credit line. But perhaps the biggest blow comes from Sun columnist John Katsilometes who appears to use Dion's husband as a synonym for over the top gambling. Katsilometes writes: "Charles Barkley put up some Rene Angelil numbers over Super Bowl weekend." In the story, Barkely estimates that as a gambler during his life he has lost about $10 million. Katsilometes quotes an ESPN radio interview with the basketball player in which he offers this wonderful quip: "I don't gamble too much, but I probably gamble for too much money."

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12:28 PM PT, Feb 8 2007 in Celine Dion | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Caesars sorry and blames media to Mr. Celine

Ceasars Palace responded today to speculation on the Buffet and elsewhere about the stunning amount of money gambled by Celine Dion's husband. Caesars branded as inaccurate newspaper reports that he gambles $1 million a week (neglecting to mention the reports were based on a quote given by a high ranking executive of Harrah's, the parent company of Ceasars). In the statement the president of Caesars writes:

“Allegations that Rene gambles as much as $1 million per week are totally false. In deference to the privacy of all our guests, we don’t discuss their gaming or hotel patronage, but with Rene’s permission, we would like to set the record straight. His casino losses in 2005 and 2006 have totaled exactly $230,300, which have been more than offset by his tournament poker winnings, of $259,079, which are posted on the Internet.

“Rene and his wife Celine Dion are very dear to us. In addition to being the best partners a business person could want, they are exemplary people , whose integrity, achievement and philanthropy have justly earned worldwide respect. In life and in business, Rene is a winner, and one of the finest people I have ever known. Caesars Palace is very sorry for any embarrassment that may have resulted from the media speculation.”

Interestingly, left out of this blame-the-meda (for reporting what Jan Jones of Harrah's said) statement is the actual amount of money bet by Rene: the very subject of the comment and speculation. Still, one thing is clear, Jones claimed in her retraction she would have no way of knowing his gambling play. But this statement makes obvious her company does indeed keep close tabs on Rene's gambling on Caesars property. Again, to remind everyone, this entire controversy started because a Harrah's executive, Jan Jones, in an interview used Rene as a poster boy for responsible gambling. As for his casino total, which at the end of the day is his business, consider that few gamblers play at only one resort and his poker winnings (bragged about in the press release) according to Cardplayer.com did not take place at Caesars but indicate Rene spends a large amount of his gambling dollars at Bellagio an MGM property. Who knows how much other gambling (besides the poker) he does there?

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11:31 AM PT, Feb 2 2007 in Celine Dion | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Oh, He's probably losing less than $7.5 million

Harrah's executive Jan Jones' now retracted statement that Celine Dion's husband gambles $1 million a week raises an interesting question. If you play $1 million a week for 52 weeks how much can the casino expect to win from you in a year? To answer that question I went to gambling expert Anthony Curtis, publisher of the Las Vegas Advisor. Curtis tells me that Dion's husband is known for his expert play and so given that, here is his analysis:

"The important metric in this question is probably the "hold." While this is an overused and often useless number for casino analysis, it comes into play here. I'm guessing the $1 million, if it's accurate, is the "drop," which is the relatively easy-to-track amount of money a gambler buys in to play with. The hold is how much of that drop is retained in the casino's winnings, and that might run 15% or so (this varies greatly depending on duration of play and skill level). So someone "dropping" $1 million per week is likely losing on the order of $150,000, or less than $7.5 millon per year. These are broad estimates, but close enough. The $7.5 million-per-year number, I'll bet, is way high (Rene is not unskilled)."

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04:16 PM PT, Jan 31 2007 in Celine Dion | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Harrah's Exectutive: "Shame on me"

It seems my report yesterday on Harrah's executive (and, former Las Vegas Mayor) Jan Jones got some attention. Tuesday on the Buffet I noted that while in England giving an interview, Jones spilled the numbers of a customer's action by claiming Celine Dion's husband gambles a staggering $1 million a week. This is a foundation violation of every resort's basic operating procedure. Or, as Norm of the Review-Journal put it today: "Thou shalt not divulge confidential customer information." After the Buffet brought Jones' comments to local notice on this side of the pond, Jones was quickly on the phone to Norm backtracking from the Buffet's report and apologizing. "Shame on me. I should have been thinking," Jones says. Not only that, Jones also retreated from that $1 million number she had claimed Dion's husband gambles each week. "I would have no idea what he gambles," Jones says now, contrary to her earlier statement. She tells Norm now that she was only repeating second hand something a Canadian scientist said on a panel about Dion's husband while discussing pathological gamblers.

Not to be skeptical, but the ignorance Jones claims seems hard to fathom. All of the resorts keep very clear, complex and thorough records on high rollers. I would be shocked if Harrah's didn't know in exacting detail the entire history of any big player's gambling practice, numbers and everything else. I once reported on a well known casino host, Steve Cyr, who has worked bringing high rollers to play at Las Vegas Hilton, the Hard Rock and other properties in town. At a meal at the Hard Rock's Pink Taco, Cyr showed me a printout he gets from a subscription company on gambling customers and even potential customers. The spreadsheet was staggering in its detail about individuals play practice, gambling history, personal finances, credit worthiness and anything else that a resort could possibly want to know. It's hard to believe that Harrah's does not have something at least as complete on their players.

Jones, an experienced resort executive and politician, wants us to believe that it was some anonymous Canadian scientist on a panel who taught the Harrah's executive for the first time how much money a Vegas high roller gambles. Curiouser and curioser

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12:55 PM PT, Jan 31 2007 in Celine Dion | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

A Gambling Budget for Mr. Celine Dion

Apparently, Celine Dion's tenure has been rewarding to Las Vegas resorts for an unexpected reason: her husband. Certainly everyone counted on the tables at Caesars Palace getting a lot of extra action during Dion's sold out stretches. But as a bonus, Dion's husband, according to a high ranking executive at Harrah's, helps that total by gambling a whopping $1 million a week. Harrah's Jan Jones, a former Las Vegas mayor, tells England's Observer: "Celine Dion's husband is a big gambler. He probably gambles $1m a week. But he can afford to." It is rare for resorts to rat out how much a high roller gambles so specifically as Jones does in this interview. The comment was part of her torturous explanation to the reporter about the difference between responsible gambling and addiction. Mr. Celine Dion, you see, despite common sense, is a responsible player since that $1 million a week is within his budget. Interestingly, though Jones was a Democrat, this is the same argument offered by conservative commentator and former high stakes slot player Bill Bennett as to why his alleged millions in losses in Vegas were not a big deal. He too could afford it.

photo by Richard Drew/AP

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11:47 AM PT, Jan 30 2007 in Celine Dion | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)