Celine Dion performs final show of her residency after nearly two decades on the Strip

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Celine Dion delivered her final residency performance at the Caesars' Colosseum Saturday after nearly two decades of shows drawing more than 4 million fans from around the world.

The voice of several generations, some experts said, did more for Las Vegas than they could have believed when Celine Dion decided to settle down.

"It all started with Celine," said Gary Selesner, president of Caesars Palace.

Selesner said The Colosseum theater wouldn't exist without Dion and her late husband Rene Angelil, but the impact of her residency went deeper than just that.

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John Katsilometes said before Celine, residencies were for stars whose light had begun to fade.

"A lot of performers would come here just to perform nostalgia shows," Katsilometes said, "they weren't really that relevant commercially or artistically, but Celine was and still is."

He said Dion called Las Vegas home at the peak of her celebrity which was, in 2003, unheard of and untested.

Dion thrived, Katsilometes said, pulling in roughly $700,000,000 during her 16-year stint in ticket sales alone.

Both Katsilometes and Selesner agreed that Dion's success paved the way for other meteoric stars like Elton John, Cher, Rod Stewart, Shania Twain, and Britney Spears, to have their own residencies in Las Vegas.

"I think it just changed everything as far as entertainment is concerned," Selesner said, "not only in Las Vegas, but the whole country."

Dion will be starting a world tour after her final show starting in London in early July.