by CRISTINA SILVA, Associated Press, 11.17.2010

LAS VEGAS — Wayne Newton's Las Vegas estate is a lavish wonderland complete with South African penguins, sweeping crystal staircases and a memorabilia collection to make a celebrity junkie salivate: a Frank Sinatra champagne glass, Nat King Cole's watch, Steve McQueen's Rolls-Royce and a Johnny Cash guitar.

The estate is so resplendent, Newton said, that he plans to open his gated home to the public and turn it into a tourist attraction. The project some have dubbed "Graceland West" won initial approval from a local government board Wednesday, paving the way for Newton to open his tours in late 2011 as planned.

The attraction has caused friction between the entertainer and neighbors opposed to noisy tour buses, unyielding traffic and inane gift shops flooding their affluent neighborhood of ranches and mansions just six miles from the Las Vegas Strip.

At the Clark County Commission meeting Wednesday, critics went on for more than three hours, begging the board to postpone approving the still-evolving project, to no avail.

"This has been incredibly heavy-handed," said neighbor Terry Manley. "It's arrogance. What's the hurry?"

In Newton's vision, visitors to Casa de Shenandoah will tour select parts of his 10,000-square-foot home adorned with plush white carpets, gold-trimmed doors, impressionist paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and 17th-century antiques collected from European castles.

They might glance at the singer's favorite space, a cramped office just to the right of his lavish living room, where the red paint splashed on the walls is barely visible behind the shelves and stacks of mementoes collected during his 50-plus years in show business.

The keepsakes are a reflection of some of the mentors and friends who helped make Newton famous, including Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bobby Darin and Jack Benny.........read more