We have notes, and they are from Steve Wynn and Dee Snider

By John Katsilometes

Mon, Dec 14, 2009 (6:44 p.m.)

I am of the opinion that you should never leave Steve Wynn commentary unpublished. Some more nuggets from our conversation on Friday before Garth Brooks opened his hooded residency at Encore Theater:

*On Wynn’s contention that Brooks is the smartest entertainer he has ever worked with, I responded with? “Of all?”

“Yep, yep,” Wynn said.

Even, say, Frank Sinatra?

“Frank wasn’t -- his big strength wasn’t his IQ,” Wynn said. “Garth is a thinker.”

*Of adhering to Brooks’ requirements for ticket distribution and his request for a private jet to fly to Las Vegas for his gigs at Encore. “Garth Brooks was hired to give people an experience they couldn’t get from anywhere else. I wanted every person who walks into that showroom to walk out saying, ‘Goddamn, was that cool!’ … My job is to make sure we can do that, whether it’s good times or hard times. So, I’m not worried about anything. I’m not worried about Las Vegas -- I care about the Las Vegas that is inside of this building, and to hell with everybody else.”

*Wynn says he is looking forward to Beyonce returning to Encore Theater in 2010. “She’s coming back, if she wants to come back to do some more stuff. Mr. (Matthew) Knowles, her father, is terrific to do business with. When she was here (in August), she worked her butt off for us. She had a show built for this theater, and she was in rehearsal 10 to 12 hours a day.”

*Wynn is experiencing what could be called “Sun Valley Spine,” from taking the 20,000-foot vertical slopes at Sun Valley Resort. He had skied for eight days before returning to Las Vegas for Brooks’ opening, and as he walked the hallway linking Wynn and Encore had to stop every few steps. A sciatic nerve was radiating pain on his left side “right under my belt,” and he had received a steroid injection to help alleviate the pain. That shot took affect later Friday night; meanwhile, Wynn stopped occasionally to bend at the waist to open up the nerve.

“This didn’t bother me at all while I was skiing,” he said. “It didn’t hurt until the flight back, actually.”

Why not The Colosseum?

Brooks would seem a great fit at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, kind of a male Celine Dion in terms of fan reach (but not in terms of physical condition, as he persistently reminds). There was an effort this year by AEG Live to bring Brooks into the showroom to fill some open dates, but there was never an agreement on when or how to get Brooks into that venue. His requirement to see his family likely played into these talks, which dissipated and left open the opportunity for him to play Encore.

Holly jolly Snider

In a whirlwind effort to talk to Dee Snider as “Twisted Sister: A Twisted Christmas” at Las Vegas Hilton approaches, I have received a voice mail from a Snider representative named …

Dee Snider.

And here it is, one of the great voice mail messages of all time:

“Spread the word that an alternative to the humdrum, ho-hum, everyday, year-after-year holiday entertainment has arrived! The ‘‘Twisted Sister: A Twisted Christmas’ holiday extravaganza! You don’t need to be a Twisted Sister fan to enjoy this show! It’s a family show! That’s right, no profanity! Yes, I’m capable! It’s the best of Twisted Sister with a ton of ’80-style metal Christmas songs, traditional Christmas songs, from our hit album ‘Twisted Christmas!’ We’ve got a huge stage set and production designed by a Broadway award-winning set designer named Kevin O’Callahan! This is just something for everybody who is looking for something with a little more edge, and a little more fun, than what is out there!”

(Pause as Dee catches his breath.)

“We’ll be there for three nights, and we’re hoping that people take a shot, get inspired! The holidays are approaching! We all need to get into the spirit! I took my kids to see Radio City’s holiday show, and afterward, my 8-year-old son turned to me and said, ‘Daddy, I hate Christmas!’ That won’t happen at this show! When you see this, the entire family will love it!”

It runs Tuesday through Thursday.

OK, I give up

City chic. That’s the dress code for the Aria at CityCenter opening on Wednesday night. Thoughts? We just boomeranged this around the office and I came up with full swarthy (meaning no shirt). Jacket. Jeans with some sort of hip patch -- say, a star-spangled peace sign -- stitched into one leg. No socks. Checkered Vans. Maybe a Harley Davidson bandanna around the head, with a matching Harley Davidson bandanna wrapped around the right thigh.

See you there!

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.

— From LasVegasWeekly.com