Talking With Michael Shulman – April 29, 2024

The Talk About Las Vegas Podcast

This week, Ira spoke with writer, photographer, artist and philanthropist Michael Shulman. In this episode of “Talk About Las Vegas With Ira,” Michael talks about writing a compre-hensive history of Las Vegas entertainment residency for his website -https://www.shulmansays.com - (a version of this article was published in Business Traveler, August 2023); who the first residency headliner was (and this is going back to 1944); how it was originally an amenity to bring in the high roller; how the Rat Pack played a part; Elvis and his residency; why he (Michael) almost got kicked out of the Liberace Museum; the importance of the resident artist; how Celine Dion changed everything in the world of residencies; why Las Vegas is the residency capital of the world; how a residency is a win-win for both the casino and the entertainer; the audience comes to the entertainer rather than the other way around; what performer might have had “the most wonderful” connection with an audience; the most surprising thing he found in his research (and it has to do with Elvis); how strong country has become; the importance of production designers; the criteria for a residency; and the future of residencies.