Tulsa World: New Brooks venture speculated

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New Brooks venture speculated

WYNN RESORT
Garth Brooks: Celebrity blogger Robin Leach writes that Brooks will be the resident artist at the Encore/Wynn Theater in Las Vegas.

By SARAH HART & JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writers
Published: 10/15/2009 2:31 AM
Last Modified: 10/15/2009 3:48 AM

Country music superstar and Oklahoma native Garth Brooks might be coming out of retirement. Celebrity columnist Robin Leach says in his blog that Brooks will become the resident artist at the Encore/Wynn Theater in Las Vegas.

Brooks' official Web site teases that "something exciting is coming" Thursday, in an announcement to be carried live on GarthBrooks.com .

Other news outlets speculate as to whether Brooks is really "coming out of retirement," as the musician has vowed multiple times not to launch any tours until his youngest daughter, now 13, is out of school.

On his blog, Leach said, "It now looks definite after weeks of rumors and speculation that country superstar Garth Brooks is coming out of retirement to become a resident headliner at the Wynn. He'll play in the theater that was to have been the longtime permanent home of the late Danny Gans."

Danny Gans, a popular Las Vegas Strip performer, died in May.

Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Country Club ("Wynn") is a luxury resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada. It's named after Steve Wynn, a casino developer, and covers more than 200 acres.

The Las Vegas Review Journal reported that Brooks was seen with Wynn in Las Vegas as early as May, further fueling rumors of an upcoming residency announcement. At the time, Brooks' publicist denied residency rumors, the newspaper reported.

This week, bloggers from Nashville's Music Row claim Brooks announced two press conferences for Thursday — one in Nashville and one in Las Vegas. However, there's no confirmation if a Vegas show will be a one-off deal or a longer-termed residency.

Also, celebrity news site Extra reported in August that a deal was indeed imminent: "Brooks would be performing in the Encore Theater for 16 weeks beginning this October, where Danny Gans performed his Las Vegas show."

Brooks "retired" from the touring business in late 2000. He moved to a home outside of Tulsa with his wife Trisha Yearwood, close to his children and former wife.

He has since performed a handful of charity concerts, along with a short string of record-breaking, sold-out Kansas City shows in 2007 and 2008. Those shows earned him the No. 5 top-tour earner spot in 2008 from Pollstar Pro. He earned $562,000, for each of 11 headlining shows, while technically retired from touring.

Brooks was born in 1962 in Tulsa and raised in Yukon. Some of his first paying gigs were at the Tumbleweed venue in Stillwater. Since his self-titled album debut in 1989, he has sold more than 120 million albums. Six of his studio albums went "diamond," selling over 10 million copies each.

Brooks also hasn't ruled out a big event in his home city. In 2008, he told the Tulsa World that although a possible event was still in early development, "It will be something extremely amazing, cool, fun and will probably end up helping children all around the world." He also helped cut the ribbon last year's BOK Center grand opening event.

In 2007 at a benefit honoring his lifetime work with children and charity, Brooks told the Tulsa World that once his children leave home, he hopes to tour with Yearwood.

"In 10 years, if Miss Yearwood says 'Sic 'em,' you better buy a helmet," he said with a laugh. By SARAH HART & JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writers

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Some reader comments for this story were copied from "Garth Brooks may be coming out of retirement," which was published on 10/14/2009.

