Las Vegas Weekly

August 28, 2008 · 6 AM

Surprise contract negotiations will return Celine Dion to Caesars

By Robin Leach

Photo: Gerard Schachmes

It's exactly as Celine Dion’s husband, Rene Angelil, promised! Even though the Vegas-based Canadian songbird is still on a world tour that won't end until Valentines Day, she and manager Rene are in discussions with executives at her former Caesars Palace home for a return -- maybe as early as fall of next year!

Here’s what I wrote for Luxe Life last December: “This is not an end,” Celine Dion said as her final night of a five-year run at Caesars Palace came to its teary finish, “but a beginning of the rest of our life. The show changed our lives and tonight we celebrate a journey, a passion and a new life.” Almost 3 million people saw the 719 sold-out “New Day” shows that grossed $400 million over the five years. Celine vowed to be back with a new Vegas show but hoped for a new baby between the end of the yearlong world tour and the resumption of a new Vegas run. She’s hoping in the interim to also star in a movie with her longtime friend and director, Franco Dragone. Rene promised me: “We will be back. She will perform again in Vegas. We’re definitely going to take off for a year after the upcoming world tour. I’ve made the promise to her we’ll try for a new baby. And then we’ll return to Vegas to perform again. Yes -- maybe 2009!”

Caesars Palace president Gary Selesner even told me: “We will always keep an empty room ready for her to return whenever she wishes. They are always welcome here. They are an important part of our family now -- and will be forever.”

For the next two nights, Celine shuttles between stadiums for shows in Toronto and her hometown of Montreal, and then next week begins the American schedule with opening act and former Venetian headliner Gordie Brown in Buffalo. It ends Jan. 30 in Fort Lauderdale and after three Valentines Day shows, back home in Montreal it's officially over. Then the move back to Vegas really pops up on the radar!

The current contract negotiations between Rene and the Caesars Palace and Anschultz Entertainment Group executives center around the length of the run, the number of shows and the interval of performances. It's highly likely that Celine’s return would coincide with the end of Sir Elton John’s commitment there and she would slot into the open dates around Bette Midler and Cher. This would enable Celine to enjoy time off between the monthly work schedules, which she increasingly prefers.

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