The Stratosphere is partnering with amusement industry leader Interactive Rides of Logan, Utah to create the ultimate extreme thrill ride, temporarily named Project X Sky. With an anticipated opening of early fall 2003, Project X Sky will rank worldwide as one of the most intense themed attractions. The thrill ride will send riders over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower's Outdoor Observation Deck almost 900 feet above the Las Vegas Strip.

Project X Sky consists of an open, floorless vehicle that holds eight passengers in "escape proof" seats. The vehicle is attached to a pivoting track that propels the passenger vehicle over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower at 30 miles per hour. The vehicle will travel approximately 27 feet over the edge. Riders will experience free-fall maneuvers while racing back and forth repeatedly from the edge. Project X Sky is fully programmable with varying degrees of intensity.

An unobstructed view of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip rewards those riders brave enough to ride Project X Sky, which will be the world's third highest thrill ride. The Stratosphere's Big Shot thrill ride and High Roller roller coaster are the first and second highest respectively.

Music superstar Mariah Carey will kick off her 2003 U.S. "Charmbracelet" tour with an exclusive one-night engagement at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on July 26. Tickets are $49.50, $95 and $150, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

Since beginning her career, Carey has established herself as one of the top selling female artists of all-time. She has 15 Number One singles, two Grammy Awards, eight American Music Awards and has been named Billboard's "Artist of the Decade." She is the only artist to top the charts in each year of the 1990s, and with her hit "Heartbreaker," she edged out the Beatles as the artist with the most cumulative weeks spent atop Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. Carey's current album, "Charmbracelet" has sold over 3 million copies worldwide and features the No. 1 single, "Through The Rain" as well as the recently released new single, "Bringin' on the Heartbreak."

Occasionally you run across amazing stories and this one revolves around golf professional Greg "Sweet Pickle" Stafford, who sets records hitting long drives. In 1999, he set a world record hitting 684 straight 300-yard drives and raised $6 million for cancer research. In 2001, he blasted 800 drives 300-yards and more in 30 mph winds and freezing temperatures.

He's set to repeat this type of feat all day at the Callaway Golf Center at the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Sunset Road on Tuesday, July 15. His beneficiary this time will be the PLGA-USGA Girls Golf Club of Las Vegas, which is a program encouraging girls ages seven to 17 to learn the game of golf, to sample competition, and build friendships in a non-threatening environment.

The public is welcome to visit the event and witness Stafford's distance technique. He believes hitting further is a mental choice rather than a physical one.

The Flamingo has introduced two new dining establishments with distinctively different cuisines. The Pink Ginger features a variety of Pan Asian dishes presented with contemporary style. Ventuno Ristorante, Cafe and Bar offers guests modern Italian cuisines served in a warm and intimate setting. These restaurants replace the Peking Market and Alta Villa, which were removed to make way for Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, a restaurant and entertainment venue set to open this fall and overlook the Strip's action.

Pink Ginger's authentic Japanese, Korean, Cantonese and Thai cuisines is served in a contemporary, yet simple, Asian-themed atmosphere. The entrance is reminiscent of a traditional Asian "key," lit from the inside to create a clear transition into the dining area that is rich with red, tan and gold accents. Dinner is served nightly from 5 to 11 p.m.

Ventuno is located adjacent to Pink Ginger and steps away from the resort's 15-acre tropical lagoon pools and wildlife habitat. The exterior is identifiable by the use of wood, slate and patterned glass, separated by Venetian plaster that actuates the architectural elements.

Inside, the eatery is oval, with the same shape recreated throughout the ceiling and seating area, creating an engaging space. Both spacious and intimate, the decor features delicately placed drapery and lighting. Ventuno Ristorante is open for dinner from 5 to 11 p.m.

A more casual dining experience is offered by Ventuno Cafe, which is open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night snacks and serves lighter menu fare such as antipasto, salads, wood-fired gourmet pizza and pastries. The Cafe is accentuated by a large wood-burning oven that functions as a rustic backdrop. Hours are daily from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Magician Lance Burton will perform a benefit magic show with his friends for the Shriners at 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 20, at the Monte Carlo. Tickets are $22.50 for the lower level and $20 for the balcony and can be purchased at the ticket booth in front of The Lance Burton Theatre from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Lance Burton's special guest stars, who will all be world-class magicians, will be a surprise this year.

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Singer, songwriter and author Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will bring their tour to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday, Sept. 20. Tickets are $65, $100 and $200 plus applicable service charges, call Ticketmaster at 702- 474-4000.

