Once the province of washed-out has-beens sporting bloated bellies and enough plastic surgery to rival Joan Rivers, the Vegas headliner show has undergone its own mid-life makeover to become one of the hottest tickets in town.

The Strip is obviously no stranger to bold-faced names, having played host to everyone from Old Blue Eyes and the Rat Pack to flamboyant pianist Liberace. Though some Vegas shows are one-off affairs, many iconic performers choose to take up residence in one of Sin City's grand performance halls, hitting the stage night-after-night for a few months up to a year or two.

The most notable example of late is the divalicious Celine Dion, whose Caesars Palace show A New Day sold more than 3 million tickets between 2003 and December 2007. Part concert, part performance spectacle, the show featured a troupe of dancers, Cirque du Soleil-like acrobats, and a $6 million LED screen backdrop. However, the title of most prolific headliner has to go to Mr. Las Vegas himself, Wayne "Danke Schoen" Newton, who has performed some 30,000 solo acts here during his 40-year career.

But unless you've got a time-traveling DeLorean parked in your garage, you're probably more interested in who's performing now, right? Take a gander at this star-studded list: Bette Midler, Cher, Barry Manilow and Elton John. Pretty impressive, huh? Rock bands and comedians like Ray Romano and Jay Leno are also frequent headliners.

When in doubt on what's on, just remember: The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is often considered the premiere venue for headliner shows, but you'll also find good stuff at the Las Vegas Hilton, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay and the stadiums of nearby University of Nevada Las Vegas.