Tickets are on sale for Luciano Pavarotti's "Farewell to Las Vegas" performance at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday Oct. 26. This date, marking the Maestro's final concert in Las Vegas, is his third one at Mandalay Bay. He delivered his inaugural show on April 10, 1999, and one year later on April 22, he returned with The Three Tenors to perform for the resort's first year anniversary celebration.

Pavarotti is celebrating more than 30 years since his Metropolitan Opera debut in Puccini's "La Boheme," and over 40 years since his operatic debut in the same opera in Reggio Emila, Italy in April 1961. Tickets are priced at $50, $100, $200 and $300, call 702-632-7580.

The Stratosphere has lined up Billy Ray Cyrus to perform at its Outdoor Events Center on Friday, Sept. 6. He's touring in support of his eighth album entitled "Time Flies." Tickets are $32 for floor and premium seats and $25 for plaza seats, call 702-380-7711.

Cyrus became a music sensation in 1992 with his giant hit "Achy Breaky Heart." Since that time, he's proven his versatility by expanding his talents to television and movie roles. He currently stars in the top-rated PAX television series "Doc" and received critical acclaim for his role in David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive."

Caesars Palace will present "Labor Day Weekend Rockin' Under the Stars" concerts featuring Dennis Quaid & The Sharks on Saturday Aug. 31, and Jim Belushi & The Sacred Hearts on Sunday, Sept. 1. The opening act both nights at the outdoor Garden of the Gods will be Vesica Pisces. Tickets are $25 plus a $3 handing fee, call 1-800-634-6001 or 702-731-7333.

Actor Dennis Quaid serves as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the band. The quintet boasts musicians who have played and recorded with many big-names such as Tina Turner and Joe Cocker.

Actor, comedian, musician Belushi joins ten other musicians to create the rhythm-and-blues sounds of Jim Belushi & The Sacred Hearts.

The four members of Vesica Pisces were winners of the 2000 Los Angeles Music Award for Best Adult Contemporary Artist, and are ready to release their second album, "Halfway to Naked."

Magician Rick Thomas has changed the name of his afternoon show at the Tropicana from "The Illusionary Magic of Rick Thomas" to "The Magic of Rick Thomas." Show times are 2 and 4 p.m. daily except Fridays, in the Tiffany Theatre. Tickets for table seating are $16.95 and $21.95 for booths, call 702-739-2411.

Soon celebrating his five-year anniversary at the Tropicana, Thomas has also introduced a new illusion called "The Incredible Shrinking Tiger." The effect begins with four female dancers taking the stage where a giant crate-type box is situated with "Wild Animal" stamped on it. Samson, a full-grown white tiger is led into the box. Thomas then shrines it in size, eventually revealing a smaller version of Samson and another sign displaying "Cute Animal."

The Grammy-winning Carlos Santana is set to play Rain in the Desert at the Palms on Sept. 29. Rain is an intimate venue so ticket prices are a bit steep... $100 for general admission and $250 for VIP seating.

The musical variety show "Beats of Passion" that played at the Venetian last year from July to November has returned for another go round. Show times are 8 p.m. daily except Sundays. Tickets are $48, $59 and $69, call 702-414-4300.

The show brings most of the cast back, which includes the producer's father, Tuck, a member of Los Huincas Gauchos, flamenco dancer Vanessa Alvarado and Stas Greiner, who spent seven years with "Mystere" at Treasure Island. Juggler Romano Frediani was unable to rejoin the show; however, his father Nino, considered one of the best jugglers in the world, is in the show.

Producer Fernando Quevedo also intends to open a second show at The Venetian Showroom on Aug. 29. "Sourire" will be a lavish French production with performances at 10 p.m.

World-renowned illusionist David Copperfield returns to the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre with his latest stage production, "Portal," Aug. 22-Sept. 4. Tickets are $97 for evening shows and $77.90 for matinees, call 702-891-7777.

Copperfield's grand illusion in this production is transporting himself from the stage to a deserted island taking proof with him. Items are randomly collected from audience members and he even takes one member from the audience. Together they vanish on a platform suspended over the audience. Via a live satellite uplink, Copperfield and his companion are viewed at the remote location.

Lionel Richie is slated to headline at the Aladdin Theatre on Sept. 1. Tickets are $42, $57 and $77, call Ticketmaster at 702-785-5000.

Disney's musical production of "Beauty and the Beast" will take over the stage at the Aladdin Theatre, Nov. 13-17. Tickets for matinee and evening performances range from $25 to $90. Tickets are available at 702-785-5000 or 702-474-4000.

