Barry Manilow to leave Las Vegas Hilton, mum on what’s next

By Jerry Fink

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009 | 2:57 p.m.

A couple of months shy of his fifth anniversary at the Las Vegas Hilton, Barry Manilow will end his engagement in the showroom that Elvis made famous.

His management declined to discuss Manilow’s plans after the final performance on Dec. 30.

There have been rumors that he may move to a venue on the Strip or make a movie.

Manilow never gave half-a-performance during his more than 300 shows, always appearing to have as much fun as his audience as he sang such classics as “Mandy” and “Daybreak” and “Copacabana (At the Copa)” for perhaps the 10,000th time in his career.

Ken Ciancimino, executive vice president administration of the Hilton, put a positive spin on the loss of one of the most popular acts in Vegas – seen by an estimated 450,000 people. Ticket sales were in the range of $70 million, according to Ciancimino.

“We have an on-going relationship with Barry and we may do selected weekends with him, for a record release or whatever,” Ciancimino said. “He’s welcome here, there’s no doubt about it.”

There are future plans for the showroom, but Ciancimino declined specifics.

“We kind of like to think we do a bunch of different things here, that we have an exciting broad array of entertainment,” He said. “We always have had, and we will continue to do so. It will be an exciting entertainment calendar regardless.”

Cheap Trick’s “Sgt. Pepper Live” had a short run at the Hilton in September, possibly as a showcase to replace Manilow.

“We’re still having discussions,” Ciancimino said. “We think that show is fabulous and we are having on-going discussions.

“But trust me, the room will not be dark.”