LAS VEGAS – The economic recession of the past few years has hit Las Vegas, Nevada, hard.
Unemployment has soared, casino revenues have plunged, and the city's real estate market was crushed. The return of Celine Dion is seen as a godsend, the spark that will re-launch America's gambling capital.
Celine's departure from Vegas and the beginning of the recession was a strange coincidence.
Celine Dion ended her run at Caesars Palace right when the economic crisis started in 2007. Now she is back, right at the moment when the city is slowly climbing out of its economic funk.
Her return also coincides with the city's 100th anniversary. It's not surprising they call her "The Queen of Vegas." They put her in the same category as Muhammad Ali and Elvis.
Housing prices in Las Vegas have fallen by 50% since 2008, unemployment, shot up 15%, office space vacancies stand at 24% and hotel occupancy rates are at 81%. Hotel occupancy rates were at 90.4% during the last year of Celine's Caesars Palace run.
Celine's return is as welcome as a cool, refreshing breeze in the scorching desert.
"We estimate that between 2,000 and 7,000 indirect jobs will be created from her new show," said Stephen Brown, director of the Centre for Business and Economic Research (CBER) in Vegas.
He also calculated that Celine's show will generate $114 million for the city's coffers every year.
"We estimate that 3% more tourists will come to Vegas in 2011," said Brown. That represents about a million more visitors.
"This new operation of Celine and (husband) Rene (Angelil) will create jobs for a hundred families for at least 10 years," said John Meglen, the president of AEG Live, co-producer of the show.
Caesars Palace is also planning on adding hundreds of new hotel jobs because of the show. The hotel expects a 5% increase in occupation rates just because of Celine.
"We've already sold more tickets for this show than for A New Day," said Meglen, referring to Celine's first Vegas show which ran from 2003 through to 2007. Box office receipts have already hit the $10-million mark for the first set of shows from March 15 to April 17.
Meglen said that the 924,000 tickets for the three-year concert series will be sold without any problems.
Tourism is the key to Vegas' economic revival, and right now Celine seems to be the artist with the greatest international following, especially among Asian fans.
"Cher, Elton, and Bette Midler together haven't been able to attract as many international spectators," said Meglen.
Canadian tourists are also returning to Vegas. In response to increased demand, Air Canada decided to add new direct flights on Thursdays and Sundays.
More than 1,500 Quebecers will be in attendance for Celine's opening night. In 2008, after Celine's (last) show ended, the number of Quebec visitors to Vegas fell by half.
Caesars Palace is delighted at the return of its star.
"We grieved when she left, but we secretly knew she would come back," said Gary Selesner, the president of the casino. "We have a network of 40 million clients around the world, they have all been told about her return."
Of course, it's going to take more than one artist to re-launch the strip.
"The real estate market needs to come back before anything, but an artist like Celine is going to help – that's for sure," said Brown. Musicians happy Celine back in town
"She is the new Sinatra," said Frank Leone, president of local 369 of the Las Vegas Musicians Union. Local musicians have reason to celebrate. Celine just hired 39 of them for her new show – all of them union members. Three of them will also be singers and nine of them will be with the singer from day one of the show, including her loyal
musical director Claude Mego Lemay.
Leone says Celine's return is Vegas' counter to the recession. He said it's been at least 20 years since an artist has hired such a big orchestra.
"It brings us back to the glory days, to the golden age of Las Vegas during the time of Sinatra and Paul Anka who had orchestras of 50 people," Leone said.
Sitting in the 4,400-seat Colosseum theatre built for Celine's show, Ken Ehrlich, the show's director, promised a spectacle more rich and entertaining than her last.
"Celine is so confident and comfortable with herself that she has reached a new level. There is nothing she can't do vocally," Ehrlich said.
"When they did the first show, they had something to prove. This time, they have to surpass the bar they already set for themselves," Ehrlich said.
"She's going to sing her hits, but the public will also get to know another side of Celine," Ehrlich said. "There will be fewer songs from movies and also fewer songs that people wouldn't expect her to sing." Diva and the Vegas economy
-For Las Vegas' 100th anniversary, Nevada magazine compiled a list of the ten most influential artists on the Vegas Strip. Celine Dion shared the spotlight with the Cirque du Soleil, Frank Sinatra and Elvis.
Consequences of the economic crisis and Celine's departure in 2007:
-The population of Las Vegas plunged from a high of 478,434 in the year 2000 to 254,934 in 2011.
-Quebecers usually account for 10% of Canadian tourists in Vegas. In 2008, they represented 5%.
-During the last year of Celine's Vegas run in 2007, the city's hotels had a 90.4% occupation rate; the rate fell to 81.1% in 2010.
-According to the stats from the Centre for Business and Economic Research in Las Vegas, 2011 will be a good year: tourism should increase by 3.1%, gambling revenues should increase by 1.7%, the city's population should rise by 0.4% and there should be 2.6% more jobs.
-Salaries from jobs in the hotel and tourism sector in Vegas represent 27% of all salaries in the city. Vegas has about 149,000 hotel rooms.
-In 2003, at the start of Celine's Vegas run, Air Canada flew 71,471 Canadians to the city. In 2007, at the end of her run, the number of passengers exceeded 272,000. WestJet also carried more than 40,000 people to Vegas in 2003 and over 186,000 in 2007.
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99
Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html
No comments:
Post a Comment