By John Katsilometes
Las Vegas Wayniacs, fear not. The Wayner will return to the Strip.
I mentioned in the most recent installment of Fab LV that Wayne Newton has ended his run at Harrah’s and has no dates scheduled. True, that. But I can report – and I will report – that Newton will be back at the hotel in November, in time for his annual holiday show. He might work in a few non-holiday shows (no reindeer, no elves) prior to the holiday performances, which begin Thanksgiving and run, well, through the holidays. Or, Dec. 22. But a final schedule has not yet been announced.
The next few months are going to be busy for The Wayner, which is nothing new as he performs at nearly every American Indian resort in North America when not singing on the Strip. The POW (People of Wayne) tell me that amid dates in such outposts as the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y., and the Northern Lights Theatre at Potawatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee, he will be filming two movies and leading a USO tour of Kuwait and Afghanistan in the fall. Wayner has been chairman of the USO’s Celebrity Circle, taking over for Bob Hope, in 2001.
I’m also told there will be a couple of surprises for The Wayner, who turned 65 this year and has performed in Vegas in six different decades, or as he says, “Since I was a fat kid.”
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Trivia time: Whose Wikipedia entry includes the listing, “Thumb amputation and caning”? Answer later in the blogski.
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A “For Lease” sign hangs on the Downtown Coffee Company, the business that was housed in the former First United Methodist Church of Las Vegas, the oldest church in town, which was built on the corner of Third and Bridger streets in 1905. Lifelong friends and native Las Vegans Andy Katz and Jim Barbarite, who had dreams of building an all-locals clientele in a business that would last for years, managed the Coffee Company. For a few months the café/coffee house morphed in to a jazz club for Friday night jam sessions organized by renowned drummer Bobby Morris and his son, Daryl. It was one of the cool hangs in town, with such local entertainment luminaries as Dick Contino and Babe Pier stopping by. But if you are interested in that space, the sign says to call 363-2626 or 845-4174. There is more than 4,420 square feet to play with.
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I’ll use this note as a get-well card (well, not a card, but it’s just as good) to Las Vegas artist and Atomic Todd gallery owner Todd VonBastiaans, who underwent a tonsillectomy yesterday. VonBastiaans is unable to talk, so now is the time to take advantage.
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Check out the photo of Sandy Murphy in today’s R-J, on the front of the Nevada section. I think someone has had some work done, face-wise, since we last saw her.
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Strange sighting: Outside the Fallout Gallery during first Friday – Brooks & Dunn! Oh, wait. It was the Brooks & Dunn tribute act in the “Country Superstars Tribute” show at Fitzgeralds.
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With more than 3,000 outlets (all of which seem to be on Charleston Boulevard), 7-Eleven celebrates its 80th birthday today, fittingly on 7/11. And from what I understand the company is still selling cherry Slurpees from its original mix.
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Vegas moment: During a showing of the John Cusack film “1408” at Galaxy Theatres at Neonopolis on Saturday night, a dozen or so apparent “sneak-ins” from just-finished movies ducked into the theater. So there is some redeeming quality to Neonopolis after all – two-for-one films.
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Speaking of … it is time to start placing bets on what will last longer, Neonopolis or the Las Vegas Monorail. I’ve got the Monorail going off at minus-200.
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On our menus: Served after every entrée at Kristofer’s Steak House at the Riviera are Smoky Bon Bons, which I believe was also a little-known Motown act.
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Trivia answer: Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. Check his Wikipedia entry for more data.
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Plate in my head: Reader passes along HUNGRY on a Ford Explorer parked at a Smith’s Food and Drug.
Fabulous Las Vegas appears daily (well, almost) at this Web site. John Katsilometes can be reached at 990-7720, 812-9812 or at [email protected]