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SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Former Cal Poly baseball player Danny Gans, named "Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year" for 11 consecutive years, died early Friday, according to United Press International. Gans was 52.

The cause of death was not immediately known, although the Las Vegas Review Journal reported Gans had apparently died in his sleep.

He is survived by his wife, Julie, and three children.

Gans billed himself as a "musical impressionist" who delighted audiences with his takes on legendary Strip entertainers, the UPI report said. He was the top attraction at the Mirage for more than a dozen years until February when he moved to Encore, the new Wynn hotel-casino that opened late last year.

Steve Wynn, chairman and CEO of Wynn Enterprises, called Gans "a brilliant, talented and loving friend" in a statement issued to KLAS-TV in Las Vegas.

Gans' manager, Chip Lightman, said in a written statement, "Danny Gans will not only be remembered as a Las Vegas entertainer, but as a man who loved his family, loved God and loved the city of Las Vegas."

Gans is a graduate of Torrance High School and transferred to Cal Poly after two seasons at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut.

A physical education major at Cal Poly, Gans played first base, third base and right field for the Mustangs in 1977 and 1978. He hit .321 as a junior in 1977 and led the Mustangs with seven home runs and 45 RBI, earning All-California Collegiate Athletic Association and NCAA Division II All-American honors.

He posted a .262 average as a senior in 1978 with 10 doubles and 17 RBI. Drafted out of high school by the Kansas City Royals, Gans was selected by the Chicago White Sox after his junior college and college careers and played briefly for Victoria in the Northwest League in 1978 before an Achilles' tendon injury ended his baseball career.

After a brief career in standup comedy, Gans became an actor, making appearances on television, in series and commercials, and scoring a small part in the 1988 baseball-themed movie Bull Durham.

In 1995, he moved to Broadway to perform a well-received one-man show, but then decided to move to Las Vegas to reduce time away from his family, who lived in Los Angeles.

Gans started his Las Vegas stay at the Stratosphere Hotel in 1996. He moved to the Rio Hotel shortly thereafter, and then on to The Mirage in 2000. Gans was a permanent performer at The Mirage, where the Danny Gans Theatre was built for him.

Earlier this year, Gans changed venues again, and performed at Encore, the sister property to Wynn Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Strip marquee now bearing Danny Gans' image is the largest freestanding marquee in the world. Gans new show opened on February 10.

His inaugural album, produced by contemporary Christian music legend Michael Omartian, was cross-marketed in both the pop and Christian music genres, and sold in both mainstream and Christian music outlets, in much the same manner as Amy Grant.

In April 2007, a delegation of Kentucky Colonels went to Las Vegas and presented him with the Kentucky Colonel award.