Wayne Newton: Strip reopening ‘very powerful’

Mr. Las Vegas is more than a title. It’s a responsibility.

Wayne Newton reassumed his civic ambassadorship Thursday, donning a tux and a matching face mask to lead the COVID-19 reopening of Caesars Palace. Newton said that he was eager to slip back into the tux “to make sure it still fit” after a nearly three-month break from the stage.

The suit fits. So does the role of Las Vegas spokesman.

“I was standing there across from the Flamingo, where I was headlining in 1966, when Caesars opened,” Newton said Friday afternoon, referring to the hotel’s launch on Aug. 5, 1966. “Caesars hadn’t closed its doors from that night until this pandemic happened. That is pretty amazing, and to think I am there during this historic moment is very powerful.”

Newton appeared with Caesars Entertainment CEO Tony Rodio and masked Caesars and Cleopatra characters for the symbolic reopening of the company’s crowning property. A headliner at Cleopatra’s Barge since January 2019, Newton’s participation in such landmark events is a given.

Over the course of his career, the 78-year-old icon has answered the city’s call during every crisis. In the aftermath of 9/11, Newton helped organize and co-headlined the USO benefit show at Mandalay Bay Events Center in November 2001. Sixteen years later, he was singing “Viva Las Vegas” with The Killers and Imagine Dragons at the “Vegas Strong” all-star benefit concert at T-Mobile Arena.

A Las Vegas resident since 1959, Newton has lived through the city’s evolution as an international tourist destination. The town has changed, but its citizens have not.

“What I have witnessed, over the years, is people who live here are very consistent. They are trustworthy, and you can depend on each other to get through a crisis,” Newton said. “When I think of how much we have gone through and where we are, to have experienced all of that, I get goosebumps.”

Barge on hold

Speaking of his Strip residency, Newton said, “I have no idea” when “Up Close and Personal” will return to the stage. His show falls into the still-uncertain Phase Three COVID-19 reopening timeline set by Gov. Steve Sisolak. A prediction from here is the middle of July, at the earliest, for showroom productions to be back on the Strip.

In that time frame, it’s unlikely Newton (a busy bicyclist in the pandemic shutdown) would reopen at Cleopatra’s Barge. the room’s cozy, shoulder-to-shoulder layout is an unfortunate design for social-distancing requirements.

“We have been to other showrooms that would allow sufficient distancing,” Newton said. “The fact that we have been looking around, and have looked at a couple of rooms on the property itself, tells me we are looking at options other than Cleopatra’s Barge.”

Caesars Entertainment has reopened Harrah’s and Flamingo. Newton has headlined both showrooms over the years. Caesars Palace also offers acres of unused convention space, and the company has a recent history of repurposing unoccupied space for live entertainment (the Magic Attic and Back Room at Bally’s, House of Tape at Harrah’s and the Barge itself as primary examples).

An especially tantalizing option is the shuttered Omnia Nightclub. Newton has walked that room, as have reps from “Chippendales” at the Rio — on the same day. The nightclub is beautifully appointed, versatile, conveniently located and available.

“I like the fact that we are looking other directions,” Newton says. “We aren’t getting stuck on one idea and staying there. We’re working on being prepared.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats! podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.