We can report that on Saturday, "Mr Las Vegas" was on the other side of the country hanging out with Shirley MacLaine and William Shatner, while fundraising for the American Red Cross of South Florida. "We have to sneak out of Vegas, because I'm not allowed to leave there, you know," remarked Newton of his trip.
As far as the bigger picture is concerned, after a very rocky few years that saw all kinds of trouble for Wayne Newton -- from the apparent loss of his beloved Las Vegas ranch, to the near death of his daughter, among many other trials and tribulations (see Question of the Day 10/22/2013 for details) -- the last we heard it sounds as if the Newtons have returned to their beloved Las Vegas home.
The saga of the singer's financial woes and the plan to convert his 40-acre Casa de Shenandoah ranch into a public attraction seemed to have finally run their course last year, as the current owner in September opened the gates of what was then being termed Sunset Spring Ranch to give the public one last chance to look around before it was razed by developers (see Las Vegas Review-Journal). It was costing $100,000 per month just to maintain the buildings and grounds, which were being used only to host the odd fundraiser and private events like weddings. Wayne and Kathleen Newton, meanwhile, had relocated to a $3 million, two-story, 9,145-square-foot mansion at the corner of East Oquendo and South Gateway.
However, a couple of months later, just in time for Christmas, John Katsilometes broke some unexpected news via the Las Vegas Sun. "Returned to the corner of Sunset and Pecos roads is the famous Casa de Shenandoah sign ... Only two people are authorized to use the name and brand of Casa de Shenandoah for such a public purpose: Wayne Newton and his wife, Kathleen. The return of that name to the property, along with reports of Arabian horses being transported back to stables at the ranch, means one thing: Wayne Newton is moving back to Casa de Shenandoah." According to his sister, the plan to convert the property into a museum is once again on the drawing board, with hopes to bring it to fruition as soon as by the middle of this year.
And that's the last we heard. Newton's official website hasn't been updated since 2014, so there's no new information to be gleaned from there. He performs occasionally, as he did back in December at Laughlin's Edgewater Casino, but it's well-known that the Wayner's voice has long since passed its sell-by date. Like you, we await further news of his mysterious return to the family's beloved ranch home. In the meantime, there are some great photographs of the property at 9490 Bermuda Road you can view courtesy of a Zillow blog post; that site now confirms that the property, the cost of which had been dropped from an initial asking price of $70 million to just $30 million, is no longer on the market. We'll keep you posted...
