Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

So Encore does have a theater? Of does this mean Spamalot is going bye-bye? He was pretty short with Steve Friess last week, when Steve ask how long Spamalot would be showing, Wynn just said, I don't know. I saw what looked to be a theater being built at Encore, the question is... Is there in deed a 3rd theater, or will the Encore Ballroom, also serve as the Danny Gains theater? So many questions now!

Keep in mind that Gans doesn't need a traditional theater with a big area for set pieces - his Mirage theater is a converted ballroom with stadium seating, acoustically treated.

The 'Encore Theater' is likely something along those lines.

Steve Friess' blog has a transcript of his conversation with Wynn on Danny Gans. Wynn was emphatic that he couldn't support a performer who was only on four nights a week. So much for Wynn's honesty. He should have said nothing rather than lie to Friess.
Am I the only person alive who doesn't get Danny Gans' appeal? The show I saw at The Mirage in '04 or '05 was short and boring.

Gans will take over the Spamalot theater which is technically in Wynn Las Vegas but at the connecting point to Encore.
http://www.lvrj.com/blogs/vegasvoice/

Posted by mike_ch

Will his impressions still be as outdated as they were eight years ago when I saw him?

Mike, I sure agree with you. I'm afraid Steve Wynn is making a mistake. Gans appeals to middle-aged and older mainststream customers; this just doesn't seem to fit the Wynn/Encore demographic.

We touched on all of the above on the latest Vegas Gang, which we just finished recording,

While a lot of Gans impressions were decidedly 'before my time', I still did find myself laughing through his show.

All I can ask is why? The nicest resort on the strip (for most of 2009, anyway) will be headlined by a guy whose name is totally unfamiliar to 99% of the population outside a 50-mile radius of Las Vegas.

Huge step backwards. Gans is tired and boring. Plus, his voice isn't going to last much longer.

Ya know, I thought about this more and I have to agree - this is a mistake.

Yes, the show might make money but its not another paradigm shift in LV entertainment. Wynn brought Cirque, no question. He turned S&R into megastars, even if they were around before The Mirage. This is an also-ran. I like Danny Gans (sorta) but this is not blazing a trail.

I guess Wynn got burned by Broadway (and an 'O' derivative) so he's going back to the tried and true. Personally, I want someone (anyone?) to show us the future of Las Vegas entertainment.

Unfortunately for me, it may be that the nightclub is that future. I hate nightclubs.

Wynn reads the blogs??

http://thestrippodcast.blogspot.com/2008/04/wynn-explains.html

Maybe he only loves Steve Friess but in case his minions are printing these pages for the main man, I'd love to get my own WLV walk and talk some day.

Posted by mike_ch

Cirque was gearing up for a show at Caesars before they were turned down and Wynn snatched them up. Wynn generally doesn't invent as much as he puts a really nice spotlight on something. I wouldn't call him an entertainment innovator, but I would say he's taken chances and they've usually paid off. It wasn't that nobody knew of Cirque or S&R, it's that nobody would have put the kind of money behind them that he did.

Contrast to now, where he seems to generally be taking the road already traveled (franc-esque acrobat show with aquatics, nationally-known theatre, etc) and it isn't hitting the right note. Basically, he's playing it safe.

Well, he's a promoter not an entertainer so from that perspective isn't his faith in Cirque innovative?

Surely Gans isn't worse than Gordie Brown? But seriously ...

Assuming, for the purposes of argument, that Gans sticks to his four-a-week regimen at Wynn, it would be an interesting challenge to make the argument to the shareholders that the highest and best usage of the Encore Theater is to keep it dark three nights a week.

Surely that the Encore Theater would be used for headliners during the dark nights for Gans? It would be reasonable for them to try to keep the theater open as many nights as possible.

Reasonable and they only way to keep it profitable. I mean, honestly, the only way MGM Mirage has been able to keep the Gans Theatre profitable has been to fill it with the likes of Ray Romano, Brad Garret, et al. I have to wonder if Wynn is going to lure some of those headliners over to Encore with Gans...

Wynn sucks badly its the worst on the strip. I cannot beleive Gans made that choice!

Is Gans' modest appeal at least reliable? I don't see any mention of the length of his contract � could this maybe be a semi-temporary move to keep something in that theater generating a little bit of revenue while the resort opens? We all agree that the Cirque-esque shows aren't fresh any more, but I'm sure they're expensive to produce. Maybe Gans is a cheaper way to fill the theater while Wynn looks for something new/creative?

