Act sold more than $400 million in tickets

Call Celine Dion's schtick maudlin or melodramatic, but don't forget to include moneymaker among the list of adjectives.

Since 2003, when the Canadian crooner pranced into the customized $95 million Colosseum theater at Caesars Palace, her act has sold more than $400 million in tickets.

Perhaps more important, the show's buzz rubbed off on the casino and infused it with energy that helped prompt Harrah's Entertainment to invest hundreds of millions for Caesars to regain its footing among top-tier Las Vegas resorts.

"It all started, I believe, with the arrival of Celine," said Gary Selesner, president of Caesars Palace. "The opening of the Colosseum and Celine were without question the first step in what I characterize as the rebirth of Caesars Palace."

Dion didn't pour concrete or install drywall in the $289 million Augustus tower Caesars opened in 2005, but she cut the ribbon on the 949-room structure and earns a share of the credit for making it viable.

"(We've had) double-digit increases everywhere since Celine opened," former Caesars president Mark Juliano said in a 2004 interview.

At the time, Juliano said, the 4,000-seat Colosseum, built to accommodate Dion, was worth $45 million to the bottom line of Caesars Entertainment, the company that owned the resort before Harrah's and struck the deal with the singer.

Juliano said a big-name performer in the venue was worth almost $175,000 in revenue per night to the resort.

"It's added a tremendous level of energy and excitement to the property that's noticeable in the guests," he said.

The income is more remarkable considering Caesars built the theater but didn't share in the ticket revenue; that goes to venue operator AEG and Dion. Caesars got its return solely from what fans spent in the resort before and after the shows.

Since Harrah's took over Caesars in a $9 billion deal in 2005, it built on the resort's momentum, most recently announcing plans in July for a $1billion expansion.

The company also struck a deal with Bette Midler for 250 shows after the final curtain falls on Dion's gig tonight.

"There are really very few stars in the world who are capable of filling 4,000-seat arenas 50, 100, 170 times a year," Selesner said.

And the success Caesars had with Dion has prompted more competition to find them.

Boyd Gaming Corp. has a deal with AEG, the company that was a partner with Caesars for the Dion run, for a 4,000-seat theater in the $4.8billion Echelon resort scheduled to open in 2010.

The decision to work with AEG on the arena at Echelon went deeper than Dion, but Boyd Gaming spokesman Rob Stillwell said the success of her "A New Day ..." show "was part of the consideration."

AEG has arena deals worldwide, and the contacts make it a good partner in attracting international guests, Stillwell said.

They haven't decided whether they will sign a long-term deal with an entertainer to anchor the Echelon arena.

"That option (is), obviously, included," he said.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or (702) 477-3861.