At last on May 2, the $99-million Neonopolis will open downtown. It will open without its second anchor tenant Jillian's, a Louisville, Ky.-based company, which will offer a restaurant, bowling lanes, billiards tables and a dance club. Jillian's will open at the end of August. Neonopolis is a 240,000-square-foot project that will be 70 percent occupied when it opens.

Harrah's has opened a new nightclub called View located within the Range Steakhouse. View offers a breathtaking view of the Strip, a late-night dance experience, a full bar, appetizers, a DJ spinning hot dance tunes, and dancing girls.

Guests can order from a concise menu, featuring a few appetizers and desserts. The View is open Thursday through Saturday, from midnight to 5 a.m. There is a $10 cover charge for all gentlemen and ladies are admitted free. The entrance to View is located outside adjacent to the Carnaval Court. For information, call 702-369-5000 or visit www.harrahs.com.

Jay Leno, one of the country's premier comedians and America's late-night talk show leader, will headline at the MGM Grand's EFX Theatre, May 30-June 1. Leno is in his tenth year as host of the Emmy Award-winning "The Tonight Show," yet he remains passionate about performing in front of a live audience where he can tell jokes. Tickets are $55 and $65, call 1-800-929-1111 or 702-891-7777.

Impersonator extraordinaire Rich Little will bring four decades of political history and American culture to life at the Theatre des Arts at Paris Las Vegas when he stars in "The Presidents," April 25-27.

"The Presidents" was conceived by Little, written by Ron Nessen (Gerald Ford's press secretary and former NBC news correspondent) and New York playwright and screenwriter Loren Paul Caplin. The poignant show is in two acts with Little playing the roles of all nine presidents from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush.

The five-actor production has the Commander in Chief joined on stage by the First Ladies with all eight portrayed by actress Elaine Bromka, and all the presidents' men, include John Dean, Robert Kennedy, Robert McNamara, Billy Carter, George Carville, and others. While Little stars as all nine presidents on stage in full make-up, his voice work is featured through his impersonations of Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Stewart, David Brinkley, Walter Cronkite and the Rat Pack.

During the Paris Las Vegas performances, "The Presidents" will be filmed for broadcast in the fall of 2002 on national PBS stations. The television special will air in conjunction with the start of the national tour. Tickets are $49 for evening shows and $29 for the matinee, call 1-877-374-7469 or 702-946-4567.

Grammy-award winning artists Don Henley and Train will perform at the Tiger Jam V benefit concert presented by Coca-Cola and hosted by Tiger Woods. The fifth annual event will take place on April 20, at 8:30 p.m. in the Mandalay Bay Events Center. Tickets are $45 and$65, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

As a founding member of the Eagles, Henley won four Grammy awards, topped the album charts five times and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Train's multi-platinum second album, "Drops of Jupiter," recently won two trophies--Best Rock Song and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)--at the 2002 Grammy Awards ceremony. The group has made many high-profile television performances on Letterman's and Leno's talk shows, the 2002 Grammys and the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Skateboard legend Tony Hawk has assembled an array of "alternative" athletes and musicians for a 24-city arena tour this fall. Called Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam, the tour will open with a spring preview show on April 27 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

The high-voltage stunt and music spectacular will feature world-famous skateboarders, BMX bikers, and freestyle Motocross riders doing dangerous things on an extravagant, million-dollar ramp/track edifice. In the middle of it all, playing hard, will be recording artists The Offspring and Social Distortion.

The Las Vegas premier will be made into a 60-minute television special scheduled to air three times on ESPN this summer. Hawk's show will include an enticing light show, pulsating sound and pyrotechnic display. The centerpiece will be a giant, portable ramp system and musical stage. Tickets are $25 and $40 general seating, $75 for premium seating with a goodie bag, and $150 for VIP seating, a meet 'n greet and a goodie bag.

Blind music legend Ray Charles is lending his name to the first in a series of slot machines for the visually impaired. The Bally Gaming Systems machines, which include audio cues and a Braille-button deck, are being shipped this month.

The slot machine models include an "America the Beautiful"-themed machine featuring the 71-year-old and "The Paylettes." His "America the Beautiful" recording is 30 years old.

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Dennis DeYoung, former singer and songwriter of the Chicago-based rock group Styx, will perform in the MGM Grand's 740-seat Hollywood Theatre, April 18-24. Tickets are $40.50 and $57, call 1-800-929-1111or 702-891-7777.

