LIGHTS DIM IN VEGAS: DANNY GANS DEAD at 52

Image by pamusc93 via Flickr

Sin City showman Danny Gans, 52, an impressionist who sold more tickets on the Strip than the Rat Pack or Elvis Presley, died early Friday, says his his manager.

Gans, best known for his touching impersonation of entertainer George Burns, began a five-year headline gig at tycoon Steve Wynn's Wynn Las Vegas hotel in February. Prior to that, he spent 11 years at the Mirage.

he earned the coveted Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year honors 11 years in a row in the reader poll conducted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal but interestingly was not well known beyond Las Vegas.

The cause of death was unknown, although Wikipedia hints that he may have had a heart attack because he had some shortness of breath. Gans's manager Chip Lightman expressed his shock at the impressionist's passing. "The guy was healthy as an ox," he said. "I spoke to Steve Wynn several times this morning and both of us were shocked. I was with Danny the day before yesterday. Healthy as an ox. I mean, all he ate was egg whites and spinach and worked out religiously."

Gans, a great physical specimen, was a former minor league baseball player who turned to performing after a career-ending injury. He appeared as a player in the film "Bull Durham" and found success in his 1995 one-man show in New York before moving the next year to Las Vegas.
He is survived by a wife and three children.

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STEVE WYNN OPENS HIS 'ENCORE'

Today is the most important day of 2008 for Las Vegas. Bar none.

Amidst our country's hardest financial crisis in years, Casino mogul Steve Wynn opens his new property called Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. Everyone on the ground seems very optimistic about the billion-dollar property. Wynn Resorts is the only company with a casino on the Strip that has not taken a brutal stock drubbing, layoffs or other savage economic reality lesson this year.

Two of the best Vegas sites (VegasTripping.com and RateVegas.com) have combined efforts with a site for today on EncoreOpening.com.

To read more about Encore, click HERE.

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STEVE WYNN OPENS EATERY NAMED 'SINATRA'

The legendary Frank Sinatra mystique will thrive once again on the Las Vegas strip.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that casino mogul Steve Wynn will open a new Italian restaurant called Sinatra in his new resort Encore.

Considering that the Sinatra family fiercely protects the singer's image, permission to use the Chairman's moniker may be considered a coup. Still, Wynn and the singer have Sin City history together. The hotelier revitalized the Golden Nugget when he snagged 'Ol Blue Eyes to appear exclusively at the hotel during the '80s.

Wynn says the the Sinatra clan has loaned him such priceless memorabilia as the singer's 1953 Oscar and several Grammy awards which will be peppered throughout the eatery. What's more, Paul Anka has also promised the gold record he won for writing the English lyrics for “My Way.”

For those who expect something along the likes of such themed eateries as Planet Hollywood or The Hard Rock Cafe, think again. "It won't be a museum," he told the paper. "It will be the most stunning restaurant in the country."
Encore is the $2.2 billion all-suites sister hotel to Wynn Las Vegas. Look for the new eatery to open its doors Dec. 22.

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