The magic star of his own show at the Monte Carlo, Lance Burton, will host a TV special for the Animal Planet Network that will air this summer. Some of the most famous magicians in Las Vegas will appear in the show entitled "Lance Burton: Guerrilla Magic: Taking it to the Streets."

The all-star TV special will present magic and animals such as Penn & Teller and their earthworm, Kevin James and his goldfish and mouse, Steve August & the Snake Babe with scorpions and snakes, Mac King and his goldfish, Fielding West with Bob the Bird, Dana Daniels with his psychic parrot, Ed Alonzo who escapes from a straitjacket with his duck, Andrew Goldenhirsch and a butterfly trick, and Bob Massey and his turtle trick. Wayne Newton will be doing voiceovers.

"Lance Burton's Magic and Comedy & All-Stars" will be a special show presented at 8 p.m. on May 30, 31 and June 1. The magic stars of the show will be Mac King, Fielding West, Johnny Thompson, and Dana Daniels. Tickets are $49.95 with tax included for the mezzanine and $44.95 for balcony seating, call 877-386-8224 or 730-7160.

Burton will have a new schedule with seven shows a week beginning May 6. On Sunday, May 25 his show times will be 4 and 7 p.m. before time off from May 26-29 and June 2-9.

On May 21, Burton and Wayne Newton will be opening the "Country Music Awards" to be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center with Reba McIntire hosting.

In addition, don't be surprised if you see Burton on an upcoming "Meet the Folks" episode.

Wayne Brady, star of his own prime time variety show, "The Wayne Brady Show," will perform at Paris, April 18-19, and Dennis Miller, master of his Emmy award winning half hour HBO talk show, "Dennis Miller Live," will take center stage, April 25-27. Tickets for the shows are $65 with tax included, call 877-374-7469 or 702-946-4567.

Versatile entertainer Brady burst onto the national television scene with his role in ABC's hit comedy series, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Miller was once the "Weekend Update" correspondent on "Saturday Night Live," and most recently enjoyed a two-year stint as co-host on "Monday Night Football." In addition, he's written four books with the most recent one being "The Rant Zone," now out in paperback.

This year, Bon Jovi will headline Tiger Jam VI, hosted by Tiger Woods. The sixth annual fundraising event presented by Coca-Cola will take place on April 19, in the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center. Tickets start at $45.

Now the Tiger Woods Foundation's annual fundraising event has a new Web site www.tigerjam.com dedicated to all things Tiger Jam including a visual history of the first five events.

The Tropicana's Swim-Up Blackjack, located in the main pool surrounded by five acres of lush tropical grounds, will open its seasonal aquatic card game on Saturday, May 24, in time for Memorial Day weekend. The area includes two separate blackjack tables that can accommodate up to seven players each from 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. daily. Towels help keep the players' hands and chips dry.

A new keno game developed by Las Vegas Gaming Inc. will offer players an instant $1 million jackpot if they select 10 wining balls from an 80-ball lot. The system will draw 20 balls in all. Contracts are already signed with 14 casinos statewide including the Imperial Palace and Four Queens in Las Vegas to carry the game that will roll out within a month.

Las Vegas Gaming also developed Nevada Numbers, a keno game that is played in 40 casinos statewide.

The Riviera plans to issue 1,000 Steve Schirripa chips on May 9 at 9:30 a.m. Schirripa is the actor who plays Bobby Bacala on "The Sopranos" and he was also the hotel's entertainment director before his acting career took off. The $5 commemorative chip featuring the actor on both sides can only be obtained in person at the Main Cage.

Visual comedian and audience participation stunt-master Russ Merlin, who performs his routine in "V-The Ultimate Variety Show" at the Venetian and "Showgirls of Magic" at the San Remo, will star in The Larry King Cardiac Foundation's "An Evening with Larry King and Friends" on April 17 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Merlin was hand-picked by King when he was in town and saw the comic magician perform at The Venetian.

The fundraiser will be headlined by Lionel Richie and honor Tommy Lasorda, Senior Vice President of the L.A. Dodgers, and Franklin D. Raines, Chairman and CEO of Fannie Mae.

For now, Las Vegas is the center of the poker universe with major tournaments being played at Bellagio on the Strip and Binion's downtown.

The Bellagio's first-year Five-Star World Poker Classic tournament began on April 2. The 13-event tourney is highlighted by the $25,300 buy-in World Poker Tour Championship, a no-limit hold'em competition. The Travel Channel's new TV reality show called "World Poker Tour" is televising the tour's inaugural year.

The buy-in is the biggest in multitable tournament history and 120 to 160 players are expected to fork over the cash, generating a prize pool of as much as $4 million and a first-place prize of almost $1.5 million.

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Binion's Horseshoe will again draw many players for its five-week event that will begin April 15. This year's 36-event schedule will conclude on May 23 with the $10,000 buy-in championship.

