SEARCH NEWS:

 

Diva in the Desert

``And, it turns out, the moment may also reshape the life of the evolving entertainment scene in the high-rolling desert city.

``Dion, who stepped away from the public concert stage on New Year's Eve 1999 to begin the role of new mother, has agreed to an unprecedented pact that will see her perform five nights a week for 40 weeks a year over three years at Caesars Palace.

`The deal is worth a reported $100 million and will also see the casino resort build a $95-million, 4,000-seat theater to house the production.

``...For Las Vegas, it may lead to an era of pop stars in residence...

``...Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of Pollstar, a concert business trade publication says Dion's plan to set up shop in one spot for a multiyear run may inspire other artists.

```...It can be the best of all worlds for the artist,' he said. `In a way, Celine Dion may be pioneering that in the pop world. And what better place than Vegas?'

``Clearly, the Dion deal raises the stakes of the Vegas music scene, says Tom Gallagher, president and CEO of Park Place Entertainment, the gaming industry titan that runs Caesars, Bally's, the Flamingo and more than two dozen other casino operations in five countries.

```This one,' Gallagher says, `really breaks the mold for everything that has gone on in this town in the past. And that is what we're trying to do in entertainment over here.... Artists are looking to get off the road and do something that's more interesting for the audience and themselves.'

``...Dion's show will be 90 minutes long, but the specifics of its content are, like Dragone's acrobats, very much up in the air..."

< Gaming News