Posted by BillyInLasVegas

I've seen Danny Gans and I didn't like the show but all the other people in the theater seemed to like it. Actually everybody else seemed to love the show. Also, sometimes a change in venue can make a big difference. Look at how well Blue Man is doing at Venetian.

Talk about being a victim of his Rock Star image. Wynn hires on of the most durable and profitable performers in Strip history for his publicly traded company. An act you can see "Only in Vegas", and leaves room for other acts at least 3 times a week. And That's Not Good Enough! Tough crowd. Especially since none of us have a better idea, we just know we don't like this one.

Jeff,

How do we know how profitable or durable Gans is?

According to Steve Friess' latest article, many many shows have scores of tickets given away to fill the house.

http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/content/nc/news/single-story/article/the-strip-sense-risks-with-no-rewards/

Do you have info re: Gans show being profitable are we assuming that it has been all this time? I know at the start it was hard to get in but has that declined?

If what Steve writes is really true, then I think this is a colossal mistake, not just a safe bet/boring move.

Hunter

The RJ's Mike Weatherford must have read both this blog and Steve Friess' column before writing his piece in the Sunday RJ:
"Could the sure thing have turned into another risk?
Probably not, provided Gans ages gracefully and continues to pull in the age groups that also quit going to the movies after "On Golden Pond" or "Scent of a Woman." Wynn notes that for the first time, Gans will have access to a proper theater that will allow him to pump up the production value."

In my opinion, Gans is already mailing it in; he's not going to want to "pump up the production value". And, does Wynn want an age/demographic group that quit going to movies after "On Golden Pond"?
I know many think I'm nuts, but MGM must be breathing a huge sigh of relief that this problem has gone away.
http://www.lvrj.com/living/18312679.html

Posted by mike_ch

I don't know about free, but I am pretty sure Gans shows up frequently on those half price ticket booths. I'll look for him there next week when I'm in town.

I don't think Mr. Wynn is senile or out of touch. I also think he has a better knowledge of the Danny Gans numbers than we ever will. With a 5 or 10 piece band and low song royalty rates, Gans is essentially a lounge act playing in a theater. The upside is tremendous. Wynn has a million "old friends" in Las Vegas looking get into his pocket in one way or another. We never read of anyone getting over on Mr. Wynn, I don't think it's happening now. Just because we don't like the Gans show doesn't mean it isn't going to draw the unwashed. Remember the quote from Mr. Wynn on The Strip Podcast "He (Gans) can stay here as long as he wants, so long as he makes money."

Danny is the Best Talent in the World....His show is fabulous!

I HAVE BEEN TO SEE THE DANNY GANS SHOW ATLEAST 7 TIMES.. NEVER HAS IT BEEN THE SAME SHOW TWICE. JUST WENT IN OCT 08 AND THE SHOW WAS THE BEST ITS EVERY BEEN. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SHOW GANS ADD LIBS FOR THE FANS AND EVEN THE BAND SITS AND LAUGHS AS GANS PERFORMS. EVERYONE IN THE THEATER SEEMED TO ENJOY THE SHOW. I THINK WITH A BIGGER MORE UP DATED THEATER THE SHOW WILL BE EVEN BETTER.. MGM MIRAGE SHOULD THANK DANNY GANS FOR BRINGING IN THE PEOPLE TO THE SHOWS AFTER THE CLOSING OF THE SIEGFRIED AND ROY SHOW.

Saw Danny Gans recently and he was fantastic.

Danny Gans tickets are $95, $110 and $120. I guess you either love him or hate him. I sure wouldn't see him a second time. I hope Steve has told him to make the show more current.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081203/la49649.html?.v=1

Yeah, I think I cringed when I saw the photo on the Encore website of Gans wearing a Bubba-Gump Shirmp Co. hat and holding a small, white feather. One can only hope we'll get better impersonations...

You idiots who thought Danny Gans was a "no talent" are just that...IDIOTS!!! He not only was brilliantly talented, but he had more class is his little finger than all you guys probably have in your entire body. Rest in peace, Danny. You were well-loved here on earth, and you deserve to be there with the God you always put first. Las Vegas.......you were lucky to have had this man amongst you. He was special!