The New York-New York Summer City Saver package, available from May 26 - Sept. 1, will include a deluxe room for two, a 2 for 1 breakfast at the Italian bistro, Il Fornaio, two passes for the Manhattan Express Roller Coaster, 2 for 1 drinks at the Big Apple Bar, plus $250 worth of valuable coupons. Packages start at $59.99 per night, and for $40 more, you can upgrade to a Jacuzzi suite, call 800-693-6763 or 702-740-6969.

On Saturday, May 3, the "Budweiser Boxing Series" will begin the first of three events to be held in May in the Flamingo's Sunset Ballroom. The first bout begins at 10:30 a.m. PDT. Tickets are $20 and $40, call 800-221-7299 or 702-733-3333.

NBC-owned Telemundo, a U.S. Spanish-language television network reaching 91 percent of U.S. Hispanic viewers, will air a live fight announced in Spanish from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. EDT. NBC Sports, which has not televised professional boxing since 1992, will broadcast its live boxing card from 3:30 to 5 p.m. EDT. Budweiser is the series' lead sponsor for both NBC and Telemundo.

The Imperial Palace is offering a $44 weekday and $74 per night weekend (double or single occupancy) April Room Package that must be booked by April 16 and used by April 30. Sunday through Thursday arrivals will receive a $50 dine-around bonus by mentioning "bonus" and the "Spring in Your Step" package when calling 800-634-6441 for reservations. A minimum two-night stay is required.

Craftsteak at the MGM Grand will host a five-course wine maker's dinner featuring wines from Alban, Au Bon Climat, Knox Alexander and Bien Nacido on Wednesday, April 23. Tickets are $95 plus tax and gratuity, call 702-891-5576.

The Studio 54 nightclub located in the MGM Grand will be open to the public on Sunday, May 25, from 10 p.m. until the early morning hours. Admission for men is$10 Monday through Thursday and $20 on Friday and Saturday.

Country singing star Alan Jackson along with fellow Grammy nominee Joe Nichols will take the stage at Buffalo Bill1s Star of the Desert Arena on Saturday, April 26, in Primm, Nevada, located 35 minutes south of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 at the Southern Nevada/California state line. Tickets are $45 and $65 plus a $2 service charge, call 702-474-4000.

Jackson, who made his debut in 1990, is continuing to tour in support of his eleventh triple-platinum Arista/Nashville CD entitled "Drive." The album's success is partially attributed to the single, "Where Were You (When The World Stop Turning)," that he wrote one night after the events of Sept. 11, and first performed live at the CMA Awards on Nov. 7, 2001.

Three new stores have opened at the Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas mall in Primm, Nevada. The stores include the 11,929-square-foot Lee store featuring jeans and casual cloths, Vanity Fair, a 4,607-square-foot women's clothing store, and Healthtex, a 5,680-square-foot outlet with clothes for babies and young children.

Lord & Taylor has backed out of plans to open a 138,000-square-foot store at the Fashion Show mall by early next year. It was projected to become the eighth anchor tenant at the Strip shopping center moving into the site formerly occupied by Dillard's.

Consolidated Resorts Inc., which operates Club de Soleil and timeshare resorts in Hawaii, is planning to break ground in September on the $200 million Tahiti Village, a 580-unit development of two-bedroom timeshares. The project will be built on 20 acres of land on the southeast corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and Arby near the Belz Factory Outlets mall. The units will be about 1,500 square feet and have upscale amentias, including flat-screen plasma televisions and six-foot whirlpool baths.

The Tahiti development will be built in three or four phases, with the first scheduled for completion in August 2004. Buildings will range in height from two to eight stories. The complex will have two swimming pools with sand-beach entrances, waterfalls, a spa, poolside cabanas and outdoor barbeque areas. A putting green and sand volleyball courts are also planned.

The company will be opening its five-acre, 186-unit Tahiti timeshares on West Tropicana Avenue this August or September.

Marriott Vacation Club International, a time-share operator tied to 1,900 resorts in 75 countries, is buying the 4,000-unit Polo Towers on The Strip from Las Vegas-based Diamond Resorts International.

The two companies are jointly developing the $300 million, Chateau project on Harmon Avenue that will have four 33-story towers built in phases.

On Thursday, April 24, St. Jude's Ranch for Children will present its second annual "A Night of Nostalgia" benefit event at the Boulder City campus overlooking Lake Mead. The evening will begin with a champagne reception at 5:30 p.m. and tour of the new Santa Francesca Independent Living Center and St. Jude's Auto Museum. Hosted cocktails and a gourmet dinner will be accompanied by vocalist and pianist, Steven Acho. At 7:30 p.m., there will be performances by international recording artist Gino Federici, and veteran musical comedian Stephen Sorrentino with his show "Voices In My Head." Tickets are $100 per person, call 702-294-7100 x 156.

A consortium of Internet service providers is planning a new trade show in Las Vegas in October. The ISP Exchange is scheduled at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Oct. 28-29. The inaugural event is expected to draw 500 people and feature between 30 to 60 exhibitors.

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