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Titanic NHL Draft at Vegas Sphere Boasts Celine Dion

Posted on: June 29, 2024, 11:27h.

Last updated on: June 29, 2024, 12:03h.

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Corey Levitan Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas...
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Celine Dion helped make the 2024 NHL Draft, the first sports-related event held inside the Las Vegas Sphere, a memorable one on Friday.

Celine Dion, born 15 miles northeast of Montreal, grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan and remains one, despite making Las Vegas her primary residence since 2003. (Image: NHL)

The Las Vegas icon, whose singing career has been sidelined by a rare and incurable neurological disease, announced the fifth overall choice of the night on behalf of the Montreal Canadiens, her home team.

“My Heart Will Go On” singer was accompanied to the stage by her 23-year-old son. René-Charles Dion Angélil, who is also a singer and goes by RC Angélil.

The NHL made the most of the Sphere’s unrivaled audio-visual capabilities during the draft, which flashed visuals of draft picks and team logos throughout the proceedings.(Image: Sphere)

After being handed a mic, she opened an envelope, then paused for effect, before reading the name Ivan Demidov. The 18-year-old Russian forward hugged friends and family before walking onstage to shake Dion’s hand.

NHL announcers called it “the most dramatic draft announcement of all time.”

The draft was also the first event broadcast live from inside the Sphere and the first broadcast live on the largest LED screen in the world, the Shere’s exterior Exosphere.

This was Dion’s first known visit to the venue.

The draft was held just a few days after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and the release of a heartbreaking new Amazon Prime documentary, “I Am: Celine Dion,” which documents the singer’s struggle with stiff-person syndrome.

Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas.

Corey spent six years covering the Vegas Strip for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he also wrote the most popular humor column in the city’s history. (For “Fear and Loafing,” he tried out 176 Vegas jobs, including poker player, blackjack dealer and Follie Bergere dancer.)

Corey has won more than 100 local, state and national awards for his journalism, which has also appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and the New York Post.

Corey is a New York native whose hobbies include playing guitar, trying to be a better husband, and arguing with strangers on Facebook.

Contact Corey at corey@casino.org.