Steve Wynn Says He Hasn’t Made a Deal with Garth Brooks (Or Anyone Else, For That Matter)

It’s been about five weeks since Garth Brooks’ last private concert at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. Since then, there has been a resounding lack of information about any possible deal between Brooks and Wynn for a Garth Brooks show at the empty Encore Theatre.

Today we finally got a little snippet of news. During a conference call this morning regarding Wynn Resorts’ second quarter earnings, Steve Wynn was asked about plans for the Encore Theatre. Steve Wynn replied with a broad statement that the entertainment at Encore is a “work in progress.” He also said they will “use the showroom intelligently.” (I must say that the accountant in me interprets this phrase as “we will not lose money on it.”) Steve Wynn said “There are a number of people we’re talking to.” It should be noted that Beyonce opens a four-night engagement tonight at the Encore Theatre, but Wynn described her appearance as a “special event” and not an ongoing one.

Garth Brooks recently performed two separate private shows at the Encore Theatre, to “try out the room” as Garth explained in the first show on June 8th. The concerts were well received by both audiences and rumors have circulated that a deal is being discussed but that there is a holdup over the ticket prices. There was no dispute over the cost of tickets for the two private shows, however: they were free to invited guests. Regarding these shows, Steve Wynn noted on the conference call that “Garth Brooks was here as a friend – he didn’t charge” for the performances.

Steve Wynn and Garth Brooks first met in May, but by all accounts, hit it off and became friends. They speak very highly of each other in public. This morning on the conference call, Steve Wynn called Garth an “extraordinary fellow, really extraordinary.” It turns out that Garth and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, and their three daughters, are accompanying Steve Wynn to Beyonce’s performance tonight at Encore. (Wonder if Garth’s getting to fly out to Las Vegas on the Wynn corporate jet again….)

So, the big Garth-related news from this morning’s conference call came when Steve Wynn announced “we haven’t made the deal, so we keep our cards close to our vest.” Steve Wynn closed out the Encore entertainment discussion by saying that they prefer to talk about deals they’ve made as opposed to deals they haven’t made.

Here’s what I take out of all of this. Wynn says they’re talking to a number of people, but in reality they would do that even if they are in active negotiations with Garth Brooks; Wynn has to have other alternatives if Garth ultimately says no. As savvy as Wynn's statement may be, it does nothing to suggest that they are not pursuing Garth as their #1 choice for the showroom.

Secondly, Steve Wynn and Garth Brooks are obviously on good terms. Out of all the well-connected people in the world, and I suspect Steve Wynn knows many of them, it is Garth and his family that have been invited to join Wynn tonight for Beyonce’s opening-night show.

Perhaps Garth Brooks wants to “try out the room” from the audience’s perspective. Perhaps Wynn just wants to keep the dance going and apply a little more pressure to an ambivalent Garth (remember, it was Garth who said at the second private show that he didn’t know if Steve Wynn was trying to “make his life better or worse”).

Whatever the reason, they’re still talking to each other. I think the negotiations are still underway and perhaps a deal is still possible. So while Garth indeed returns to Encore tonight, alas, it is just to see the lovely Beyonce perform.

If you’re willing to register your name and email address with Wynn’s Investor Relations department, you can listen to the recorded conference call. Click here for the link. The relevant piece about Encore’s entertainment starts after the 46-minute mark, in response to a question by analyst Bill Lerner from Union Gaming Group.

A Collector's Favorite (Recipe, That Is)

I love to cook. I am something of a recipe collector. I have 20 years worth of Gourmet magazines (and any number of Fine Cooking, Food & Wine and Cooks’ Illustrated magazines) lined up in my pantry.

I even used some down time between my last full-time job and my journey into motherhood to set up an Access database for my recipes. I have over 700 recipes entered. With this database, I can browse my recipes to plan a menu for the next few days or week or whatever, print a checklist of ingredients needed for the meals, check my pantry for needed staples and ingredients, and print out a complete shopping list, all organized in the order of the aisles at the grocery store. So you can see that I take food and eating seriously.

In our pre-kid days, I would come home from work, roll up the sleeves of my silk blouse (I wouldn’t even take time to change) and get started on dinner. Then we would sit down at the little table in our little kitchen with the stark overhead lighting and enjoy our dinner and talk about our day. Often we spent the whole evening just sitting at that little kitchen table. Good food led to good conversations and time well spent together.

