The Stratosphere will add an outdoor amphitheater as part of its $75 million expansion project. The new mid-size 3,752-seat entertainment venue will host headline entertainment and special events such as world-class boxing. The amphitheater will be located on the north side of the property with the entrance adjacent to the buffet. Seating will consist of 2,140 bleacher seats and 1,612 chairs with construction scheduled to begin in late June. The versatile venue will be ready in early September and open with to-be-announced big name entertainment.

The word is becoming echoing strong that Celine Dion will be the headliner to call the new 4,l000-seat Coliseum-themed theater that Caesars Palace is building "home." However, everyone has to wait for the showroom to be built and that's well over a year away.

This is a fun pairing-Paul Simon and Brian Wilson at the Mandalya Bay on June 22. As things go, Wilson sang Simon's song "Sounds of Silence" earlier this year at a Simon tribute and just last month, Simon performed Wilson's "Surfer Girl" at a Wilson tribute. Now the two veteran performers are a concert pair. Tickets are in the $40 to $50 range, call 702-474-4000.

"Showgirls of Magic" at the San Remo is truly a big, fast-paced production show with 16 scenes capsulated into a cozy, almost cramped, intimate couple hundred seat lounge-size theatre. The billing "the biggest little show in town" is a fitting description. The show with a cast of eight features comedy, music, magic and dance.

David Saxe took over "Showgirls of Magic" from its previous producer, his mother, and has greatly enhanced it with new lighting, choreography and music. Saxe is also the producer of his sister Melinda's "First Lady of Magic" show at the Venetian.

In the makeover of a show that has survived nearly five years at the hotel, two comedians have stayed. Antonio Hoyas is a little person who does The Great Antoine and often performs as Charlie Chaplin. Comedian Joe Trammel uses the frenetic physical approach to comedy delivering without dialogue a diatribe of rapid costume and prop changes. At one point Hoyas plays Sonny and Trammel takes Cher's part in a spoof.

A magic couple, Nathan Burton and Sarah are new to the show in two scenes. Unique is their twist on the standard levitation trick. Sarah dresses as a doll and gets a blast from a giant hair dryer that lifts her in the air on a 45-degree angle. She is blowing parallel to the stage floor to the tune "Barbie Girl."

The show is made spicier now with four sexy showgirls instead of three who perform magic tricks. Many of the illusions like in the bigger magic shows are the kind where the ladies switch places. In the second show, they perform topless when they step out of their fancy Marie Antoinette ballroom dresses.

"Showgirls of Magic" is performed nightly except Monday in the Parisian Cabaret at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.99 with one drink included, call 702-597-6028.

Las Vegas will have a new hypnotist this week when Benjamin the Wildman of Hypnosis opens on May 25, at the new Howard Johnson, 3111 W. Tropicana Ave. The new entertainment venue will be Benjamin's X-Rated Hypno Theater in a converted part of the hotel's ballroom. The new hypnotist is moving here from the San Francisco area. Shows are 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, plus 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Siegfried and Roy recently made conservation history when they announced that their Magical White Lion, Prosperity, gave birth to four cubs at the Cincinnati Zoo on April 1. Named "The Pride of the Millennium," the cubs are the first litter of White Lions born in the United States. This new litter of cubs brings the number to 23 Magical White Lions in Siegfried & Roy's three-continent quest to save the endangered species from extinction.

A contest running from June 1 through July 2 is being held to select names for the cubs. Entries may be sent to: White Lion Cubs, The Cincinnati Zoo, 3400 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45220. The contest winner will receive an all expense paid trio to Las Vegas.

Prosperity, along with her mate Sunshine and Future, are on loan to the Cincinnati Zoo as part of the Las Vegas entertainers' breeding program.

Siegfried & Roy's recent backstage visitors include Cher who made her first visit to Las Vegas when she wasn't performing and fighter Oscar de la Hoya.

Singer and Grammy-award winner Sade will bring her "Lovers Rock Tour" to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday, July 27. She is best known for her hit songs "Your Love is King," "Smooth Operator" an "Sweetest Taboo."

"Lovers Rock" is Sade's first new studio album in more than eight years.

"Time Magazine," "USA Today" and the "Los Angeles Times" have chosen "Lovers Rock" as one of the best albums of the year. Sade's five previous albums have collectively sold more than 50 million albums worldwide.

Motown recording artist India Arie is opening for Sade. "Rolling Stone" describes Arie as a "studied songwriter and guitar player rooted in R&B, soul, Motown and blues of the past, but grounded in the post hip-hop urban world of today." Her recently released classic rhythm-and-blues rooted debut album, "Acoustic Soul," includes the enchanting but single "Video."

