On Thursday,, April 27, the Comedy Stop at the Trop will celebrate its tenth anniversary with a special "Cavalcade of Comedy!" show hosted by Richard Jeni at 8 p.m. At least 16 comics will be performing. The majority of the comics that appear at Bob Kephart's comedy club are one step away from national fame. He opened his first comedy club in Atlantic City in 1983, and seven years later he opened the one at the Tropicana.

Tickets for this special one-time celebration show are $30 per person, plus tax and gratuity, call 702-739-2714.

A press conference was held at The Orleans recently to honor The Righteous Brothers and their mega-hit song "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" for being the most played song in the last century.

True to their comedic nature as a duo, they said "Lovin' Feeling" actually had everything going against it. It was too long, too slow and vocally too low. At the time The Righteous Brothers were known as a rock `n roll group and believed the song would be better suited to the Everly Brothers. Because it was too long, running a minute or two longer than all the other tunes, they claim it got air play because it allowed the disc jockeys time for a bathroom visit. Back then, disc jockeys could only spin one record at a time and "Lovin' Feeling" came in handy.

Trisha Yearwood will bring her "Real Live Woman" tour with special guest Jessica Andrews to the Las Vegas Hilton on May 5 and 6. Tickets are $45 and $55, call 800-222-5361 or 702-732-5755.

Yearwood's career is in high gear. Her 1997 MCA Nashville greatest hits album, "Songbook: A Collection of Hits," debuted at number one, yielded three consecutive number one singles "How Do I Live" from the movie "Con Air," "In Another's Eyes" with Garth Brooks, and Perfect Love," and sold three million copies to date.

Besides being heaped with major music awards, Yearwood sang at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games, did a duet with Pavarotti, at his request, in Italy in 1998 and performed, at Quincy Jones' invitation, at the White House for America's Millennium Celebration. She was inducted into the Grand Old Opry in 1999.

Sharing the Hilton's spotlight will be Jessica Andrews, the 16-year old from Tennessee. She was Billboard's best-selling new country female for 1999. "Heart Shaped World" was the only debut release to be cited in USA Today's Top 10 Country Albums of 1999, in addition to it being The Nashville Scene's No. 1 country album . Andrews spent last year on the road with Faith Hill.

The Budweiser World Cup 2000, the world championship of equestrian show jumping," will make a rare United States appearance at the Thomas & Mack Center, April 19-23. This is only the fourth time in the event's 23-year history that it will be staged on U.S. soil. Ticket prices range from $10 for a single show up to a VIP package costing $1,000, call 1-888-464-2468 or visit worldcup2000lasvegas.com..

International music legend Juan Gabriel will return to the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday, May 27. Last July, he performed to a full house following the first Mexican Rodeo held at the events center. Gabriel is considered by many to be one of he most noteworthy Mexican singers and songwriters of all time, selling more than 30 million albums during his 25 year career.

Gabriel's current tour includes music from his most recent album "Todo Esta Bien," which features new songs with all the music and lyrics composed by him. Tickets are $30, $45, $60 and $75, call 702-474-4000.

The California Hotel & Casino downtown will hold its third annual Las Vegas celebration of Lei Day on May 6 and 7, in the resort's north parking lot at the corner of Main Street and Stewart.

The festival is free to the public except during special concert hours both days. Activities begin both days at 10 a.m. and will include live Polynesian entertainment, Hawaiian arts and crafts, cultural demonstrations, hula troupes and Pacific Rim foods. Closing time Saturday is midnight and 8 p.m. on Sunday.

The 8 p.m. Saturday concert will feature Pomai & Loeka and Friends. Cost is $10. The Sunday performance by Kapena, featuring Gary Haleamu, is set for 4 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate.

The Imperial Palace will start up its Hawaiian Hot Luau! "Imperial-style," on Tuesday, April 25. This will be the ninth year that the poolside luau and Polynesian review will take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings beginning at 6:30 p.m., outside on the Shangri-la pool deck, and will continue, weather permitting, through mid-October.

The $27.95 per person admission prices includes tax, the themed dinner buffet, unlimited mai tai and pina colada drinks and non-alcoholic fruit punch, and a music and dance revue presented by Rozita Lee's "Drums of the Islands." For reservations call 1-888-777-7664 or 702-794-3261.

Hula lessons and sing-a-long's encourage guests to participate. Also, characters from the "Legends in Concert" show make appearances at the luau for photo opportunities with guests and autograph signing.

Legendary bands Styx and REO Speedwagon, along with special guests Survivor, will take over the Mandalay Bay Events Center on May 5. Tickets are priced at $15, $30 and $45, call 702-474-4000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.

Styx has sold over 25 million records and scored 8 top 10 singles. REO Speedwagon since they released their first record in 1971 has produced 17 albums, scored 13 Top 40 singles and sold over 40 million records.

