By admin 
INTRODUCTION
The gavel fell with a resonance that echoed far beyond the sterile confines of the Las Vegas City Hall on this Friday, February 13, 2026. With a decisive vote, municipal leaders officially sanctioned the installation of a special honorary star dedicated to Barry Manilow at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino. This is not merely a piece of civic infrastructure; it is the formal codification of a fifty-year residency that has fundamentally defined the aesthetic and economic trajectory of the Las Vegas Strip. For Manilow, whose name has been synonymous with the “International Theater” since its days as the Las Vegas Hilton, the gesture represents the transformation of a performer into a permanent landmark of the American Mojave.
THE DETAILED STORY
The placement of this star at the Westgate is a strategic choice rooted in historical weight. It was on this specific plot of land where Manilow shattered the residency records previously held by Elvis Presley, a feat that signaled a paradigm shift in how modern stardom is maintained. The City Council’s approval acknowledges that Manilow’s contribution is not merely a series of sold-out dates, but a meticulous cultivation of the city’s cultural identity. By honoring his five decades of dedication, the city is recognizing a career built on technical precision and an unassailable connection to the audience. This star serves as a physical anchor for a legacy that has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and defined the “sophisticated Vegas” era.
The nuance of this recognition lies in its rarity. Unlike the standard promotional honors often seen in the entertainment industry, this special distinction required a rigorous review of Manilow’s civic and cultural impact. The council discussed his influence not just as a musician, but as a pillar of the local economy who has sustained thousands of jobs through his continuous presence. As the “The Last Sunrise” tour prepares to take flight, the installation of this star creates a poetic symmetry, marking the ground where he spent the majority of his creative life. It raises the question of how a city built on the ephemeral—lights, gambling, and transient crowds—chooses to memorialize those who provided its most enduring soundtracks.
There is an inevitable gravity to seeing a name etched in stone while the artist is still actively shaping the medium. Manilow’s presence at the Westgate has always been a study in the meritocracy of the residency; he didn’t just occupy the space, he mastered it. As the installation process begins, the star will serve as a permanent reminder of an era where the song was king and the performer was an institution. In a city that constantly reinvents itself, Manilow has achieved the rarest of Las Vegas feats: he has become permanent. The granite star is a final, silent standing ovation for a man who refused to let the music fade, ensuring his narrative remains an intrinsic part of the city’s architecture forever.