TOP OF NEXT COLUMN

Luis Miguel will sing at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 13 as part of the Mexican Independence Weekend celebration. Tickets are $50, $85 and $150, call 702-891-7777.

James Brown, a virtual ball of fire, will have things really hopping at the House of Blues when he sings on Oct. 18. Tickets are $50, $65 and $85.

The famous singing comedy siblings, The Smothers Brothers will return to the Las Vegas Hilton Theater, Aug. 13-Sept. 8. Since their first appearance on national television in 1961, Tom and Dick Smothers have been household names. Dick is known as the calm and reasonable one and Tom, as the silly jokester, with his popular "Yo-Yo Man" persona.

Comedian and musician Gary Mule Deer will open except on Sept. 7, when comedian and sitcom writer Ed Yeager will do the honors. Tickets are $30 and $40 plus tax and handling fee, call 1-800-222-5361 or 702- 732-5755.

Monte-Lago Village is secluded to open early next year at Lake Las Vegas. It will feature a 350-room Ritz Carlton Hotel, which is also scheduled to open in early 2003. A focal point will be a Florentine-style bridge that will provide passage between the shores.

Upon completion, the village will also contain a spa, casino, boutiques, waterside restaurants and cafes, office space and condominiums.

Superstar Neil Sedaka whose amazing career has spanned five decades will return to The Orleans Showroom, Aug. 20-25. Tickets are $34.95, $39.95 and $44.95 plus tax, call 702-365-7075.

By 1953, he had sold some 25 million records including the worldwide hit, "Oh Carol" penned in honor of his former girlfriend Carol King. His greatest copyright was "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do." In 1975, Sedaka re-recorded the tune as a ballad and it made chart history in the United States when it reached the top ten. It was the only song of two versions to be a hit twice for the same artist.

Sedaka's song "Love Will Keep Us Together" launched The Captain and Tennille as a three million seller. It was the most broadcast song in the United States in 1976 and earned Sedaka the Grammy Award. Out of the 140 songs that had been broadcast over a million times in a year, three belong to Sedaka.

Staying current, he recently made another departure with the release of "Tides of Love and Other Passions," by recording both old standards and original Sedaka songs with a jazz trio.

Chef Bradley Ogden, who owns the award-winning Lark Creek Inn in Marin County (just north of San Francisco) and other California eateries, will open Bradley Ogden at Caesars Palace in March.

Ogden's food philosophy is to bring American food from the farm to the table with pizzazz. The 9,800-square-foot dining establishment will open around the same time as Celine Dion's show makes its debut at the new 4,000-seat Colosseum. The restaurant will be located close to the giant showroom with 190 seats for dining and 60 seats for cocktails.

The restaurant in Mortoni's at the Hard Rock has closed. In its place and under construction is Simon at the Hard Rock, a joint venture due to open in late September.

Have read that actress Sigourney Weaver has expressed an interest in doing an old-fashioned Las Vegas act with singing and dancing. Sounds like an interesting challenge and one worth tackling.

If you're looking for late night activity at 12:15 a.m. on a Saturday, make your way to the Le Bistro Theatre at the Riviera to see Lon Bronson and his All Star Band. For a two-drink minimum, you can rock the night away and witness celebrities who stop by in the wee hours of the morning because Bronson has worked with many of them.

Keeping with the times, Harrah's full service spa now has plastic surgeon, Dr. Carl Williams, offering cosmetic Botox treatments every Saturday from 4-6 p.m. Botox injections into specific "sites" prevent those muscle groups from being able to move or flex, thus temporarily paralyzing the target nerves. Treatments are$250 for one site and $550 for three.

Station Casinos, the valley's largest casino operator, has announced plans to build a Summerlin casino that would be its biggest and most expensive property. It would be built near the interchange of Charleston Blvd. and the Las Vegas Beltway on a 73-acres site. The new casino would cost more than the $300 million Green Valley Ranch and the approximately 15-month construction would begin in late 2003 or early 2004.

We're losing another landmark in Las Vegas and it's one that most people know nothing about. The Landmark Pharmacy on Convention Center Drive, one block east of the center Strip, will close on Aug. 16. It's the last of its kind where people could mail a letter, wire something via Western Union, order breakfast or lunch, fill a prescription, and buy gifts, greeting cards and other sundries. Over the years the lunch counter was replaced with a grocery section and sandwiches made-to-order. Times have changed and the big guys like Walgreens right up the street have eased the independent drug store out.

The two-level, sports-themed ESPN venue at New York-New York recently celebrated its first anniversary.

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