	Report Comment Mar, Tulsa (10/14/2009 11:08:01 AM) I guess things are financially tough all over. Rich entertainers are having to hit the road for concerts or making new cd's.
	Report Comment 2ndjoyce, BA (10/14/2009 11:13:13 AM) Great way to get his feet wet again and decide whether to jump all the way in.
	Report Comment Cooldaddy, Broken Arrow (10/14/2009 11:21:54 AM) Does not surprise me in the least. Actually, I expected him to come out of retirement.
	Report Comment sauerkraut, Omaha, NE (10/14/2009 11:30:09 AM) I hope he stays in retirement. I'm no fan of that guy. I hope Garth rethink's his plans and stays retired. This is unhappy news.
	Report Comment What the ?, OK (10/14/2009 11:34:42 AM) sauerkraut is sour
	Report Comment Four Sixteen Rigby, Tulsa (10/14/2009 11:39:34 AM) Garth needs money? Doubtful. More likely: he's bored.
	Report Comment OUKW, TULSA (10/14/2009 11:40:59 AM) WHO CARES!
	Report Comment WhereIsThought, Raleigh (10/14/2009 11:44:44 AM) Why headline Vegas when you have the option of hanging out in Owasso?
	Report Comment Bullhead, Nicut (10/14/2009 11:49:23 AM) [sauerkraut, Omaha, NE (10/14/2009 11:30:09 AM) I hope he stays in retirement. I'm no fan of that guy. I hope Garth rethink's his plans and stays retired. This is unhappy news. ] Sandy? Is that you?!? haha. sauerkraut fits. This is great news. This man is the most generous of all Oklahoma stars. He does things under that no one knows about. I remember him buying a brand new home for a family that got burned out and one day bought a guy a new truck who was broke down on the side of the road. He tried to keep it quiet but the people he helped told. Great man, great set of pipes.
	Report Comment HOGRIDER, BA (10/14/2009 11:49:25 AM) Souerkraut......good name for you.
	Report Comment I'm at work 07, (10/14/2009 11:51:19 AM) I am VERY excited about this! Garth has done nothing but great things for this community.
	Report Comment Ayo, T-Town (10/14/2009 12:00:20 PM) Well, that's good news! He's a good songwriter, great entertainer, and seems to be a super nice, humble person.
	Report Comment ikesdad, Tahlequah (10/14/2009 12:04:30 PM) Thats great to hear. Hope he will do alot of Oklahoma shows when he gets back to touring. I don't really understand being a Vegas headliner. Why not do a tour of OK casinos? Would be better for the OK economy instead of Las Vegas. Whatever though. Glad he is back.
	Report Comment SteveBrown777, tulsa (10/14/2009 12:05:06 PM) Too bad Garth lost all credibility as a musician when he did the whole Chris Gaines thing. Forreal.
	Report Comment forkandknife, Tulsa (10/14/2009 12:05:08 PM) I want to buy his house in Owasso. CUH CUH YEAH!
	Report Comment justamomof2, (10/14/2009 12:05:56 PM) I think it is awesome he is coming out of retirement!! I am sad however that he will be leaving Oklahoma! The man is an amazing entertainer, noone can argue that. Vegas is lucky to have him!
	Report Comment BMRSNR, (10/14/2009 12:10:44 PM) He WAS an amazing entertainer. I hope this works out for him. Wish he would do a show in Tulsa before heading to Vegas. At least he's not opening a theater in Branson. Could be worse.
	Report Comment 0RANGE P0WER, (10/14/2009 12:20:07 PM) Great shirt in the pic Garth!!!!!
	Report Comment Lurks_Alot_Leesa, (10/14/2009 12:24:03 PM) I agree with BMRSNR I wish I didn't have to go to Vegas to see him. Some shows here in Oklahoma would be nice.
	Report Comment Maniac, Broken Arrow (10/14/2009 12:24:08 PM) Who really cares? He must be bored stiff, or else looking for a way to maximize his time away from that beast of a wife of his. I'm with dustyoutlaw: Fix our streets with some of your spare change and maybe I'll get excited about your comeback.
	Report Comment Ingraham, (10/14/2009 12:33:10 PM) just because he is going to be in vegas quite a bit doesn't necessarily mean he is going to move there .... he will probably keep his owasso house and be in oklahoma a fair amount
	Report Comment 57 Nomad, Tulsa (10/14/2009 12:34:17 PM) Now I have a reason to go to Vegas.
	Report Comment lucky girl, mine (10/14/2009 12:48:47 PM) Great news. Now he will be able to afford healthcare too!
	Report Comment KC Sooner, Pleasant Valley (10/14/2009 12:50:33 PM) Oh good grief, his string of sold out shows in 2007 was at Sprint Center in Kansas City, MISSOURI! He hasn't played in Kansas in a very long time. I was at one of those shows...he was awesome. I don't even like country music but that will be on my list of shows to see in Vegas.
	Report Comment tulsandn, out in the woods (10/14/2009 1:03:49 PM) I was riding with a friend of mine in Tulsa one morning about 6 or 7 years' ago & as we stopped at a stop light, he said, "Hey, that's Garth Brooks", I looked over at the man in his corvette & said, "Hey, this guy says your Garth Brooks". He looked at me straight in the eye & laughed out loud then turned right, heading down Memorial. I looked at my friend and said, "That was Garth Brooks...." I know it's nothing, but I can't or won't forget that moment....

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