New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Nowhere in the music industry are artists more flamboyant, more extravagant, or more profitable than they are during Las Vegas residency. With ever-increasing competition from online gaming sites, such asMaria Casino, traditional bricks and mortar casinos must go further and offer more to draw in the crowds. This is where stars can make big bucks, both for themselves and their hosts, with none of the tedious travelling usually associated with going on tour.
Many people credit the King himself with starting the residency tradition, but Liberace was wowing the crowds in Las Vegas already in the 1940s, long before Elvis saw out his final years there. Even so, some still speculate that the 750+ Elvis shows, between 1969 and 1976, were the greatest residency of them all, but unfortunately, we don't have the numbers to back this up.
Who wears the crown?
If it's not Elvis or Liberace, who is the king of Las Vegas? Actually, it's not a king, but a queen who holds not just the top spot, but also second place too, making her the undisputed ruler of residencies.Celine Dion has become as much a part of the famous Las Vegas Strip as the Caesars Palace casino she played in, with well over a thousand shows under her belt, grossing over $630 million.
Her first residency, 'A New Day', set the record, with 720 shows, over four years between 2003 and 2007, grossing no less than $385million. The show was seen by over three million people during its run, setting a benchmark that has never been beaten. This was quickly followed by the self-titled 'Celine', which had a slightly less punishing schedule of 427 shows over seven years between 2011 and 2019, netting $245million. Clearly Celine Dion's heart will go on, and on, and on.
Top male artist
If you are looking for a king of Las Vegas, then that title probably goes to Sir Elton John, who also holds two of the top five places in the all-time chart. His show, 'The Red Piano', ran between 2004 and 2009, taking $164 million, and was followed by the appropriately titled 'Million Dollar Piano', which ran from 2011 to 2018, taking $131 million.
Since both runs had far fewer performances than either of Celine Dion's top two residencies, we could argue it that Elton deserves the title of top performer after all.
Hit me, baby, 250 times
The only other artist to make it into the top five is the troubled Britney Spears. Her 'Piece of Me' residency at Planet Hollywood ran for four years and 250 shows, making $138 million to split Elton John's third and fifth placings. Behind the top five, J-Lo proved she's much more than just 'Jenny from the block' by netting $120 million from her three years 'All I Have' shows at Planet Hollywood, while Cher made headlines before she'd even taken to the stage by signing a $60 million-a-year deal for her 'Cher at the Colosseum' shows.
The residency rolls on
You may think that big-name residencies are a thing of the past, especially with the current changes in the entertainment industry, but they are still going strong and still attracting the very best in the business.
Contracts have already been signed for two of the biggest names, Drake and Usher, withnew shows scheduled to start in the summer of 2021. Whether they will pull in the same sort of riches as Celine Dion achieved, however, remains to be seen.
