What Happened between you and Kenny Rogers?

Jeez! In your QoD about your favorite gambling song, you talked about a "regrettable" personal experience with Kenny Rogers. C'mon! You can't open a can of worms like that without dishing a little dirt. What happened?

Don't leave us hangin'! Well, you can, but please don't. Can you tell us about your encounter with Kenny Rogers?

OK Advisor, you gotta tell us about that regrettable Kenny Rogers experience!

A few days ago, a Question of the Day had the comment: “Unfortunately, we had a, let's just say, regrettable personal experience with Kenny Rogers in the mid-1990s." Inquiring minds want to know, are you at liberty to give details about what happened? He’s dead now, so he can’t sue you.

Hmm. We were hoping that little mention would slide by mostly unnoticed. But since it didn't, here's what we can say.

Way back in 1994, a couple of photographer-entrepreneurs came to town, looking for sponsorships for a big coffee table book on Vegas. At the time, this type of book had been popularized by the "Day in the Life" series, large-format collections of frames snapped by 200 photojournalists unleashed to visually document entire countries over a single 24-hour period. It started with A Day in the Life of America (1986) and was followed by A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union (1987). In all, 13 books in the series were published, including A Day in the Life of Calfornia.

The two shutterbugs who showed up in Vegas were on the California shoot and they got the idea to do a similar book on Vegas. They approached the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and the big Strip casinos and managed to raise enough money to hire 20 of "the world's leading photojournalists" to spend a day shooting the city -- and Huntington Press to write the captions for the 200-odd photographs that were ultimately selected.

By then, Kenny Rogers was perhaps the biggest star, pogonotrophy and all, associated with gambling and the book's producers wanted him to write the Foreword. He agreed -- with conditions. First, he wouldn't actually write anything. Second, the eventual ghostwriter who did pen the Foreword was to have no contact with him. None. Ever. Third, he had final approval of the text. And fourth, he set a price.

Since we were already doing the writing for the book, we also agreed to ghostwrite the Foreword.

With all due respect to the dearly departed, it was, all in all, a lamentable process that left a permanent bad taste in our mouth, though this is the first time we've ever told the story.

Insult to injury, we won't go into the financial details, but we will say that to use his autograph at the end of the Foreword and his name on the cover of the book, Rogers earned 33.33 times more than we did.

The book is called Planet Vegas and you can still buy used copies on Amazon. We hung out with one of the photographers (a friend) during the shoot and managed, completely by happenstance, to wind up in one of the published photos. You can also see our smirking mug in the group shot taken on the pirate boat in front of Treasure Island. And, of course, read the captions that Deke and Anthony wrote.

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Comments

Bob Oct-16-2025

And Boys and girls...

The Word of the day is, Pogonotrophy

O2bnVegas Oct-16-2025

Another new word!

Pogonotrophy. 

Thanks to LVA for allaying our unease, anxiety, curiousity, perturbation, and just plain nosiness about what happened with KR.  Very sorry it turned out that way for deke and Anthony.

I'm guessing it goes with the territory, gaining fame then succombing to the pressures, becoming counter to what we admire in their performances.

Candy

Tim Soldan Oct-16-2025

Kenny

I am a keyboard player and my instrument is a Hammond B3. When I lived in Oklahoma, and Kenny was with The First Edition I rented my organ to the group. Had the chance to meet him when I was bringing it in for sound check and he was nice to me. Of course,  that was way before he hit it big with his solo career.

Rick Elliott Oct-16-2025

$$$

So basically you are upset that Roger's made more money from the book as you did?

Kevin Oct-16-2025

KR

"He agreed -- with conditions." Of course he did! He was famous for just dropping in to see what condition his condition was in.

Stewart Ethier Oct-16-2025

"Planet Vegas"?

Why wasn't it called "A Day in the Life of Las Vegas"?

John Baker Oct-16-2025

JB in KC

Roomy and I took dates to a North St Louis pizza place, maybe 1968, and Kenny Rogers was performing.  Great. Personable.  We talked quite a bit and he said "see you next year."  I told him he was too good and would never be back.  Did see him in LV in the 80's when Tanya Tucker really had to get on stage and rescue him.  Sad.

VegasVic Oct-16-2025

Hmmmm

You're ticked at Kenny because he got a better deal? Bad taste?Maybe be ticked at whoever negotiated YOUR deal.

Steve Nix Oct-16-2025

Steve

In the late 1970's I was s sworn police officer providing security for KR at a state fair. There were about 14 officers, including me. As KR came out of his dressing room to start the show, a young boy about 10 years old ran up to him.  Kenny pushed him away, almost causing the boy to fall.  Kenny went on to perform.  Myself and the other officers thought what he did was deplorable.  I never liked him from that date on. I don't think any of the other officers continued to like or respect him either.

Hoppy Oct-16-2025

Planet Vegas?

In the words of Jim Stafford, you just got moaned by KR. He probably had someone else write his list of demands. Sounds like Roy Clark. I have them both on vinyl.

Marcus Leath Oct-16-2025

He was awful

When I was in the real estate business in metro Atlanta, I was close to several of the very top agents.  Each one of them had several horror stories about KR and what a total jerk he was.  I never met him and an glad I did not~!

John Dulley Oct-16-2025

Not my hero but..

That’s why it’s said you never want to meet your heroes.

VegasROX Oct-17-2025

Word of the day....

Wife says it describes me?? I don't get it; I don't get in reference to Kenny? Maybe I'm too old.

eCarl Oct-18-2025

KR ROASTERS

Bad at business as well. Lent his name and image to chicken franchisers with investors all losing in the end. Apparently not involved with business discission's, just a money grab by Kenny.
Kenny's one smart move was to "chicken out" before it reached bankruptcy level.

Question of the Day - 16 October 2025

Comments