Garth Brooks coming to Encore Theater for extended stay

By Amanda Finnegan

Published Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009 | 1:06 p.m.

Updated Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009 | 10:07 a.m.

UPDATED STORY: Garth Brooks’ deal at Encore: One-man show, five years, all tickets $125

Garth Brooks confirmed this morning what many had been speculating for months.

The country music star announced during a Nashville news conference that he would be coming out of retirement with an extended stay at the Encore Theater.

Steve Wynn announced Wednesday that he would be holding a press conference today on new entertainment plans at the Encore Theater. Then Brooks teased on his own Web site “something exciting is coming Thursday, Oct. 15."

Brooks retired in 2000 to spend more time with his children but has occasionally popped up at awards shows and charity events. The singer did a limited engagement at Encore in June.

Wynn’s entertainment venue, the Encore Theater, has remained largely empty with the exception of a few temporary acts since resident performer Danny Gans died in May.

Aside from Brooks, Beyonce, Whoopi Goldberg and Larry King have also taken the stage at the Encore Theater but a permanent fixture has been a “work in progress,” Wynn said during his company's July second quarter earnings call.

Wynn also said in July that while Gans' “tickets made money but not much,” the show brought visitors into Wynn and Encore restaurants and the casino floor. Wynn called the loss of Gans as a performer at Encore “not a cataclysmic event by any means” from a business perspective, “but a personal loss.”

Wynn will announce more details on Brooks’ shows during a news conference at 2 p.m. today.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.