Las Vegas Strip casino signs giant singer to more residency shows | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Las Vegas casinos have a history of scheduling special residency performances during the holiday season.

1970s pop star Barry Manilow brought his “Manilow: A Very Barry Christmas” show to the off-Strip International Theater at Westgate Las Vegas for the first time for five shows in November and December 2023.

Manilow’s 2023 shows were so successful that the “Copacabana” singer brought “Manilow: A Very Barry Christmas” back to the International Theater for six shows from Dec. 5-14, 2024.

For these Christmas shows, Manilow performed a mix of his classic hits like “Mandy” and “Looks Like We Made It” with holiday classics like “White Christmas,” “Home for the Holidays,” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”

A Very Barry Christmas skips 2025

Manilow has not scheduled A Very Barry Christmas for the 2025 holiday season, but a huge pop band will take the stage at Sphere Las Vegas for seven shows beginning the day after Christmas.

Popular boy band Backstreet Boys originally was going to wrap up its residency at Sphere Las Vegas on Aug. 24, 2025, but the band couldn’t resist returning to the magical globe sooner than expected with seven holiday season shows set for Dec. 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 2025, Jan. 2 and 3, 2026.

Significant Las Vegas holiday residencies:

Manilow: A Very Barry Christmas, Westgate Las Vegas, November/December 2023.
Manilow: A Very Barry Christmas, Westgate Las Vegas, December 2024.
Backstreet Boys, Sphere Las Vegas, December 2025/January 2026.
Bruno Mars, Park MGM, Dec. 30-31, 2025.

The “I Want It That Way” singers, however, will have huge competition on New Year’s Eve from another huge singer.

Bruno Mars performs annual New Year’s Eve residency show

Superstar pop singer Bruno Mars continues a holiday tradition as he has signed on to perform two holiday season residency shows at the Park MGM Dolby Live Theater on the Las Vegas Strip on Dec. 30-31, 2025.

An Artist Presale has already expired, with tickets set to go on sale to the general public Aug. 29 at 10 a.m. Pacific time.

Bruno Mars perfoms his annual New Year’s Eve residency show at Park MGM Dolby Live.

Getty

Bruno Mars tickets selling fast

Most of the best tickets were grabbed during the presale, and only limited tickets remain, mostly the least expensive upper balcony seats, which are as low as $552, according to Ticketmaster.

Tickets are priced as high as about $2,500 for the New Year’s Eve show.

Mars added the two new shows to his five remaining residency shows scheduled for Aug. 30, 31, Sept. 3, 5, and 6, with some scattered seats still available in the theater for those shows.

Fans of Bruno Mars already know the drill at his performances, as ticket buyers are informed about “What You Need To Know” before purchasing tickets.

What devices are banned at Bruno Mars residency shows?:

Cellphones.
Smart watches.
Smart accessories.
Cameras.
Recording devices.

The “24K Magic” singer reminds fans that his show is “a phone-free experience.” Use of cellphones, smart watches, smart accessories, cameras, or recording devices is prohibited in the performance venue.

All prohibited devices are secured in Yondr pouches, and ticket holders can only use phones in designated phone use areas. Devices are resecured in the pouches before guests return to their seats.

What happens if fans use cellphones in the theater?

Anyone caught using a cellphone during the show will be escorted out of the venue.

More Las Vegas:

Mars might even sing his anti-cellphone anthem, “I Took Your Phones Away,” to get the point across.

Mars on Aug. 22 performed his 100th show at Dolby Live, where he has performed since Dec. 30, 2016.

The popular singer has performed on New Year’s Eve at Park MGM each year since the Dec. 31, 2016, show, except for 2020, when Covid-19 kept a lot of venues dark, Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Before his Park MGM residency, Mars headlined a residency at MGM’s Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan in 2013-15.