I’ve wanted to write about cooking in my blog on several occasions but by the time I got around to writing, cooking got preempted by other topics. I suppose I’m not sure if anyone will be interested in yet more recipes and food info. On the other hand, of all our household chores, cooking takes up more time than anything else when you take into account meal planning, grocery shopping, meal preparation, cleaning up, etc. Cooking and eating is a central part of family life. It is something that we all enjoy. It is obvious why there is a cable channel called the “Food Network” and none called the “Laundry Network.”

So at the risk of having your eyes glaze over, I’m offering one of my favorite recipes which I made last night. “Chicken with Chilaquiles and Salsa Verde” was originally published in Gourmet in November, 2005. It is a Mexican dish that is similar to chicken enchiladas with green chile, but it is much quicker and easier.

You mix together chicken broth and salsa verde (a.k.a. green chile salsa) and bring to a simmer, add some shredded chicken, and then dump in a bowlful of tortilla chips. Stir the whole thing for a minute or two, pour onto a serving dish and top with cheese and cilantro. It’s that simple.

If you keep chicken broth, salsa and tortilla chips in your pantry, you can make this on a moment’s notice if you have leftover chicken or when you bring home a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Add a green salad or a side of black beans and dinner is done.

This is an unusual recipe and it invariably inspires low expectations from those I give it to. All I can say is, you just have to try it. I grew up in New Mexico eating great green chile enchiladas and I love this dish, both for its flavor and its simplicity. Gourmet’s introduction of the recipe sums it up: “This dish was the surprise of the year. The ingredients might seem ordinary, but trust us — it's fantastic.”

Click here to link to the recipe on Gourmet’s website. I make a couple of minor changes when I make this recipe. I cut down a little on the quantity of chips, to reduce calories, and I use either cheddar or a Mexican cheese since I don’t like feta. That’s it.

Let me know if you think it sounds weird, or, if you’re adventurous enough to try it, let me know what you think.

Life's Just a Bowl of Cherries

We all know the saying, “Life is just a bowl of cherries.” People use that saying when they’re happy, when things in life are going their way. And why not? A bowl of cherries just seems like a bowl of happiness.

Cherries are a sweet treat, nurtured to maturity by warm summer sunshine. Plump red cherries are practically synonymous with summertime. They make us think of backyard barbeques and the 4th of July and running around barefoot on a cool green lawn. We associate a bowl of cherries with things that make us smile.

But in reality, life is not always “a bowl of cherries.” Life is not always full of happiness. The truth about life is that, although there will be thousands of good days (we hope), there will be some number of bad days and we never know when we’re going to have them. So if we go along believing the whole “life is a bowl of cherries” mantra, we’re setting ourselves up to be disappointed by real life.

I’ve spent some time thinking about this because I’ve had some bad days of my own recently. Last month, a good friend died suddenly and tragically, leaving behind her 9-year-old daughter with a single father in his sixties and no other family. A couple of weeks later, my mother suffered an adverse reaction to some medication and nearly died. Last week, my husband’s brother died of complications following surgery. Now, my cousin’s wife, the mother of their two young children, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Enough already! I’ve had my fill of sadness and tragedy and grief. And on top of that, I am angry about the injustice of it all. If life were really a bowl of cherries, I’d throw mine out and wait for the next batch.

I am coming to terms with my recent spate of bad news. I am trying to offer love and support to those who need it. I am beginning to put things into perspective.

I am realizing that perhaps life is more like a real bowl of cherries than we admit: there are sour cherries lurking amidst the sweet ones and we have to learn to live with the bad ones when we pick them. There is no “cherry-picking” in real life. You can’t choose just the good days. We can’t stop bad days from happening by being “good” or responsible or doing all the right things. I am realizing that we have to savor each of the good days because they give us the strength to handle the bad days.

I am accepting that life is just a bowl of cherries after all, it’s just that the cherries are not always sweet.

Note to my readers: Thanks for your patience while I’ve been away from my blog and dealing with life’s struggles. Please continue to check back - I'll be posting again on a more regular schedule.