While the news of Celine’s health is “worrying,” Las Vegas officials at Resorts World are still hoping to see her back on stage next May. “They will keep the dates on the calendar free for them,” says journalist John Katsilometes.
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“I really hope that Celine is right. It’s been an unsettling turn of events for her in the last 13 or 14 months. The fans here are genuinely concerned about his condition.”
At the end of the line, Las Vegas-Review Journal journalist John Katsilometes initially expresses concern about what is happening to the Quebec singer. But pretty quickly he adds a hint of hope for Celine’s return to the stage.
With kind approval
John Katsilometes, reporter for the Las Vegas Review Journal
“In my recent interviews with the folks at Resorts World Las Vegas [l’hôtel où Céline devait se produire l’an dernier], they told me that they will definitely not fill the May dates. They want Celine in May. She has a movie, Love Again, coming out May 12th. If it works out, everything points to May’s return to Las Vegas. That’s the constant message I get from the hotel.”
The journalist does not believe that the syndrome that Céline suffers from will mean the end of her career. “But I understand that people will continue to wonder until she starts rehearsals again. We will follow this very closely. It’s a condition that’s so misunderstood and there really is no effective treatment for it.”
She changed the face of Vegas
John Katsilometes, who arrived in Las Vegas in 1996, has covered Celine Dion’s activities since her debut at Caesars Palace in 2003. He admits that before beginning her residency, he was initially skeptical about the Quebec native’s chances of success.
“I had walked around the theater with architects when they were finishing construction. I walked in and I remember thinking: This woman had better be excellent because it’s really a big room! [rires]»
For the journalist there is no doubt that Celine Dion changed the face of Las Vegas almost 20 years ago. “She is considered to be the one who initiated the modernist residencies. There was Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Elton John and Rod Stewart doing residencies. But Celine was ahead of them. She made it viable.”
Celine Dion has long been the queen of Vegas. Will there be another queen (or king) in the next few years? John Katsilometes isn’t sure.
“Nowadays we have a collection of superstars that fill the halls together. During the first part of her stay in Vegas, Celine performed 80 shows a year! I don’t know if we’ll see anyone else do that.”