Denise Truscello / WireImage / DeniseTruscello.net
Monday, April 6, 2015 | 11:57 a.m.
This week’s Monday By the Numbers statistical raking centers on Sir Elton John and his “Million Dollar Piano” show at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace.
He needs no further introduction. Let’s play:
$1 million: Reported cost of the custom-designed and -constructed Yamaha piano John plays at the Colosseum.
68: Number of LED panels built into that piano.
$35,999: Listed base price of a Yamaha C1X grand piano.
4: Number of years it took to build the Million Dollar Piano.
4: Number of rockets pointed at the Colosseum stage from the wings of the theater.
110: Number of show’s John has performed in his current residency at Caesars, which began Sept. 23, 2011.
243: Number of shows performed in John’s “Red Piano” production from Feb. 14, 2004, to April 22, 2009.
90: Number of shows booked for John’s original “Million Dollar Piano” residency.
12: Number of full or partial standing ovations in Saturday night’s show.
12: Number of musicians and singers backing John at the Colosseum.
2: Number of cellists in the show — and they are the 2Cellos, Luka Culic and Stjepan Hauser.
2: Number of double-neck guitars played by Davey Johnson during the show.
48: Years in the John-Bernie Taupin songwriting partnership.
45: Years John has been performing in the U.S. (his debut was at the Troubadour in Los Angeles in September 1970).
10: John’s age when he first heard Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” and decided that he would pursue rock ’n’ roll as a career.
80 to 100: Number of fans invited to the stage to hang out at the piano during “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.”
6: Number of stagehands who set up the velvet-rope barriers for those fans.
$35: Cost of a bottle of water, two bags of popcorn and a small sauvignon blanc at the Colosseum concession stand.
$29: Cost of an official Elton John Yellow Brick Road T-shirt at the Colosseum merchandise stand.
$20.70: Online rate for a standard room at the Riviera on Monday night.
1: Number of fans who fell asleep during Saturday’s show, speaking of the woman at my right who dozed off for the final 45 minutes.
1: Number of members of Mariah Carey’s inner circle who were at the show, speaking of her manager, Michael Kane, at my left. Kane is a pretty good dancer.
Transport yourself to the opulent and excessive Roman Empire at Caesars Palace. But the ever-changing Caesars Palace is far from ancient. The hotel and casino is constantly raising the bar for what visitors can expect in a Vegas resort experience.
Caesars Palace features 3,348 rooms and suites in five towers, including the new luxury boutique Nobu Hotel and Restaurant, which opened Feb. 4, 2013, in the totally remodeled Centurian Tower. Caesars features 129,000 square feet of gaming space, including the Strip’s largest poker room and a 250-seat sports book. Other amenities include about two dozen restaurants, a four-level shopping mall, four pools, a spa, Pure and Poetry nightclubs and Pussycat Dolls.
Dining options include restaurants from world-renown chefs Guy Savoy, Wolfgang Puck, Bobby Flay, Gordon Ramsay and, on Feb. 4, 2013, Nobu Matsuhisa.
You never know what characters you’ll run into at Caesars with regular performers like Jerry Seinfeld, Bette Midler, Elton John and maybe even the emperor himself.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
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