Paul McCartney, who is touring for the first time since 1993, will bring his "Driving USA Tour" to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 5 and 6. This engagement was heavily sought after when the Mike Tyson-Lennox Lewis fight got cancelled. Tickets for McCartney's concerts are $125, $250 and $350, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

Tickets are on sale for Britney Spears Memorial Day weekend show on Friday, May 24, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The pop superstar's "Dream Within A Dream" tour features a 153-foot long, multi-tiered stage that includes a 70-foot oval main stage, highlighted by a runway leading to the center stage, ensuring good sight lines. Seventeen semi-trucks are required to transport Spears' enormous production that incorporates more than 250 lights and lasers.

Tickets range from $45.50 up to $95.50, call 702-474-4000.

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn will once again hit the road with their trademarked festival-style tour titled "Brooks & Dunn's Neon Circus & Wild West Show" and perform at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday, May 10 at 4 p.m. Brooks and Dunn will be joined by talented country music artists including Dwight Yoakam, Gary Allen, Trick Pony and Chris Cagle. Tickets are $45, $65 and $95, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

Brooks and Dunn continue to be one of the country's most consistent superstars having sold 24 million albums and earned 21 No. 1 songs. The duo continues an amazing assault on the country music scene having won the Duo of the Year Awards at both the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Awards.

Ray Romano, star of the television sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," will headline in the Danny Gans Theatre at The Mirage, May 17-19 and Aug. 16-18. Tickets are $65 plus tax, call 702-792-7777.

The Rio will launch its all-new late-night adult revue "Showgirls," on March 29, in the Samba Theater. Tickets will be $39.95 plus tax for the 11 p.m. nightly show except Thursday. Also the showgirls will be available for photos before the show from 10 to 11 p.m.

Word is the sexy revue will give audiences a glimpse of showgirls throughout history, with tributes to bombshells and female icons of cultural history, such as Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Dolly Parton, Madonna, Carmen Miranda and Britney Spears.

"Showgirls" will feature 12 gorgeous dancers and star international recording artist Sunny, who ties together the show's vignettes. The choreography is done by award-wining Mistinguett, who was recently named to the Broadway Round Table Choreographer's Hall of Fame, joining the likes of Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse.

Something different with this show will be an attraction in the Samba Theater entrance. The exhibit will be devoted to more than 100 years of showgirls, featuring costumes, memorabilia and photos. The display will be free to the public and open daily for viewing from noon to midnight.

Bill Maher, star of television's "Politically Incorrect," will bring his humor to the Las Vegas Hilton April 5 and 6. Ticket are $20, $30 and $40, call 1-800-222-5361 or 702-732-5755.

Master illusionist Rick Thomas, the most recent recipient of the Magician of the Year Award from the Academy of Magical Arts, is taking his show overseas to Japan from March 19 through April 1. His production show, "The Illusionary Magic of Rick Thomas," is regularly preformed at 2 and 4 p.m. daily except Friday at the Tropicana where it will return on April 2.

Thomas will be performing a total of 23 shows one hour in length at the Nagasaki-Holland Village, which is an amusement park similar to Disneyland. Eight members of his cast and crew and one of his four tigers will make the trip.

This is not Thomas' first time overseas. Before joining the Tropicana, he toured the world, performing in over 30 countries, including Australia, China, Korea and Hong Kong. He also spent five years onstage in Guam.

There's a new magician in town with a 2 p.m. show at the New Frontier running Saturdays through Thursdays. The smaller-scale show "Murray: Magic's New Master" highlights 25 year old Murray Sawchuk, who bills himself as the "Guy with the CDs" and as the "Guy with the Hair." His trademarks are the compact disc as his signature piece in his act and his blond disheveled hair. Tickets are $12.95, call 702-794-8200.

Donn Arden's extravaganza, "Jubilee!" at Bally's has acrobats and aerialists as new specialty acts replacing illusionist Dirk Arthur, who has completed a magical five-year run with the show.

"Jubilee!" has been entertaining audiences since 1981. The show is noted for scenes where it "sinks" the Titanic, pays tribute with a cast of almost 100 performers to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and re-enacts the story of Samson and Delilah. Each week the lavish production show uses more than 4,200 pounds of dry ice and 60 pounds of explosives for special effects.

Tickets for "Jubilee!" are priced from $49.50 to $66, call 1-877-374-7469 or 702-967-4567.

