Las Vegas Hilton shuts Manilow Water spigot

The Las Vegas Hilton has made official what we told you last week: Barry Manilow's five-year run at the resort will end on December 30th. Barry performed more than 300 shows, played to 450,000 people and raked in $70 million. Sez Ken Ciancimino, a Hilton executive veep: "Barry Manilow is an exceptional entertainer and we have been extremely fortunate to have had him as our resident headliner at the Las Vegas Hilton for the last five years. Although this current engagement is ending, our friendship with him endures and we will continue to explore possibilities for future endeavors together."


Health concerns notwithstanding, word is that skinny 66-year-old Barry and his water are headed to the Paris on the Strip, possibly opening on Valentine's Day.

(The remaining performances of "Ultimate Manilow: The Hits" at the Las Vegas Hilton are October 8-10, November 27-29 and December 28-30. Show times are 8 p.m. in the legendary Hilton Theater. Tickets at the Las Vegas Hilton box office, online at www.lvhilton.com, www.vegas.com, www.ticketmaster.com or at 702-732-5755 or 1-800-222-5361.)

Barry Manilow, what happened?

Word today that Barry Manilow will soon announce he's quitting his longtime engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton comes two days after Barry sent a memo to his fan club insisting he's not sick (just a "skinny guy" who's "filled with energy" and still has his hair) and a day after he launched a subscription website to show archival footage of his past concerts.


Barry's likeness has been plastered along the side of the hotel-casino where Elvis and Wayne Newton once ruled, and his Manilow giftshop off the Hilton lobby has been a Las Vegas favorite, featuring not only t-shirts, jewelry and memorabilia, but bottles of the legendary Manilow water.


Hilton execs announced Barry's longterm deal in December 2004.

The Manilow.tv site will run a new concert each month.