Famous name back up in lights on the Vegas Strip

Robert Macy

Friday, Jan. 21, 2000 | 9:40 a.m.

After 41 years, Wayne Newton should be accustomed to seeing his name in lights on the Las Vegas Strip. But a guy can't be too careful in a city known for blowing up the old to build the new.

Newton was on hand Thursday night to help light a $2.5 million sign marking his long-term residency at the Stardust Hotel-Casino.

Asked to throw the switch, a worried look creased his face, and Newton asked:

"Are you sure this won't implode the place?"

Newton, who began performing in Las Vegas as a teen-ager at a lounge in the Fremont Hotel in 1959, opens at the Stardust Monday night. His contract has options stretching over the next decade.

Newton, who has a ranch on the outskirts of Las Vegas, said it was good to be back peforming on the Strip on a more permanent basis. He has performed at a majority of resorts in Las Vegas, most recently at the MGM Grand. He's also a regular in Branson, Mo.

The 57-year-old entertainer said he likes the permanency of his new gig.

"It hit home when I put my luggage down and felt for the first time I could unpack," he joked as fans crowded around him for autographs.

The Stardust sign was renovated for Newton and includes the designation "The Wayne Newton Theater." The resort's showroom has been renamed in his honor.

The 188-foot-tall sign has been a fixture on the Las Vegas Strip since 1958 and was at one time the world's tallest electric sign. Its distinctive marquee contains over 33,600 lights.

Imploding Las Vegas hotels may have been a joke Thursday night, but there is a certain relevance to Newton. Five major hotel-casinos have been imploded here since 1993 to make way for new megaresorts. Among them was the venerable old Aladdin hotel, which Newton once owned with casino figure Ed Torres. Ironically, Torres happened to be his boss when Newton started performing at the Fremont 41 years ago.