Wayne Newton Bets Ranch (Literally) on Wayne Newton Museum

LAS VEGAS (Sept. 23) -- There's already a Graceland and Dollywood. So why not a Wayne's World?

Legendary crooner Wayne Newton, whose biggest headlines in recent years have centered on debtors chasing him for collections, went public this week with plans to open up his 38-acre ranch about five miles southeast of the Strip for paid tours. The Newton spread would also get a museum and a 300-seat theater at which Mr. Las Vegas would serenade fans.

Newton bought and developed the property, which he christened Casa de Shenandoah, in the 1960s. It's already a draw for tourists who ride by on buses scoping out the residences of famous Las Vegans. Also in the region are the homes of boxer Mike Tyson and several casino moguls.

What tourists can't see -- but may soon -- are the dozens of Arabian horses, African penguins, peacocks and wallabies that live on the property, as well as the storied collection of memorabilia Newton keeps in the large home he and his wife, Kathleen, share. The plan would call for the construction of a new home for the couple so that their current one could be part of the tour, the Newtons said this week at a neighborhood meeting held at a La Quinta.
Far from merely an ode to his own legend, the Newtons insist, the museum would house artifacts of a list of entertainment legends who have dotted Vegas' performing landscape over the years. So far, though, the items all have some relationship to Newton.

"Wayne has always maintained that he wanted the museum to not only be about him but about the history of Las Vegas and the incredible entertainers that helped make this city what it is," Newton's sister-in-law, Trish McCrone, told AOL News. "For example, Jack Benny gave Wayne his violin that he played on stage when Wayne was his opening act. He has Nat King Cole's makeup case. Jackie Gleason's widow gave Wayne the pool cue that Jackie Gleason used in 'The Hustler.' He has a guitar from Elvis, numerous items from Frank Sinatra."

McCrone noted that the project could create as many as 350 permanent jobs, not including construction workers, at a time when the city faces record unemployment. Newton aims to have the attraction opened by next year.

The Las Vegas Sun reported that the Newtons are partnering with CSD Management LLC, a development company that has spent $18.25 million for the ranch, as well as $10 million for a 10-acre parcel due north that would contain the museum and showroom. McCrone denied that as "an outright lie."

Newton has been hit with several lawsuits, including one in February by a lender alleging Newton was delinquent on a $3.35 million loan and another for nearly $500,000 filed by Newton's former pilot seeking back pay. A Detroit-area airport also claimed Newton owed $60,000 in storage fees after abandoning a plane there three years ago. That plane, a Fokker F-28 twin-engine jet, now can be seen from the street peeking over a wall surrounding Casa de Shenandoah.

McCrone said that all the lawsuits and debts have been resolved or dismissed.

"I cannot stress enough that they are debt free and Wayne and Kathleen still own Casa de Shenandoah," she said. "To write anything different is an outright lie. Wayne does not have to work another day in his life. He does so because he loves it."

The new effort comes months after Newton finished a six-month stint at the Tropicana Hotel-Casino titled "Once Before I Go," a title that many believed implied that the Vegas institution was retiring from performing after 50 years. Newton, in an interview with The Strip Podcast in January, refused to confirm that and also insisted his financial troubles were overblown. For one thing, he said, there's no end to the offers he gets to appear in TV shows and movies, playing himself.
Before he gets going on this museum-tour project, however, the 67-year-old star must serenade his neighbors, many of whom attended the meeting to say, essentially, nein, danke schoen. They have enjoyed having the large ranch as a buffer from the manic suburban development in this part of Las Vegas but now fear such an attraction will bring increased traffic. "I invested $9 million in my home," one homeowner complained. "I don't want to live next to a museum."

Yet Newton has Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak on his side. Sisolak, who represents the area, said that legally it will be difficult for the county to deny the Newtons any of their plans because they have the correct zoning for it.

"I understand both sides to it, I really do, but I'm a firm believer in property rights," Sisolak said. "It's just not reasonable to say, 'You've got 40 acres and you've got to leave it this way and maintain it forever.'"

There's no official name for the project, although Sisolak said the Newtons did liken it to a "Graceland West" when they first presented the idea to him early this summer. Newton insisted at Monday's meeting that that's not a working title, saying, "I'm not Elvis Presley. I am still alive. And this is Nevada. It is not Tennessee."

Some Vegas-watchers have doubts as to whether tourists are jonesing for a Newtonian experience. RateVegas.com owner Hunter Hillegas noted that this news comes just a week after the Liberace Museum, a mainstay attraction off the Strip for decades, announced it will close in October.

"I think that there's an interesting nostalgia factor to some degree but I can't imagine getting into a bus and going to see his house," Hillegas told AOL News. "It's hard enough getting people to walk up stairs to enter Planet Hollywood, let alone get on a bus to see a Newton museum. The idea is interesting, but it is the wrong place for a museum like that."

Sisolak, for his part, admits the project carries risks.

"I can't speak to how popular Mr. Newton is," the commissioner said. "He's been around a long time. He clearly does a tremendous amount for our armed services. That's a business decision they have to make. My assistant thinks he's the greatest thing in the world because he did 'Dancing With the Stars.' So who knows?"