By Jane Cohen and Bob Grossweiner

Celine Dion is offering a premium ticket auction via Ticketmaster to the final 21 sold out performances of her theatrical production A New Day... at The Colosseum at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Her wildly successful, five-year residency comes to and end on Dec. 15 after nearly 700 shows before 3 million fans since it premiered in 2003. She is being replaced by Bette Midler.

The auction began yesterday, Sept. 25, and fans have the opportunity to bid on two front row seats for the Oct. 4 -14 performances. The auction ends on Sept. 28, and bidding starts at $250. A second round of bidding will occur Nov. 5 -15 for shows from Nov. 30 - Dec.15. Additional online auctions will also be held via Ticketmaster for a variety of other seating locations for the Nov.30 - Dec.15 shows.

Recently, stars have looked to auctions as another way of generating additional revenue. Beyonce auctioned tickets to some of her shows, and StubHub! is being sued by Ticketmaster for its deal with the Lynyrd Skynyrd/Hank Williams, Jr. “Rowdy Frynds” tour as the authorized auction site.

Having watched as StubHub! and other brokerages have grown to dominate the secondary market, Ticketmaster has stepped up its efforts in that area by signing exclusive deals with various sports teams, venues and others. It also offers auctions for other artists, similar to initiatives by Live Nation and eBay.