Wayne Newton, the longtime entertainer called Mr. Las Vegas, is heading back to the Flamingo Hotel and Casino after opening there 58 years ago.
The 79-year-old Newton lately posted on his Twitter feed that he is returning to the stage at one of the area’s heritage resorts.
He tweeted,
“I am thrilled to announce that starting Saturday, October 23rd, I will be back performing at Flamingo Las Vegas. I can’t wait, and I hope to see you there!”
The veteran performer is scheduled to show up in the Wayne Newton Theater at Bugsy’s Cabaret inside the Flamingo. His “Up Close and Personal” show is scheduled for October 23, 25, 27, and 30. Tickets, which sell at $82, are available at ticketmaster.com.
According to Las Vegas Review-Journal journalist John Katsilometes, Newton developed a following in Las Vegas by showing up at the Fremont Casino in downtown Las Vegas from 1959 to 1963.
Newton told Katsilometes that Las Vegas had changed drastically over the years yet remained the world’s entertainment center.
He said,
“We go through this every ten years or so, where we have a new evolution of Las Vegas. When you look at all the national TV shows that are coming to Las Vegas, the headliners we have shows like AGT Live coming in, and the sports that we have with the Raiders and Golden Knights, it’s really incredible.”
Newton co-owns Aladdin Resort
Newton’s experience as a casino co-owner recently was part of an eight-chapter show about organized crime’s influence decades ago in Las Vegas. Titled Mobbed UP: The Fight For Las Vegas, the podcast reveals a collaboration between The Mob Museum and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Longtime reporter Jeff German hosts it.
As the show reveals, Newton was involved in a disagreement with NBC talk podcast host Johnny Carson over an attempt to buy the Aladdin Casino in 1980. The Aladdin was based on the east side of the Strip, where the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino currently stands.
Newton and former Riviera Casino official Ed Torres bought the formerly Mob-linked Aladdin for $85 million. Torres later purchased Newton out.
In 1980, NBA supposed Newton had ties to the Gambino crime family, one of the New York Mafia’s Five Families. However, Newton turned down the allegations. Nevada gaming overseers did not reveal evidence of connections, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
According to the news reports, Newton won a $19 million scandal judgment against NBC. On appeal, a court ruled the NBC report was defective, but done without malice, a vital standard in such media case. Newton acquired no cash settlement.
Newton said,
“It was not about money. It was about clearing my name. And I did.”
Mobbed-up casino
The Flamingo, where Newton is showing up this month, has a famous history dating to the years after World War II.
Mobster Benjamin Bugsy Siegel opened the resort in June 1946, south of downtown Las Vegas on the desert expressway to Southern California. That then-barren part of the expressway, currently known as at the Strip these days, is filled with hotel-casinos.
The Flamingo is yet at the same location on the east side of the Strip, although none of the original property remains.
Bugsy’s Cabaret at the Flamingo, where Newton will be performing, is branded for the gangster.
The Flamingo facility that opened august 13 at the Mob Museum features a touchscreen with stories and images from the hotel-casino’s 75 years on the Strip.
Among other Flamingo-connected items on display at the museum are a pair of sunglasses owned by Siegel and a pottery flamingo that guests were given at the 1946 grand opening.
Last Updated on by Ryan
