Las Vegas Weekly

October 23, 2009 · 8:01 AM

At the Wynn: Brooks tickets go on sale; Regis and Kelly head to town

By Robin Leach

Garth Brooks and Steve Wynn.

Photo: Scott Harrison/Retna/www.harrisonphotos.com

By now everybody knows that country king Garth Brooks has ended his nine years of self-imposed retirement and will perform a series of concerts in the intimate 1,500-seat Encore Theater at Steve Wynn’s Wynn Las Vegas here starting Dec. 11. Tickets go on sale tomorrow at 8 a.m., and it’s expected that they will be sold out by the end of the weekend.

“Steve Wynn has done what I thought was impossible. He has given me a chance to sing again for the people, while at the same time never missing a day with my children,” Garth said. “I am naturally nervous, but it feels good to be out from under the low ceiling of ‘retirement’ I put on myself.”

The legendary hotel mogul described the first time he saw Garth perform in his intimate Encore Theater to test out the sound system before committing to the new five-year contract.

“For a single performer to lift an entire audience emotionally to the point where they pray it doesn’t end is an extraordinary and unique thing that only a few gifted people can do. But that is what I experienced when I saw Garth onstage, alone with his guitar, going through the history of his personal journey in music,” Steve said.

Tickets are $125, plus a $5 service charge and a $13 tax, to total $143 for the first three months that Garth has blocked off: Dec. 11-13 (during National Finals Rodeo), Jan. 1-3 and 22-24 and Feb. 12-14 and 26-28. Garth will perform each Friday and Sunday at 8 p.m. and will do two shows on Saturdays at 8 and 10:30 p.m.

The schedule allows Garth to meet his three daughters after school ends each Friday and then hop on his brand new Challenger 16 to be in Las Vegas two hours later from Oklahoma, and then return late night Sunday so he can get them ready for school on Monday morning. That was the only way Garth agreed to resume his concert career so that during the week, he would still remain with his family. His wife, country singer Trisha Yearwood, told me that she will often make the flight here for the weekend visits. And when the children don’t have sports or other activities, they plan to hit Vegas, too!

Live With Regis and Kelly

Just before Garth begins his run of shows, talk show hosts Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa are bringing their cameras to broadcast their shows in the singer’s new home, the Encore Theater. Live With Regis and Kelly moves cross-country from New York headquarters starting Nov. 23. This visit marks Regis and Kelly’s first return to Las Vegas in nine years.

“Las Vegas is the ideal place to produce a talk/variety show,” said Michael Gelman, Live With Regis and Kelly executive producer. “Vegas has color and excitement, it’s filled with interesting people, and it has an unbelievable roster of talent. We’re so happy to be working with Encore at Wynn Las Vegas -- there’s no better setting for the show than the top new resort in town.”

“We are very excited and honored to host Live With Regis and Kelly at Encore,” said Andrew Pascal, president of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore. “The show is entertaining, fun and spirited, and we look forward to being a part of it and introducing our property to its many viewers.”

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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