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The Adventuredome Theme Park at Circus Circus has a new Imax motion simulator ridefilm called ReBool: The Ride. The experience is high tech featuring a digital city that exists inside a computer. Through surfing on the `net, the trip leads to the wrong place at the wrong time. Bob, the guardian that protests Mainframe and Megabyte, finds he has to save everyone when a nasty viral program attacks. Bob leads the high speed chase on a warp speed journey through cyberspace.

The Adventuredome formerly known as Grand Slam Canyon, is a 5-acre theme park with water rides, a roller coaster, laser tag, animated dinosaurs, an arcade, gift shop and restaurant. Hours vary and an unlimited ride pass is $12.95 for people 33-47 inches tall and $16.95 for everyone taller. Children under 33 inches tall are admitted free, call 702-794-3939.

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. has closed on the sale of the Showboat Hotel and Casino to three local investors. The new owners said they plan to re-theme the property from its Mardi Gras atmosphere to a Spanish Ocean themed resort; however, the Showboat name will be used or the next 12 months. A new name will come later.

Construction has started on the $ 65 million, 1,000-room addition at the Las Vegas Stratosphere hotel casino. The project will take about 14 months to complete. Financier Carl Icahn controls the Stratosphere and Arizona Charlie's.

Icahn has preliminary approval for his third casino in Clark County which will be the 300-room Sunrise Suites on the Boulder Strip. Icahn says about $12 million will go for improvements and the new property will be fashioned after Arizona Charlie's with a 3.3 percent hold percentage on slot machines, lenient table games and cheap food. There will be 826 slot machines and 13 table games. The hope is to open on the Tuesday before Memorial Day with a good chance for room rates dropping from $50 to $40.

We can look for another movie with a Vegas twist. The latest Flintstones film, "Viva Rock Vegas," will open on April 28; however, most the film was shot at a rock quarry near Los Angeles. Thomas Gibson, co-star of television's sitcom "Dharma & Greg," is a playboy casino owner who gets involved with Fred Flintstone and his entourage.

Dein Perry's "Tap Dogs" will make a limited engagement at the Rio, April 19-May 9. Tickets are $39 with tax included, call 1-888-746-7784.

The North Las Vegas Airport is the primary general aviation facility in the Clark County Aviation System. It is a center for pilot training and Grand Canyon tour activities. It is also the second busiest airport in Nevada in terms of operations calculated by take-offs and landings.

On April 3, the airport broke ground for a new Federal Aviation (FAA) Air Traffic Control Tower, new runway, and taxiway extension. The new tower will cost $64 million for the design and to build it with completion expected in April 2001.

Sunset Station's second East Coast Rock Festival is set for Saturday, May 6, at the outdoor amphitheater with Eddie Money, John Cafferty and Gary "U.S." Bonds as the main acts. Tickets are $20, $25 and $30, call 702-547-7777 or visit tickets.com.

Money has been a rock staple since the mid-1970s, and he's recorded 12 albums. In the early 80s, Cafferty and the band wrote and performed the music for the hit film, "Eddie and the Cruisers," an LP that sold more than 2 million copies. Bond, a singer, songwriter and arranger, when he was 19 recorded a hit single and had the promotional copies distributed in sleeves that said "Buy U.S. Bonds." Thus Gary Anderson changed his name to Gary U.S. Bonds.

The comedy team of O'Brien & Valdez will headline the Riviera Comedy Club for seven nights starting April 17. What makes the duo particularly unique is Jim O'Brien is an Irish fellow from Chicago who can see and Alex Valdez is a blind Mexican from Southern California. Their diverse backgrounds have been fertile sources for new, unheard material.

O'Brien's talent is sound effects and impersonations. Valdez, who has been blind since the age of seven, discovered early that cracking jokes helped people to accept his disabililty. Valdez was the first stand-up comedian with a disability in the country. The pair have made many television appearances and opened for major headliners. Two fellow comedians John Manfrellotti and "Ted" will complete the show at the Riviera Comedy Club. Shows are at 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $15.25 plus taxes and one drink is included, call 702-794-9433.

Lance Burton was recently picked asl the "Best Magician" and "Favorite Male Las Vegan" by the news staff of the Review-Journal's "The Best of Las Vegas" poll. He was last year's readers pick at "Best Magician," and in 1998, he was the choice of both. Tickets for his outstanding shows at the Monte Carlo are $44.95 for balcony seats, and $49.95 for the main floor.

The Easter Bunny will make a special appearance at Caesars Palace to distribute candy from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, April 23, during the holiday brunches in the resort's Cafe Roma and The Palatium buffet. Breakfast and brunch at the Cafe Roma are priced at $14.95 plus tax. The Palatium buffet will serve a champagne meal from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will cost $19.95 per person plus tax. Children ages 4-12 years can eat for half-price, and children 3 years and under eat fee when accompanied by a paying adult.

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