Wayne Newton makes history with 65 years of performing on Vegas stages

To this date, one of my proudest moments as editor of Las Vegas Magazine was presenting Wayne Newton with an inaugural Las Vegas Magazine Hall of Fame honor during one of his shows in 2020. Newton could not have been more gracious as my publisher and I took the stage to sing his praises and take photos with the man himself. The show we attended, Up Close and Personal, was at the time held at the intimate (and now defunct) Cleopatra’s Barge at Caesars Palace, but Newton has since taken the show to bigger environs at Flamingo, and he remains as gracious as ever, and more deserving of a Hall of Fame honor than ever—this year marks 65 years he’s been performing in Las Vegas!

Over those six-plus decades, the number of properties Newton has held court at are too numerous to all mention here, many of them now demolished to make way for new properties (which Newton has also performed at!). Along the way, he’s dabbled in movies and television, recorded some enduring standards, established charities, entertained U.S. troops abroad, raised Arabian horses, and generally blazed trails wherever he went.

For each performance of Up Close and Personal, Newton selects a specific moment in his history to focus on. It makes each show unique and rewarding for Vegas history buffs. After all, this is a man who’s been around for most of the city’s key moments, including the recent explosion of professional sports. He’s been involved with both the Golden Knights and Raiders organizations, and announced the Raiders’ third-round pick selection in the 2022 NFL draft held in Las Vegas.

And his friends over the years read like a who’s who of the history of entertainment: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin, Lucille Ball, George Burns, Jack Benny and Danny Thomas. To say Newton has got something to talk about seems underselling the case considerably.

And as Newton tirelessly heads toward his 70th year of performing, the treasure trove of detail he draws on for Up Close and Personal will only continue to grow.

Flamingo. ticketmaster.com