Art Reinvigorates the Economy...Again

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-celine-dion-vegas-20110403,0,3203363,full.story

I read with surprise the above story about how the city of Las Vegas expects a huge boost in the economy due to Celine Dion's return engagement scheduled to last for another three years. I'm not surprised that the singer's appearance will generate ticket sales. After all her previous run from 2003 - 2007 grossed more than $400 million and sold out a total of 723 times. My suprise is that Las Vegas, the city known as the hedonist's paradise, had experienced a sharp economic downturn since 2007. Of course it is only natural that they would be effected by the current recession just as the rest of the nation has been. It just seems hard to imagine that the gambler's paradise which is still reporting an annual income of approximately $88 billion is having as tough a time generating jobs and income as the rest of the country. The Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas predicts that Celine Dion's return will generate a potential $135 million this year alone and will indirectly create about 2200 jobs.

This is just more proof that the arts are important not just for its entertainment value, but also for its ability to reinvigorate the economy through the creation of jobs as well as ticket sales.