"An Evening with Vince Gill" will be the inaugural event in the new Cox Pavilion at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) on May 25. Since beginning his career in Oklahoma, the award-winning Gill has had 26 top ten hits. Tickets for the reserved show are $57 with parking inlcuded, call 1-888-464-2468.

The capacity for concerts in the $16.8 million new multi-purpose Cox Pavilion depending on stage size is 2,800.

The Cox Pavilion is UNLV's newest entertainment venue primarily designed to house the women's basketball and volleyball teams. The pavilion will also host concerts and other special events and it is actually connected to the Thomas & Mack Center.

The good news is "The Rat Pack Is Back!" is being extended for another year at the Sahara Hotel. The cast signing on for the extension is Steve Lippia as Frank, Doug Starks as Sammy, Rick Michel as Dean and Mark Cohen as Joey.

However, Cohen will be out of the show for a month until May 8, while Hiram Kasten fills in. Cohen and his partner Lee Frank are co-producing and creating a half-hour pilot show for Comedy Central called "Talk Show Game Show." It will open with Cohen doing a comedy monologue and a celebrity guest interview segment much like the "Tonight" show. The second part of the show will feature three members of the audience going up on stage to answers questions about what happened during the talk show promotion.

Cohen gained game show experience when he hosted a remake of the comedy game show "Make Me Laugh" and made 100 episodes in 1998-99. About four years ago he was a guest writer for "Saturday Night Live," and he also appeared on one episode of "Friends" playing the mattress king.

The Adventuredome at Circus Circus has unveiled another ride in America's largest indoor, climate-controlled theme park. Chaos is a spinning ride that generates new patterns, ensuring that no two rides are the same. It's a circular ride with 18 two-seater buckets that tilt and spin around. The ride is raised up into a 70-degree tilt and spins in a counterclockwise motion at 12 rpm for 2 « minutes. As it's spinning, each bucket rocks differently and even makes unpredictable summersaults.

Chaos is a $600,000 attraction that was a challenge to install in the Adventuredome. Installation alone cost $300,000 because an opening had to be made in the side of the dome wall and two cranes were needed to lift it inside.

Voted "Best Family Attraction" the last two years by the local newspaper's poll, The Adventuredome packs 19 attractions inside the five acre pink dome. Having opened on Aug. 23, 1993, it took a year to build at a cost of $90 million. "Amusement Business" magazine has ranked The Adventuredome 19th in visitor volume among all theme parks in North America.

The Adventuredome is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until midnight on weekends. There is no general admission to enter the park. Ride tickets range from $3-$5, and unlimited rides passes are available for $12.95 and $18.95 depending on height, call 702-794-3939.

The California Pizza Kitchen restaurant at the Golden Nugget downtown will close within several months, most likely in June, to make way for a new restaurant and entertainment venue. The new eatery hasn't been finalized yet, but the company hopes to open it by the end of the summer. Plans also call for all the rooms in the hotel's north tower to be renovated this summer.

Other Golden Nugget activities recently included reopening its showroom, which stars comedian David Brenner in an extended run, and adding a Starbucks coffee house.

The Tower Shops at the Strotosphere have two new stores, Ming Boutique and Bizarre Bazaar, and two retail carts, Ming Kids and Goldfather's Outlet.

Ming Boutique and Ming Kids have the same owner. The boutique features unique home accessories and a small line of women's patio-style apparel. The retail cart offers costume gold jewelry and unusual children's clothing, games and toys.

The Goldfather's Outlet cart has affordable costume gold jewelry for the whole family. The Bizarre Boutique specializes in exotic items imported mainly from India and Asia.

Kevin James, comedy star of the CBS television series "The King of Queens," will headline at Paris Las Vegas, May 4-6. Tickets are $49.95, call 1-877-374-7469 or 702-946-4567.

While attending Cortland University, James played fullback on the football team. When an injury occurred, he dropped out of college and became a personal fitness trainer before discovering standup comedy, which he did for 11 years.

It was on the comedy circuit that James met fellow comedian Ray Romano. After numerous breaks like on "Star Search" and "The Tonight Show," James landed a recurring role on Romano's sitcom, "Everybody Loves Raymond. Then came stardom with "The King of Queens."

TOP OF NEXT COLUMN

The Mandalay Resort Group is considering expanding its convention space due to heavy demand. Most likely the expansion would occur on vacant land next to the existing convention center. This project; however, would not exclude the proposed plans to put a mall between Mandalay Bay and the Luxor.

"The Private Collection of Steve Martin" featuring 28 works by 19 artists in a variety of mediums will be on display at the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art through Sept. 3. He's been art collecting over the past 30 years, which is his biggest hobby, and this is the first time he has ever allowed his art pieces to be on view.

