"Avenue Q" won't have an address at Wynn Las Vegas after May 28. The puppet musical will end its exclusive Las Vegas run, saving the casino the need to build a third theater for its 2007 commitment to "Monty Python's Spamalot."

The property's golf course, a holdover from its days at the Desert Inn, apparently proved more popular than the underachieving Broadway musical. A statement announcing the change suggests the golf course once guaranteed no longterm future has now become a prized asset.

A third theater was originally planned next to the current entertainment venues in an area that would connect the existing casino to a 2,000 room-plus expansion dubbed Encore.

Closing "Q" makes it possible to "accomplish this architectural goal without having to invade our golf course real estate," casino chairman Steve Wynn said in a statement released Tuesday evening.

"Giving up the delights of 'Avenue Q' was a very difficult, but necessary choice in view of all of the relevant factors," Wynn said.

"It does well," Wynn spokeswoman Denise Randazzo said of the golf course. "For the immediate future they want to hold on to it."

The change in plans won't fast-track "Spamalot," still scheduled to open in the first quarter of next year. The 1,200-seat theater hosting "Avenue Q" has a universal design, but the lobby area will be heavily remodeled to add thematic decorations such as a drawbridge.

Wynn made news in 2004 when it signed "Avenue Q" fresh from three Tony Award wins, pre-empting a national tour. The show opened in late August last year.

The producers recently eliminated the show's intermission and trimmed its running time to 90 minutes in what they called an effort to create more user-friendly show times. And earlier this month, locals were offered two-for-one tickets for certain performances.