On Feb. 22, an all-star Las Vegas cast of headliners will put on a benefit show for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association Nevada Chapter, which operates solely on donations. ALS is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, which has no cure.

There will be special appearances by the cast of "V - The Ultimate Variety Show," Clint Holmes, Bill Acosta, Earl Turner, Ronn Lucas, Amazing Jonathan, and many more. Cocktails service will begin at 4 p.m. and the show with follow at 5 p.m. Balcony tickets are $50.00, main floor $75.00, and VIP $100.00, call 702-933-4230.

The Amazing Johnathan, who entertained sold-out shows at the Golden Nugget for the past year-and-a-half, has moved into the 700-seat Flamingo Showroom with his uproarious blonde side kick, Psychic Tanya. While "The Madman of Comedy" has added some new material, he still focuses on his impulsive, bizarre humor and abrasive wit. Tickets are $50 for seating on the main floor and $40 for the balcony, plus taxes and fees, call 1-800-221-7299 or 702-733-3333.

Johnathan's show is hard to describe and not for the faint for heart. His routines mostly revolve around magic bits that have a twisted maniacal nature to them like "stapling" a blindfold To Tanya's head. Even though you may get queasy, he is funny and many times his side kick steals the show.

Johnathan began his career as a street performer in San Francisco, polishing his act on Fisherman's Wharf. He's been featured on many national television shows, and this fall, he has an upcoming episode of MTV's "The Real World Las Vegas" and a half hour special featuring new material and performances on "Comedy Central Presents."

Psychic Tanya, the zany foil, is Penny Wiggins, a skilled comedienne in own right, who has also appeared on national TV. Her diverse experience includes theatre roles, appearing as an opening act for singer Dionne Warwick, and performing the voice of "Dorothy" from "The Wizard of Oz" on an Aerosmith album. She's done special engagements impersonating celebrities and actually began her career as a professional clown featuring her signature character, "Spunky The Clown."

When The Amazing Jonathan moved to the Flamingo on The Strip, he vacated a 10 p.m. time slot at the Golden Nugget downtown that has now been filled by another edgy comedian David Strassman. But this time, instead of it being a comedian using magic, the star is a funny man with a ventriloquism act.

David Stassman in "Dummy" revolves around him playing the straight man to his lead puppet Chuck Wood, a sort of Charlie McCarthy-looking teenage mannequin with a foul-mouth. Wood challenges authority, thus Strassman takes a back seat to himself. Kind of an interesting theory that Strassman takes to a different dimension when at the end of the show he defiantly walks off and leaves Wood sitting center stage by himself. After all he's a dummy, what can he do?

The surprise for the audience is when Wood proceeds to perform moving his arms and body thanks to robotics. Strassman's hobby of remote-controlled airplanes came in handy setting up this routine. Furthermore, Wood is joined on stage by other puppet characters while Strassman is no where to be found.

Some of the other characters in this eclectic show include a sweet teddy bear, the bear's dad, a space alien and a beaver. Now it's up to you to figure out how such an array of dummies can fit into one show. Tickets are $35, call 702-386-8100.

Two members of the infamous Osbourne family are coming to Las Vegas separately to perform in concert at different venues.

Kelly Osbourne will lead the way on March 8 at the Huntridge Theatre, located at 1208 E. Charleston Blvd. Tickets are $12.50 at the door. Ozzy Osbourne will take over the Hard Rock on March 14. Tickets are $153 and $303. For tickets to either show, call 702-474-4000.

Platinum-selling country recording artist Mark Wills will be starring at The Star of Desert Arena located at Buffalo Bill's in Primm, Nevada, on Saturday, March 8. Tickets are $22.50 and $32.50, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

Wills, who was the Academy of Country Music's "Top New Male Vocalist" for 1999, has a new album release "Loving Every Minute," which unfolds a collection of universal themes. The Georgia resident's career was jump-started with the debut of Mercury Records' "Jacob's Ladder." That single was followed by a string of top-10 smashes. This past year, Wills teamed-up for duets with Chad Brock and Lee Ann Womack, the latter on the Tom Sawyer movie soundtrack and he also did the voice of Huck Finn in the 2000 animated film.

For the second year in a row, the Riviera released a Wedding Chip on Valentine's Day, and the Divorce Chip will follow on Feb. 25. Each chip is $5 and can be purchased at the Main Casino Cage. The chips go quickly even though 1,000 were made of each.

The Tuscany Italian Cafe is a new dining experience at the Tropicana on the main casino level. The intimate 70-seat eatery is designed with warm peach tones complemented by vintage European light fixtures. Tuscany is a region of Italy meaning "genius, culture, and art," and numerous photos of small Italian towns cover the walls. The entry is furnished with a rustic checkerboard tile pattern reminiscent of Tuscan Villas.

The restaurant's head chef is Salvatore Scaturro, who has over 32 years of experience in the restaurant industry. He's worked many upscale Italian restaurants and country clubs with his most recent job being at Dodici's fine-dining restaurant in Long Island.

At the door you are greeted by the maitre d' Jay De Riso, who has worked in Las Vegas for over 38 years. His experience includes 25 years working as the assistant maitre d' for the historic Crystal Showroom at the Desert Inn.

