VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Stardust considering dates for Newton

Friday, Aug. 6, 2004 | 10:22 a.m.

In 1999 there was a brouhaha when Wayne Newton signed that big contract with the Stardust.

News reports at the time said that "the contract can continue for up to 10 years," was worth "up to $25 million" and that Mr. Las Vegas would play the Stardust "40 weeks per year."

It is now becoming clear that those numbers were somewhat inflated. The hotel says that this year, Newton has played 89 dates and is scheduled for 40 more.

Do the math -- 129 dates, six dates a week, is closer to 21 weeks than 40.

And next year?

"Right now, Wayne is discussing play dates for 2005 with Boyd Gaming officials," Stardust spokesman Jim Seagrave told us. "This takes place every year about this time and it's a lengthy process."

Newton's spokeswoman, Tricia McCrone, said that she was unfamiliar with the mechanics of scheduling.

"He is very busy traveling and with USO commitments, so the performance calendar varies, but he is definitely returning to the Stardust," she said.

Newton, 62, is not scheduled to perform at the Stardust again until Sept. 20. Recent reviews of his show have noted his declining vocal abilities, but he remains an iconic entertainment figure who is adored by legions of fans.

Also, the hotel remains on the lookout for potential acts to play dates that would have otherwise been taken by Newton.

We called the hotel to check on one of them, the Beatles tribute band Fab Four, which we heard was being considered as a future Stardust headliner.

Within an hour of our inquiry, the hotel canceled a meeting that had been scheduled with the group's management.

The hotel initially denied any knowledge of a Fab Four meeting. Then, in an e-mail, Seagrave said that a hotel stagehand who knew the band asked if the property's corporate director of entertainment would meet with the Fab Four to listen to a proposal.

"The request was turned down with the explanation that the group doesn't fit the Stardust's entertainment plan," Seagrave said.

Newton's namesake theater is already the home to rotating headliners Don Rickles, Chicago, Tim Conway and Harvey Korman, and special guests Joan Rivers and Andrew Dice Clay.

"Havana Nights," the Cuban stage show, was booked into the theater from July 30 to Sept. 6, although the show has yet to open because of the performers' visa problems.

Distance eats

Used to be that a celebrity restaurateur had a flagship place elsewhere, then opened a Las Vegas outpost.

Today that trend is starting to work in reverse.

The Dallas gossip columns had a couple of sightings recently of Kerry Simon, who opened Prime (Bellagio) for Jean-Georges Vongrichten before opening his Simon Kitchen & Bar at the Hard Rock Hotel in 2002.

"The long-haired celebrity of the Food Channel's 'Iron Chef' reportedly got rock-star receptions (lots of squeals from customers and staff) when he was recognized" while touring several restaurants, the Dallas Morning News reported.

"Yes, we were there looking around," Simon told us. "Dallas is a great food town."

But he was mum about business details.

Coincidentally, Nobu Matsuhisa, who has a place across the hall from Simon at the Hard Rock -- along with Nobu restaurants in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere -- is also set to open a place in Dallas, it was reported.

Family man

A friend of Jackson family patriarch Joe Jackson got in touch with us this week, wanting to offer Jackson's response to our July 26 item on how sad it was that no one in Jackson's family had attended his birthday party.

Seems at the same time as the birthday, a wedding had been scheduled for Yashi, Jackson's granddaughter. Yashi's mother is Rebbie Jackson.

"When we (friends of Joe Jackson) originally planned the party we did not know of this wedding and Mr. Jackson being 78 years old didn't remember," Las Vegas businessman Shawn Arnold told us in an e-mail. "It was only a few days prior to the event we had realized the mis-scheduling.

"We then had a plan in which the Jackson family were going to fly on a private jet to Las Vegas after the wedding to attend Joe's birthday. But then Joe kindheartedly requested that his family members stay in L.A. because he felt that his granddaughter deserved all the attention this day."

Big player

The 500-pound, 7-foot-tall sumo wrestler Akebono has just been added to the card at Saturday's K-1 event at Bellagio.

K-1 spokeswoman Kim Koury describes the quarter-ton fighter as "nasty as hell."

"He has spindly legs and a huge midsection -- like Wilt Chamberlain would have looked if he had swallowed 50 basketballs," Koury said. "His big body and long arms and legs give him the appearance of a large spider. He tends to overuse the technique of overpowering his opponents by pushing them out of the ring, and is a master of the nasty pre-match stare-down with his opponent."

Doors open at 5 p.m., and some tickets to the competition remain available.

Sing off

The Strip Search karaoke contest we wrote about a few weeks ago gets under way tonight at Bally's.

The winner of the eight-week contest gets a solo gig in the hotel's Jubilee! Theatre in October.

Rod Stewart impersonator Martin Andrew and talented singer Kellie Karl host the festivities, which are free and open to anyone who thinks he or she can sing. It takes place in the lounge adjacent to the Race and Sports Book.

VegasBits

Horse: Caesars Palace headliner Elton John and collaborator David LaChappelle were at Casa Shenandoah on Thursday -- Newton's ranch on Sunset and Pecos roads -- producing a video for John's upcoming album ...

Star: Magic Johnson was roaming the floor at the World Shoe Convention at the Sands Convention Center on Thursday to promote his new sneaker line ...

Laugh: Danny Bonaduce of "Partridge Family" fame brings his stand-up comedy act to the Palms on Saturday night as part of the "Hollywood Comedy Tour" ...

Change: The Tropicana's entertainment store called "Star Struck" has been replaced by "The Rick Thomas Magic Shop." The new store offers instructional magic kits as well as Rick Thomas merchandise. Thomas is the hotel's headline illusionist. The store is located near the main entrance on the casino level ...

Trio: Three young stars from the WB series "Summerland" will be making appearances at the Fashion Show mall on Saturday afternoon. Ryan Kwanten, Kay Panabaker and Taylor Cole will sign autographs and talk about the teen drama. Also, Paula Abdul will be there as part of a Teen People magazine promotional event.

From Sun wires

Ronstadt cancels shows: Linda Ronstadt has canceled her September concerts, her agent announced Thursday.

Ronstadt canceled the shows to spend time with her two adopted children, not because of controversy swirling around favorable comments she made about filmmaker Michael Moore during a concert last month at the Aladdin, the agent said.