CAESARS REWARDING CONCERT: CEE LO & LIL WAYNE

By Jennifer Buonantony

Photo Credit Rudy Sanchez/ Video Crystal Mello

What do you get when you combine four nationwide concerts, one night, countless celebrities, and Las Vegas' Caesars Entertainment... One Epic Night!!! Last night, Caesars Total Rewards program invited you to 'Plot Your Escape' to one of their amazing Las Vegas destinations in an all-star promotion that included simultaneous concerts in LA, NYC, Chicago, and New Orleans. We were in Hollywood to see Cee Lo Green and Lil Wayne take center stage.

'Escape to Total Rewards' was a simultaneous, cross-country concert event, that was streamed live over the web while performances took place in four cities: Los Angeles (Cee Lo Green and Lil Wayne), New York (P. Diddy and Mariah Carey), Chicago (Maroon 5 and Sara Bareilles) and New Orleans (Mary J. Blige and Gavin DeGraw). Each city also featured a special guest host: Cat Deeley (LA), Mel B (NYC), Giuliana & Bill Rancic (Chicago), and Maria Menounos (New Orleans). The 'surprise' concerts were teased for three days prior with countdown clocks at notable landmarks across the country. This was the biggest promotional campaign by Caesars to date, and it encourages travelers to escape their mundane lives by planning their own rewarding experiences. The venue featured interactive stations where fans could enter to win prizes through the rewards program.  

The Hollywood show kicked off with a red carpet at the Hollywood & Highland Center that included celebrities: Kourtney Kardashian, Ashlee Simpson, Jimmy Kimmel , Lance Bass, Pia Toscano (American Idol), Jeannie Mai (Style Network's host How do I Look), Cat Deeley (the evening's MC and host of So You Think You Can Dance), Penn from Penn and Teller (Las Vegas), and the evening's performer Cee Lo Green accompanied by the Julbilee Dancers (Las Vegas). 

The concert opened up with a funny video starring Jimmy Kimmel doing time in prison and explaining to his inmates how they could have gotten free stuff (vacations, gifts, etc.) had they been Total Rewards Members and avoided cell time. DJ Zen Freeman then kept the crowd entranced before Lil Wayne and Cee Lo took the stage. In between live performances, a jumbo screen played the telecasts of performances in the other three cities and DJ Zen had the crowd dancing as he does regularly at RAIN Nightclub at the Palms Casino Resort & GBCD Vegas where he holds residency. Even the LAPD, there for security at the event, couldn't help but move to the beat!

While on stage, Cee Lo announced his upcoming residency at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. He promised over the top entertainment while telling the audience he would call his show Loberace. Cee Lo is best known for being a coach on the hit show The Voice and for his Grammy-winning 2010 single "Forget You" and his 2006 hit "Crazy" (as Gnarles Barkley- Cee Lo & Danger Mouse), both of which he performed.  His Vegas show is sure to include his flamboyant sense of style and attitude and will be a musical journey through time with tributes to Prince & The Rolling Stones. The show will also feature pyrotechnics and showgirls- it is Vegas!

Lil Wayne heated up the stage with his hits that included "How to Love", "Steady Mobbin", and "I'm Goin' In" and even stripped down on stage to his animal print pants and Trukfit gear, showing off his signature tattoos and wielding a skateboard above his head! He had so much fun that his performance ran long and he even missed his scheduled appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live (which tapes across the street). Kimmel filled his spot with an audience member dressed as the rapper. Check out that funny clip here.

Find out more about the Total Rewards program.

Be sure to check out our full Photo Gallery of this event!!!