WK: Please tell me about the challenges of producing the other shows.
SW: I had to consider which stars would work and sell tickets and which would complement myself and have my show complement their shows. And they would have to pull from different arenas as far as their abilities to sell tickets, draw different demographics and not take from another show.
It sounds easy but it’s actually difficult. I did a lot of studies and research to support my decisions. It had to be the right fit because millions of dollars were riding on my decisions.
My first idea for my afternoon show was Ronn Lucas. Without a doubt, it’s a terrific show. I wanted to put him in my theater and produce him like he had never been produced before.
My idea was to take Ronn up to a level that no ventriloquist or very few performers get a chance to be produced at. With that in mind, we have 225 moving lights and LED walls like Celine Dion. He really liked the direction. We had discussions back and forth over a few months and he made his decision to leave the Rio and come on board. For me, it was the first slam dunk.
WK: Please tell us about producing the 5:00 show.
SW: The next challenge would be the 5:00 show that I wanted to produce. There have been afternoon shows and evening shows but never a 5:00 show. I decided that show times are just figments of our imagination. The only reason why we have shows in the evenings is because that’s generally what people do.
In Branson Missouri, they now have breakfast shows in addition to afternoon and evening shows. If they have 5:00 shows in Branson, why aren’t there 5:00 shows in Las Vegas and why can’t a tourist come to a 5:00 show?
The answer is that they can but no one has ever tried it. After I came up with the idea that I was going to launch a 5:00 show, I had to find someone who was famous and could draw a demographic that Ron and I could not pull from. I racked my brains for weeks.
I had seen a gentleman down at the Golden Nugget quite a while ago. Martin Nievera’s show was one of the most incredible shows that I had ever seen. Interestingly enough, he’s Filipino and he’s like the Micheal Jackson of the Philippines. He’s like a rock star who plays stadiums.
He wanted to do something different, something more personable and intimate with the audience and my theater provides the up close and intimate setting for him and show goers. This was the next slam dunk.
WK: Anything else that you would like to talk about?
SW: There’s lots of magicians who emulate certain people in the public eye. I always tell youngsters starting out, “be yourself.” It’s simple, but sometimes, people just don’t get it.
We don’t need another David Copperfield and we don’t need another Penn & Teller. We need a “you.” There’s certain specific characteristics and personality that every person has. The way you smile and the way that you look and interact with the audience. That’s the thing that is you and there will never be another you.
