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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 'Mr. Las Vegas' still wows a crowd By Linda Bryant Smith Despite being old enough for Social Security and Medicare, Wayne Newton still lives up to his reputation as one of the hardest working entertainers in -- and now out -- of Vegas. I know this because I gave my husband an impulsive birthday surprise. I just didn't plan on Wayne. The day before my husband's 72nd birthday, I read an article suggesting if we got up each morning believing we only had 30 days to live, we would probably focus on creating happiness and good memories for those we love rather than exist in the dullness of daily routine. Good idea. "Pack your overnight bag," I said. "We've got a birthday to celebrate." The next morning we were on the road heading south for a resort near Pendleton, Ore., with a swimming pool, hot tub, sauna, good restaurants and a few slot machines in case we had a spare $20. "Good thing you called ahead," the clerk at Wildhorse Resort and Casino said, "Wayne Newton's appearing here tonight and we're full up." And indeed, there was a poster of "Mr. Las Vegas" in the elevator. The concert tickets, all 637 of them, had been sold out for weeks. Employees were busy moving tables out of the bingo hall and rearranging chairs for the event. Wow. Wayne Newton playing a bingo ball. Who'd a thunk it. In my long-ago youth, I once stood outside the Flamingo in Vegas and was told, "No tickets, lady. Wayne's shows are always sold out days in advance. You gotta call ahead." No biggie, I thought. Never did like "Danke Schoen." Back then, he did two shows a night to standing-room-only crowds and became "Mr. Las Vegas." He still holds the record for performing more live shows in Vegas than any other headliner. And while what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, he's not happening much there anymore. His Web site schedule shows no appearances upcoming in the town that made him famous. Two days after Pendleton, he was booked in Winter Haven, Fla., for a one-night stand and then on to a casino in Arizona for a night. Late in the afternoon I wandered down to the casino where Wayne-chat was easy to come by. "Debbie Reynolds and Wayne Newton … who knows about them but old people," the lady on my left said, readjusting her bifocals. "I'm not paying no 30 bucks to see a has-been." The gentleman on her right nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't waste my money." Still, there were others around who smugly announced they had the lucky tickets and had been waiting weeks for this night. The idea of a Wayne Newton concert held no appeal, even when a smarmy guy offered to sell me tickets for 20 bucks. "My mother just died …" he said. "Liar, liar, pants on fire," I muttered. He caught my drift. We made reservations in the resort's Plateau Room to enjoy a different kind of headliner, the Whiskey River steak. Dinner was perfect. We laughed, chatted with our waiter, enjoyed the view and reminisced. It was an evening for memories new and old. We agreed we'd fallen into a complacent rut of routine and forgotten the joy in unexpected adventures. The next morning at breakfast folks at several tables near us were still talking about the show we missed. "He sang, told stories and didn't take a break for the whole two hours," an elderly woman and her 50-something daughter told us. "He has a full backup band and singers. They really put on a show for us." What impressed them most was his patriotism. He talked about his trips with the USO entertaining American troops around the world from the Vietnam War to Desert Storm and, more recently, to Afghanistan. At one point Newton stopped the music to ask all the veterans of military service in the audience to stand and be recognized. "Why, nearly half the audience stood up," the older woman said. "And when he sang 'America the Beautiful' tears were running down my cheeks," she added. "And I wasn't the only one crying. Lots of people were." So here was the aftermath of Mr. Las Vegas playing to a silver-haired crowd in a converted bingo hall and giving them two big-time hours of entertainment. "Memorable" and "unforgettable" were the words I heard repeated time and time again as several couples chimed in with their own concert anecdotes. While we had dined upstairs, he was entertaining 600 people downstairs with the energy and enthusiasm he once gave to crowds of 6,000. He was doing exactly what I'd set out to do that morning: sharing a little happiness and creating special memories for folks he cares about. Linda Bryant Smith writes about life as a senior citizen and the issues that concern, annoy and often irritate the heck out of her now that she lives in a world where nothing is ever truly fixed but her income. You can e-mail her at ljbryantsmith@ yahoo.com.

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