Las Vegas Weekly

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Photo: Paramount Pictures

Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1997's "Titanic."

Travel Channel’s news series “Trip Flip” filmed so much footage during its five days in Las Vegas that it might be turned into two 30-minute episodes, and international singing star and Caesars Palace headliner Celine Dion is happily and partly to blame for it.

Travel expert host Bert Kreischer had arranged for two Las Vegas tourists to receive an unexpected backstage tour of the Colosseum at Caesars Palace after startling them with tickets to Celine’s show when the superstar herself surprised the group by saying hello.

When Brianna and Erin, the two visitors from Carlsbad, Calif., met the Canadian songbird, Brianna innocently asked if Celine had ever watched “Titanic.” It led to all three breaking into hysterical laughter, and Celine let the cameras roll for 15 minutes on the unexpected conversation.

“We couldn’t have asked for better television,” Bert told me. “Celine and Brianna got along so famously, we just kept rolling. Celine was so kind. She answered every one of their questions. Brianna lost her mind after meeting her No. 1 favorite star, and the tears just poured down her face. It was so emotional.”

Bert found the couple in their early 30s who are parents of three children, and they skipped two weddings to stay for the surprise Las Vegas filming, which included dinner and magic lessons with Penn & Teller at the Rio and a hip-hop dance routine onstage with Jabbawockeez at the Monte Carlo.

Bert, filming this week in New York City, told me: “Even though they shot machine guns, drove excavators, the most dangerous part was jumping onto the airbags from the top of the ‘Ka’ scenery at the Cirque du Soleil show in MGM. That was scary for them, so I had to go first to prove it would be OK.

“Our Las Vegas shoot will wind up in our Top Three best episodes. It should air in August, and then we’ll see how we deal with the possible second episode.”

“Trip Flip” premieres Thursday on the Travel Channel with back-to-back episodes shot in New Orleans and Hawaii.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

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Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.