DeYoung will perform a retrospective of his career featuring radio classics such as "Babe," "Come Sail Away" and "Mr. Roboto," which was recently used in a national Volkswagen commercial. DeYoung will be accompanied by a symphony orchestra and rock band. He will also perform various selections from his Broadway repertoire including songs from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Universal Hippo Records recently released a compilation of DeYoung's solo albums in the "Ultimate Collection" series. DeYoung's music is featured in television and movies including Adam Sandler's hit film "Big Daddy."

The "Birdman of Las Vegas," Joe Krathwohl, has added a few new bird tricks to his free afternoon show at the Tropicana that is daily except Thursdays at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2 p.m. in the Tropics Lounge. Krathwohl presents the most unprecedented lineup of rare and rescued birds from all over the world. The show includes amazing feats and an opportunity to learn about a wide variety of avian wildlife. For more information, call 702-739-2222.

An example of one of the tricks involves a maccau named Scarlet. Krathwohl first displays a mailbox, which Scarlet flies to and puts the flag down, retrieves the mail, and returns it to Joe. Next an audience member is asked to stand and hold a dollar bill in their hand. Scarlet flies into the audience, takes a dollar from the guest and puts it in the mailbox.

For the third consecutive year, two Las Vegas restaurants have garnered Mobil Travel Guide's coveted five-star honor. Renoir at The Mirage and Picasso at Bellagio were two of only 14 dining establishments nationwide to receive the highly regarded distinction. The five-star honor indicates that a restaurant is one of the best in the nation and able to provide an unequivocal level of service, quality and ambience.

The first poker game in the 33rd annual World Series of Poker will be held on April 19. This year's tournament will feature 37 separate events, up from 27 a year ago. It will conclude May 20-24 with the championship, five-day, no limit Texas hold 'em event. The buy-in for that event is $10,000.

This year organizers are projecting 750 to 800 players and the prize pool is expected to exceed $20 million. Prior to the championship game, a new event will include "Gold Bracelet Match Play," a game open only to previous winners of a World Series event.

Tickets are on sale for "Guys and Dolls," which will run May 14-19 at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts. Tickets range from $25 to $75.

The CineVegas International Film Festival will be held at the Palms Casino Resort, June 8-15. This will be the fourth year for this film event.

Creed, Default and 12 Stones will perform on May 22 at the Thomas & Mack Center. Tickets are $48.50. They are on sale at the box office or by phone at 1-888-464-2468.

Several performances have been added to "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding" playing in the Rio's Calypso Room. Showtimes are Wednesday-Friday and Monday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 6 and 9 p.m., Sunday at 1 and 7 p.m. and dark on Tuesday. Tickets are $65 general seating and $75 for special VIP seating, call 702-777-7776.

"Tony 'n' Tina' Wedding" is the second longest running show in Off-Broadway history. The interactive dinner theater concept gives audiences a chance to attend an actual wedding in which there is a ceremony, reception, guests and lots of improvisation. The theatrical performance satires an Italian-American wedding, and the audience participates in all aspects of the fictitious center.

The Rio has created a new and varied menu for the show. Guests can expect something a little different each night. One night vegetable lasagna will be served, another night it may be Fettuccini Alfredo or it may be one of many chicken, meat and fish dishes.

Wet 'n Wild will employ a child-locating system this summer. The system uses watch-size devices which park-visiting family or group members wear on their wrist. By scanning the device at a SafeTzone stations, parents can find their child on an electronic map of the park.

The Las Vegas Art Museum, located inside the West Sahara Library at 9600 W. Sahara Ave., will host the National Portrait Gallery's traveling exhibit, "George Washington: A National Treasure." Las Vegas is the second of eight cities on the circuit.

The show will run from June 28 through Oct. 27 and feature the famous 206-year-old, full-length portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart. The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation purchased the 8-by-5-foot painting for $30 million in 2000. The rest of the exhibit is comprised of works by 19th and 20th century American painters.

Playgirl's 2002 Man of the Year is Chippendale's dancer Matt Kenney. The 27-year-old bared it all in the magazine's June 2001 issue. Kenney is one of the leads in the Chippendale's troupe, which has a two-year deal at the Rio's Club Rio showroom that began in late February.

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