Buffett uses his travels and storytelling skills to explain the world at large to his far-flung legion of fans, affectionately known as Parrotheads. His enthusiasts are known for wearing colorful, tropically outrageous outfits at the concerts, which many of Buffett's songs inspire.

Buffett's newest record, "Meet Me In Margaritaville," a two-CD release featuring a collection of his greatest hits, was released April 15 on MCA Universal Records. Buffett has recorded more than 30 records, most of which have gone gold, platinum or multi-platinum. His recording, "Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads," is one of the biggest-selling box sets in MCA Records history and was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

As an author, Buffett has written three best sellers: "Tales from Margaritaville," "Where is Joe Merchant?" and "A Pirate Looks at Fifty." He is one of only six authors in the history of the New York Times Bestseller List to have reached No. 1 on both their fiction and non-fiction lists. The other authors include Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, William Styron, Irving Wallace and Dr. Seuss.

The 17-piece John Haig Orchestra will headline the sixth annual Lamont Patterson Big Band Dance at the Stardust on Wednesday, July 2. The three-hour concert featuring Swing Era tunes and arrangements written for Sinatra by Nelson Riddle and Don Costa will start at 7 p.m. and admission is free.

Patterson was a Las Vegas-based jazz and entertainment columnist for more than 15 years. Before his death in 1997, he established a trust fund to be used for a music scholarship at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and an annual free big band dance.

The Haig Orchestra has been playing Las Vegas showrooms since 1968, backing prominent artists and was voted "Orchestra of the Year" six times at the Las Vegas Entertainment Awards. Haig, a trombonist, began his Las Vegas career in 1955, and became leader of the Caesars Palace Orchestra in 1988.

The 815-room Westin Casuarina (formerly the Maxim), located on E. Flamingo Road across the street from Bally's, was originally slated to open in July and now the plans are for an official opening on Sept. 15. The hotel, which will include 15,000 square feet of meeting space and a casino, is now accepting reservations, call 702-836-9775.

The Neville Brothers, the New Orleans-based family band and five-time Grammy Award winners, will headline at the Stardust, July 3-5. Tickets are $29.95 plus tax, call 702-617-5577.

There has been a Neville brother on the music scene since 1953 when Art, then a 17-year-old keyboard prodigy, made his debut with the influential Hawketts in New Orleans. Younger siblings Charles, Cyril and Aaron followed in his footsteps and the brothers joined forces in 1978, and recorded their first album together. The collaboration launched more than two decades of continued prominence.

In 1989, the Neville Brothers won the "Best Pop Instrumental Performance" Grammy for the song "Healing Chant." The group's trophy case also includes Aaron's three Grammys for duets with Linda Ronstadt and Trisha Yearwood and the Grammy awarded to Art when he teamed with B.B. King, Eric Clapton and others to record "SRV Shuffle."

Wayne Newton, who appears at the Stardust 36 weeks a year, will return July 7.

New York-New York now has its own retail website, , so visitors can purchase the resort's themed merchandise, souvenirs and keepsakes at just the click of a mouse. The prices range from $2.50 for playing cards to $52 for a hooded sweatshirt.

New York-New York is currently working on retail sites for their new Nine Fine Irishmen pub, and Cirque du Soleil's "Zumanity" show. Both are opening this summer.

We'll know more soon, but it's rumored that Steve Wynn's new resort under construction where the Desert Inn used to stand is in for a name change before it even gets built. Wynn's name choice was Le Reve meaning "The Dream."

It's official now, the Aladdin will have new owners and a name change making it the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino and a Sheraton property. A $90 million new front will feature the giant blue globe logo. The top two all-suite floors will be rethemed with "celebrity suites." A television studio overlooking the Strip is planned with weekly movie premieres.

Teen pop sensation Aaron Carter is on the schedule to perform at the Hard Rock on July 27.

NBC's summer hit, "Last Comic Standing," is scheduled to make a return trip to Paris Las Vegas on July 29 for its final competition.

Rodney Dangerfield has cancelled his one night show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on July 19.

The description being used for the new Cirque du Soleil "Zumanity" show at New York-New York, making its debut on Aug. 14 in a specially designed theater, is a new art form called "erotic cabaret." The sensual show is suppose to be featuring gay, straight, drag, bondage, etc.

The Castaways new Events Center will feature The Stinson Brothers Tribute to Brooks & Dunn and Jimmy Buffett with special guest Dan Seals on Saturday, July 5. Tickets are $15, call 702-385-9188.

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