The collection is comprised mainly of Modern and Contemporary works spanning from the late 19th century to the present day. The oldest pieces are by Georges Seurat circa 1883 and '84. Included in the $12 admission price is an audio tour narrated by Martin with personal commentary and anecdotes. The gallery is open 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, call 1-888-488-7111 or 702-693-7722.

An illustrated catalog written by Martin entitled "Kindly Lent Their Owner" is being sold exclusively at the Bellagio Gallery Store for $40. Net profits from the exhibit will be given to the Steve Martin Charitable Foundation, a privately run organization that assists the arts.

The legendary Village People with sing along tunes like "YMCA," "Macho Man," and "In The Navy," will take audiences on a nostalgic, hip-gyrating musical journey at the Riviera's Royale Pavilion on April 20 and 21. Tickets are $38 plus tax and fees, call 702-794-9280.

The Broadway series booked at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts is featuring seven performances of "Fame - The Musical," April 18-22. The show focuses on the hopes, dreams and aspirations of a group of students attending New York's High School of Performing Arts.

"Fame - The Musical" premiered 15 years after the MGM motion picture "Fame," which received four Academy Award nominations, was released. The film was followed by the hit television series.

Tickets are $20 and $70 for "Fame," call 702-785-5000. The next two scheduled musicals are "Fosse," May 22-26, and "Les Miserables," Sept. 19-22.

Strong demand in Las Vegas has prompted Hilton Hotels Corp. to develop four new lodging properties. Two Hampton Inns and Suites properties will be built. One will be near Nellis Air Force Base in North Las Vegas and the other in Henderson. The 100-room Henderson property will be built adjacent to another new property, a 100-room Holiday Inn Express, and have a 10 percent suite component. The Garden Inn and Homewood Suites properties, each with 150 rooms, will be constructed near Tropicana Ave. and Paradise Roads, pending zoning approvals.

There are new 36-passenger Viva Las Vegas Shuttle buses running from 10 a.m. to midnight daily between the Belz Factory Outlet World mall and the Fremont Street Experience downtown. The Las Vegas-themed buses make 14 stops mostly along the Strip. The cost is $20 for a five-day pass, which enables passengers to get on and off the bus as many times as they want.

The exhibit at the Las Vegas Art Museum, Dale Chihuly: The George R. Stroemple Collection featuring over 300 works from the artist who created the Bellagio's breathtaking floral sculpture is entering its final weeks and will close April 30. Admission is $10, call 702-360-8000. The museum is located about seven miles from the Strip at 9600 W. Sahara Ave.

The Dave Mason Band will perform in the showroom at the off-Strip Suncoast Hotel & Casino property on April 21 and 22. Tickets are $19.95, $24.95 and $29.95 plus tax, call 702-636-7075.

Mason's career spans over 25 years and includes producing, performing and songwriting. At age 18, the Worcester, England native was one of the founding members of the group Traffic. While with Traffic, and only 19 years old, Mason penned the rock and roll song "Feelin' Alright," which has since been recorded by over 300 artists.

Mason migrated to the United States and as a solo artist struck gold with four albums. In 1993, he formally joined the legendary group Fleetwood Mac, toured for two years and completed an album called "Time," that featuresy Mason's lead vocal on songs including "Blow By Blow" and "I Wonder Why."

Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at The Mirage has switched to summer hours. The attraction opens at 11 a.m. on weekdays with the Secret Garden closing at 5 p.m. and the Dolphin Habitat at 7 p.m. On weekends and holidays, the attraction opens at 10 a.m. The Secret Garden is closed on Wednesdays. Admission is $10 and children under 10 are free.

The second annual Duck Derby fundraiser for the Foundation of Positively Kids is set for April 21 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Monte Carlo. The event will include appearances by Tony Curtis, Clint Homes and The Scintas.

To participate, people may "adopt" a yellow rubber duck for $5. Each duck will be labeled with an adoption number and anyone whose duck is plucked from the Monte Carlo's Easy River will receive a prize. Prizes include a chance to win $50,000, a trip to Hawaii, a trip to Mexico, spa packages, show tickets and gift certificates. "Adoption certificates" are available at the Market City Caffe inside the Monte Carlo and C2K at The Venetian. For information, call 702-262-0037.

CONTINUE ON TO...:
>THIS WEEK'S LAUGHLIN SEGMENT
>LAST WEEK'S LAS VEGAS SEGMENT
>VEGAS VIEWS FULL ARCHIVES
>Return to "Heard Around Town"
>Return to Las Vegas Leisure Guide