The Tuscany Italian Cafe is open Friday through Tuesday from 5 to 11 p.m., call 702-739-2655.

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Gaylord India Restaurant is new in Las Vegas and at the Rio. It has been a dining staple in San Francisco for two decades featuring the tandoori and Mughlai-style foods of northern India. Dinner is served from 5 to 11 p.m. daily, call 702-777-2277.

The name Gaylord is synonymous with the finest Indian food since two street vendors opened an out-of-the-way little dining establishment in New Delhi, India. They named it after the Hindu playful princely god, Gaylord.

"Dwight Yoakam, Almost Alone - Special Acoustic Concert" is set at the Railhead at Boulder Station on Feb. 28. Tickets are $22.50, $27.50, $37.50 and $47.50, call 1-888-464-2468.

James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, will perform an all-ages show on Feb. 21 at Texas Station. Tickets are $29.95, $42.50, $52.50 and $62.50.

Since being awarded the "Best Act In A Production Show" in 1995, the "Tribute" has toured all over the United States portraying the legendary five-member Motown group, "The Temptations." The impersonator group has joined the "Legends in Concert" cast, which includes tributes to Jerry Lee Lewis, Shania Twain, The Blues Brothers, Cher Elvis. The "Legends" performers use their own voices. There is no lip-synching and they are backed by an on-stage orchestra and beautiful dancers.

The five performers making up the faux Temptations have almost 100 years of entertainment experience among them, including working collectively or individually with the likes of The Jackson Five, James Brown, Lou Rawls, The O'Jays and the Indigos.

Baritone Don Burton, who is the lead vocalist, the leader and the founder of the group has been in the music business for 35 years. Hailing from Indianapolis, Indiana, he grew up working with such legendary performers as The Jackson Five and Babyface.

The "Legends" show takes to the stage twice nightly except Sunday at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. in the Imperial Theatre located on the third floor. Tickets are $39.95 inclusive for adults with two drinks included. Children 12 and under are $24.95. Dinner and show packages are available, call 702)-794-3261 or 1-888-777-7664.

Fox has been so lucky with its gangbuster rating hit, "Joe Millionaire," that it is producing a spin-off, "Married by America." This month, Fox film crews will shoot three episodes in the Aladdin Theater, with the first one scheduled to air on March 10. The twist to this show is a home audience makes the final decision on who marries whom, sight unseen.

A plan has been approved for a $650 million, 50-story, 3,250-room hotel and timeshare development anchored by a 12-story Ferris wheel and a manmade lake to be built on the north end of The Strip where Wet 'n Wild is located.

The $100 million Ferris wheel component would be a 560-foot-high ride with 30 individual cars. Voyager Entertainment has attempted to locate its Ferris wheel attraction in Las Vegas since the project was first announced in late 2000.

Meanwhile, Wet 'n Wild, the water theme park that debuted in 1977, will open its 2003 season on April 12.

The Stratosphere has opened a full-service salon and spa in its Tower Shops retail center. Roni Josef International Salon & Spa, which has two other local Las Vegas locations, offers massages, facials, manicures, haircuts, makeover consultation and other treatments.

The exhibit "Kuna Mola: Maintaining Tradition Amid Change," featuring a collection of 47 molas, color photographs, and a traditional Kuna outfit, will be on display through April 27 at the Clark County Museum on Boulder Highway in Henderson. The Kuna Indians living on a chain of tropical islands on the northern coast of Panama are famous for their vivid and intricate molas. Molas are created by a reverse appliqu‚ process in which two to five layers of cloth are basted together, then patterns cut through the layers, exposing the cloth below.

The Clark County Museum is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Admission is $1.50 for adults and $1 for children and seniors, call 702-455-7955 for information.

The 10,000-square-foot residence, which was the official show home for last month's International Builders Show in Las Vegas and visited by 5,000 housing industry professionals, is open to visitors age 18 and older from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Fridays through Sundays. There is a $10 per person admission fee with a portion of it going to charity. The $7.5 million estate with 3,000 square feet of outdoor living area will close for public viewing on March 16.

The showcase resident with a village-like ambience is in The Enclave at Southern Highland Golf Club. To visit, take Interstate 15 south to the Henderson / Lake Mead exit, head west and follow the signs.

Four area golf courses operated by American Golf, a management division of National Golf Properties, have been sold to an investment group headed by Goldman Sachs and Starwood Capital Group. The four courses were Badlands Golf Club, Las Vegas National Golf Course, Painted Desert Golf Course and Henderson's Wildhorse Golf Club.

More interesting shows are taking place at Artemus Ham Hall on the University of Nevada - Las Vegas (UNLV) campus just a couple miles off The Strip. The young athletic Lula Washington Dance Theatre 12-member troupe will perform their modern dance and ballet routines on March 1. Tickets are $19, $29 and $39.

The UNLV Wind Orchestra will host its "March Madness" concert on Feb. 27. The performance features classic marches in the military band style. Tickets are $8 general and $5 for students, military and seniors, call 702-895-2787 for either show.

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