Tickets are price at $45.25, $65.25 and $110.25, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

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The innovative "Blue Man Group-Live at Luxor" beginning this week will again extend its show schedule due to overwhelming demand. The show will be performed twice nightly at 7 and 10 p.m. seven days a week. Tickets are $59.50 and $69.50, call 702-262-4400 or visit www.blueman.com for more information.

In addition, Blue Man Group's Grammy-nominated debut album "Audio" has been the top selling album in Las Vegas for many weeks. "Audio" was recently released in the new DVD Audio 5.1 Surround Sound format.

The music of Earth, Wind & Fire will unleash its funky sounds at the Paris Theater des Arts, June 7-10. The group is known for its fusion of American pop and African rhythms, and the melding of rock, jazz, funk and Latin-tinged R&B that has given them a rare level of crossover appeal. Some of their classics are "Shining Star," "Fantasy," "September," "Reason" and "That's the Way of the World." Tickets are $75, call 1-877-374-7469 or 702-946-4567.

Dancer Carrie Wright who has been in "Splash" at the Riviera since 1992 and as the leading lady in 1999, is stepping aside to do her first love, the world of makeup. Her replacement is Heather Dee Perry, a former Rockette currently traveling with Jimmy Buffet on his national tour. Perry's stage and film credits include being a Ziegfeld girl in "Will Rogers Follies Broadway Tour," a Flamenco dancer in "Gypsy Kings" and one of Tom Jones' showgirls in "Mars Attacks."

The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City plans to open its 14th nationwide store at the Desert Passage mall at the Aladdin. The Met's 3,000-square-foot store is set to open around the first of June. The store will sell products and reproductions based on original works of art from the famed New York museum.

Fourteen pheasants have been added to the growing menagerie making up the Flamingo's Wildlife Habitat, now going into its seventh year. The pheasants are Flash, Gordon, Milo, Kiki, King Tut, Pharaoh, Scarab, Boss and six more are awaiting names. The total wildlife population at the Strip resort - including goldfish and Koi - is a whopping 1,033. The pheasants, African penguins, Chilean flamingos and other critters can be viewed free 24 hours a day along the hotel's tropical grounds.

Bally's Las Vegas which features one of the largest standard hotel rooms at 500 plus square feet on the Strip has been upgrading and modernizing the entire resort since the renovations began in 1999. The hotel rooms feature a bright and natural look with custom carpeting and artwork and granite desktops, bathroom floors and counter tops.

Noticeable outside, the resort is currently erecting a new, 15-story 3-dimensional outdoor marquee on the world-famous Four Corners.

The first phase of Bally's renovation included upgrades of the convention facilities focusing on the Ballroom and Events Center. The resort's tower known as the "SkyView Convention and Meeting" area, where major social events and functions are held in rooms for 20 to 2,000 guests has been improved. Bally's Steakhouse has been redesigned to reflect a picutreque New England-Sytle hunt club and a redesign of the casino bar called Sully's.

Bally's 22nd Floor Club, where premium players and special guests enjoy complimentary breakfast and evening cocktails along with a view of Las Vegas has recently received a fresh contemporary look. Bally's also recently remodeled its 67,000 square foot casino.

Visitors should be aware that some hotels are adding a surcharge to room rates to meet rising power costs. The surcharge is usually $3 per night to help offset power rates that have increased 20 percent.

Adult-oriented ventriloquist Otto Peterson and his wooden sidekick, George, will star in the Riviera's next KXTE XXXtreme Comedy Showcase next weekend on May 25 and 26. They'll appear in the Riviera Comedy Club located on the 2nd level of the Mardi Gras Entertainment Complex. General admission is $14 plus tax, call 702-794-9433.

The Hard Rock has launched an $8 million renovation of rooms in its first hotel tower. Remodeling began last year and should be completed by the end of this year. The remodeling includes 339 of the hotel's 657 rooms. The Hard Rock has been open six years.

The Fairfield Grand Desert Resort at 265 E. Harmon Ave., between the MGM Grand and Hard Rock hotels will have its first guest on June 20. The $60 million first phase of the time-share resort has 184-unnits. The total buildout of the new timeshare will consist of 420 units and cost $145 million.

This is a local oriented event; however, it might be fun. On July 13, the sixth annual Advertising Community Talent Show (ACTS) will take place center stage at Club Madrid at Sunset Station. Around 20 acts will perform in the fundraiser. Tickets are $20 through Station Casinos call 1-888-464-2468.

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