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The 2002 Toughman World Championship will be fought at Caesars Palace on March 29-30. The event will feature 16 light heavyweight and 16 heavyweight local champions from 24 cities across the nation. The contestants will battle for $110,000 in prize money and bragging rights. The finalists will duke it out in single-elimination style until there is only one man left in each division.

Each fight will consist of three 60-second rounds. Every participant must be 18 years of age and weigh no less than 175 pounds. Three impartial judges will use the standard 10-point scoring system and standard boxing rules will be enforced in the ring by licensed referees.

Entrants are divided into two weight classes: 175-194 pounds for light heavyweight and 195-400 pounds for heavyweight. Fans will see 16 bouts on Friday night and the winners will compete on Saturday night in a single-elimination 14-bout tournament to determine the champions in both weight classes.

The Toughman Contest is currently featured on the FX Network on both nights at 10 p.m. (EST) and has been on FOX Sports five night a week. Tickets for the event are $20, $30 and $50 plus a $3 ticket-handling fee for one night. The two-night ticket packages are $30 and $50, plus a $3 ticket-handling fee.

The Shaquille O'Neal All-Star Comedy Roast II charity event will be held at the MGM Grand's EFX Theatre on Friday, June 28. The event hosted by the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers All-Star Center will feature a roast of World Champion Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith.

Sheena Easton, who is headlining the NightClub at the Las Vegas Hilton, is taking some vacation time and the Fab Four are filling in with their tribute to The Beatles. The group takes audiences on a live musical journey that begins in the Ed Sullivan Theater, visits Sgt. Pepper's and winds through Abbey Road. The Fab Four will be appearing March 18-24 and April 8-14. Tickets are $27, call 1-800-222-5361 or 702-732-5755.

Blink 182 and Green Day, two of today's most popular punk rock bands, will bring their "Pop Disaster" tour to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Tuesday, April 23. General admission tickets are $35 plus applicable service charges, call 1-800-929-1111 or 702-891-7777.

Tony Orlando, who is headlining at the Golden Nugget downtown through April 20, is inviting the public to join him in a healthy spring walk. Anyone who would like to walk the 1.8 round trip route with Orlando can meet him and exercise physiologist Jim Muth outside the Starbucks at the Golden Nugget at 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Orlando is acknowledging the recent "USA Today" survey that showed America is overweight and the fact that he constantly battles with weight.

The off-Strip Royal Hotel owner is planning to build a timeshare development that will be larger than initially announced. Plans now call for a $100 million, 40-story tower with 426 timeshare units at the Convention Center Drive site, near Las Vegas Blvd. Construction is suppose to begin on the first phase in October and be completed in 2004.

The company also plans to convert the 236-room Royal Hotel into timeshares. Fifty rooms have already been switched over.

For the first time, the Oscar Statuette is visiting Las Vegas as a kick-off for the 7th Annual Oscar Night America celebration that will benefit the Arthritis Foundation. It is Las Vegas' only Academy-sanctioned party that will be held in the Roman Ballroom at Caesars Palace beginning at 4 p.m.

The audience will view the live telecast of the 74th Annual Academy Awards ceremony on four large screens. Each guest will receive the same official program distributed to guests seated at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, as well as the commemorative poster designed by graphic novel illustrator Alex Ross. The celebrity Master of Ceremonies will be Robin Leach of "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" fame. The After Glow Reception will immediately follow the Academy Awards ceremony at Spago. For information about this event, call 702-367-1626.

Ever think about visiting Las Vegas and going horseback riding? Here are a couple prominent places where this outdoor activity is available: Silver State Old West Tours and Cowboy Trial Rides.

Silver State Old West Tours are on Bureau of Land Management property in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. All rides are guided by one or more wrangles.

An hour ride is $27.50 per person and a 90-mintue ride is $39.50 and both are through First Creek Canyon. A 2-« hour ride through Oak Creek Canyon is $49.50. The four-hour ride through First Creek and Oak Creek is $49.50. A day-long ride through Pine Creek Canyon is $90.05. For reservations and information, call 702-798-7788.

Cowboy Trail Rides offer rides at Red Rock Canyon and Mount Charleston.

In the Red Rock Canyon area, the 1 1/2-hour ride is $69 without a picnic lunch and $89 with lunch. The ride is down into the canyon and to the summit of the Calico Basin overlook and Red Springs. A two-hour afternoon ride that ends with a western-style dinner under the stars at base camp is $139.

The 90-minute horseback ride at Mount Charleston is $69 or for a wagon ride $79. For information, call 702-838-8001.

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