Garth Brooks Will Commute To Las Vegas In Style

How do you lure a star out of semi-retirement? You start with a big paycheck and then you throw in the perks. This week, savvy casino mogul Steve Wynn drummed up excitement at the Wynn Encore in Las Vegas with the news that Garth Brooks has decided to play a five-year weekend residency at the hotel starting December 11.

Brooks played two secret shows at the hotel this summer. Steve Wynn, a man whose art collection is clear testament to the fact that he is accustomed to getting whatever he wants, began the push to get Brooks at his hotel. Brooks wasn't an easy fish to land and it took more than a big paycheck to get him to the Encore Theater. Wynn threw in the ultimate executive perk, the private jet. When Brooks retired he vowed that he would drive his three daughters to school everyday. The new 11-seat Challenger jet, courtesy of Steve Wynn, will help him honor that promise, making short work of the commute from Oklahoma to Las Vegas. Brooks described the jet to CNN as having a "cool interior, cool paint job."

What does Wynn get out of the deal? Each ticket at the Encore will be $125 and total sales for the shows could bring in millions. But more important than ticket sales is the fact that he will be drawing people to Las Vegas and to Encore, the luxury hotel he opened when the economy was at its worst. Wynn has been in the casino a long, long time and he knows that getting the people in the door can be the hardest part. Having Brooks as an incentive to visit might just be worth the plane and the paycheck.

UPDATE: Tickets for Brooks' first 20 shows at the Wynn Las Vegas resort sold out in less than five hours.