Las Vegas Weekly

December 23, 2009 · 12:36 PM

Strip Scribbles: Is Steve Wynn spending $100 million on new club?

By Robin Leach

Steve Wynn stands in the atrium of the Encore.

Photo: Barbara Kraft

The buzz is on that hotel tycoon Steve Wynn is shelling out $100 million on a new beach club at his year-old Encore. Construction cranes are in place on the Strip for ripping out Switch and the Strip side porte-cochere. Steve has the approval for a lavish pool complex with open-air dining and new nightclub Surrender to rival Haze at the just-opened Aria at CityCenter.

Steve’s entertainment offering will go head to head late next spring with Haze’s new outdoor pool complex Liquidity when both open for the new season. Our Las Vegas Weekly nightlife queen and friend Xania Woodman has more details about the new beach club.

Photo: Shadow PR

A rendering of CityCenter's Haze.

Incidentally, nightlife czar Victor Drai, who operates XS, Tryst and Botero for Steve Wynn, will be opening a new XS in Los Angeles this spring.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

Carmen Electra at Wet Republic.

*Want to take the plunge on New Year’s Eve? I’m not talking about marriage, which many people will do, but rather a dip in the pool. Even if the temperature dips down into the 30s, sexy Carmen Electra will encourage NYE revelers to dive in the pool at Mandalay Bay Beach while music sensation Sean Kingston and American Idol winner Kris Allen and finalist Alison Iraheta perform onstage there for the Fox NYE show.

Photo: Fox TV

Kris Allen, left, and Adam Lambert compete in the finals of Season 8 of American Idol. With them is Allison Iraheta, who finished fourth in the Fox singing competition behind Danny Gokey.

Our Las Vegas segments will air from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. for live East Coast coverage. How cold will the water be? Breathe a sigh of relief, folks, as Mandalay Bay execs will order it to be heated to a balmy 90 degrees for the TV cameras. It’s getting out that’s always the tough part!

*The dates have already been set for next year’s 41st Annual World Series of Poker. The tournaments, open to players ages 21 and older, begin May 27. The annual poker extravaganza, which began in 1970, is televised exclusively on ESPN from The Rio through July 17. More than 55 gold bracelets will be up for grabs in 2010, equal to last year. On May 28, the first open bracelet event will be the $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship, the most expensive buy-in event to ever open WSOP.

The opening weekend (May 29-30) features a $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold ’Em tournament, which last year established a non-Main Event record of 6,012 entrants. WSOP will conclude with the customary $10,000 No-Limit Hold ’Em Championship, aka the Main Event, which begins July 5. The tournament’s culmination will be held with the November Nine from Nov. 6-9 before a live audience and with primetime coverage on ESPN.

*Shane Warne, the former Australian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest to play the game, arrived in Las Vegas to take part in Doyle Brunson’s Classic Poker tournament at the Bellagio. While here, he met up with Celine Dion’s husband manager Rene Angelil, who flew in from Florida for the tournament. Our contributing photographer Tom Donoghue was there to capture the action.

Photo: Darrin Bush/Las Vegas News Bureau

Penn & Teller's 13 Bloody Days of Christmas.

*The Rio headliner magicians Penn & Teller donated blood as part of the 13 Bloody Days of Christmas with United Blood Services yesterday. They began the promotion to attract donors during the holidays when usage is up but donations drop. During the eight years since, nearly 24,000 units of blood have been donated, helping 65,000 patients in Southern Nevada.

Photo: Maui Celebrity Series

Brian Evans and William Shatner.

*Las Vegas crooner Brian Evans has been shuttling monthly to Maui for his new celebrity series. First up was Star Trek legend William Shatner, and the two appeared at the Hard Rock Cafe on Maui. Every month, Brian performs a new show with a different star. Next up: Roseanne Barr and Brian on Jan. 15.

“Having Mr. Shatner appear was a great thrill for Maui. When people asked me what he was going to do, I explained that it wasn’t what he was going to do that mattered, it was what he had already done,” Brian said. William also did a book signing of his bestseller Up Till Now with Brian as the entertainment.

*Thanks to my pal Stan Allen, publisher of our hometown-based Magic magazine, for telling me to check out this new 30-second Ford Mustang commercial that features magician Steve Wyrick performing an amazing escape on the Strip. The stunt was filmed shortly before Thanksgiving and will be released early in the New Year. There’s also a three-minute version that will be used in Ford’s online campaign and is on the automakers Web site now. Meantime, Steve’s theater in The Miracle Mile at Planet Hollywood remains shuttered as he and his partners resolve differences about their future there.

Photo: Denise Truscello/Vegas Magazine

Usher at the Palms for the Vegas magazine party in his honor.

Star surveillance

Superstar Usher is hosting the grand opening industry party at Haze, The Light Group’s new nightclub at Aria, on Jan. 7. It’s the first night after the holiday season that our hard-working servers, waitresses and bartenders will be out on the town to see the nightspot opening on NYE. … Before the heated matchup of BYU conquering Oregon State in the 2009 Maaco Bowl here last night, two of the smoothest voices on the Strip, Josh Strickland of Peepshow and The Mirage headliner Terry Fator, brought the crowd to its feet singing “God Bless America” and “The Star-Spangled Banner. ”… Flamingo headliner magician Nathan Burton attended last night’s opening of Untamed Illusions starring The Fercos Brothers at Planet Hollywood. … St. Louis Rams’ Donnie Avery, former NFL player Jamie Sharper and several friends enjoyed tequila shots and Moet Nectar Imperial champagne at Tao in The Venetian.

Photo: Kirvin Doak Communications

Terry Fator and Josh Strickland kick off the 2009 Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas on Dec. 22, 2009.

Tonight’s tips

The “Moon River” crooner arrives in time for his annual Christmas show at the Las Vegas Hilton for two nights. It simply wouldn’t be Christmas if Andy Williams wasn’t home here for the holidays. … The 7th Annual Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Rocks! Extravaganza is at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel, with an 18-piece band playing a fusion of rockabilly and swing.

Photo: Courtesy

Andy Williams.

Tomorrow’s teases

We’ll wrap our four-part salute to Cirque du Soleil’s new Viva Elvis show with an extraordinary interview with Robert F.X. Sillerman, the head of Elvis Presley Enterprises. He’s the mastermind behind the tribute to Elvis by Cirque, and he has even more ambitious plans for Elvis and Las Vegas that he reveals here for the first time. We’ll also have the full rundown of Christmas highlights through the weekend and then return on Monday prepared for the onslaught of New Year’s Eve stars, parties and openings!

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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