The 300-room Silverton, located off I-15 five miles south of Tropicana Avenue, has announced a $100 million, three-year expansion that will nearly double the size of the casino. In the dining department, four new restaurants -- a steakhouse, Mexican eatery, new buffet, and bar and grill -- will be added.

Equally dramatic will be the property's transformation from a 19th century mining town theme to an alpine-lodge design, complete with waterfalls, wood and stone decor, and special chandeliers. In addition, Silverton will install a 60,000-gallon, 20-foot-tall aquarium.

Finally, a 40-store retail mall will be built on the property. Groundbreaking for this first-phase expansion is slated for mid-July and scheduled to be completed in November 2003. A future phase could include expanding the hotel to 2,000 rooms.

The Rio has introduced an innovative new entertainment concept to its casino floor - one that may transform casino beverage service forever. BevErtainmentSM is a new concept that marries Las Vegas' most recognizable icons, the cocktail server and the entertainer.

Nearly 100 glamorous entertainers traverse the casino floor taking drink orders swiftly and with a smile. Periodically each talent pauses to sing or dance on strategically-placed stages for 90-second live performances.

The 10 stages or, "hot spots," may be found throughout the Rio's casino floor, accessible from every entrance. Each stage weighs approximately 4,000 pounds and has its own computer processor and state-of-the-art sound and lighting package. When the lights begin to flash and the original musical introduction sounds... it's time for something exciting to happen.

"Our goal was to create a continuous sequence of entertainment," said Tom Jenkin, the Rio's Senior Vice President and General Manager.

The Rio contracted Dick Foster Productions (producer of the Rio's "Masquerade Show in the Sky") to plan and execute the concept. Foster, who works in association with Creative Productions, Inc., auditioned and hired world-class professional entertainers from several cities, wrote and recorded arrangements, choreographed dance routines and designed several glitzy costumes in a manner similar to that of a major Las Vegas production show.

Country superstar Tim McGraw and his band The Dancehall Doctors will perform a special two night engagement at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on July 18-19. Tickets are $65, $95, $125 and $150, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

With a decade-long hot streak that encompasses 20 Number One singles, six multi-platinum albums, sales of over 25 million albums and the success of his latest album "Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors," McGraw has earned an enduring status as one of country music's most popular and respected performers.

Engelbert Humperdinck's July 15-Aug. 3 showroom booking at the Las Vegas Hilton will be taken over by Elvis impersonator Trent Carlini and his "Dream King" tribute show. The manager of the successful Fab Four Beatles tribute that has played the showroom in the past will oversee Carlini's show. Tickets will be $35 and $40, call 702-732-5111.

Carlini actually performed in the 1,400-seat Hilton showroom back in 1999 during an Elvis tribute week. His "Dream King" show will feature a five-piece live band, three female backup singers, music from Elvis' '68 comeback hits, and songs the superstar performed at the Hilton.

While Carlini isn't famous like Humperdinck, he has a strong background emulating the King. He headlined in "Legends in Concert" at the Imperial Palace for six years until he left in 1996 to do his own show at the Boardwalk. He's performed all over the world and before an audience of 14,000 in Montreal at a concert.

Prior to his Hilton gig, Carlini can be seen as a contestant on The Learning Channel's "A Dating Story" on June 27, when he is part of the cable show's "Vegas Week" episodes.

Multi-talented actor / comedian Howie Mandel will perform at the MGM Grand's 740-seat Hollywood Theatre from July 10 - 23. Tickets are $60 inclusive, call 800- 929-1111 or 702-891-7777.

Mandel's career has encompassed virtually every area of entertainment including television, film and stage and he steadily performs as many as 200 stand up concert dates a year. He recently starred in Showtime's "Crown Heights," a film based on the true story about racial tensions between Hasidic Jews and African-Americans.

Mandel's fame came from starring in the award-winning NBC drama "St. Elsewhere." He also produced and created the Emmy Award-nominated children's series "Bobby's World" and hosted "The Howie Mandel Show," a daytime talk and variety show.

Doo-wopper Dion DiMucci will headline the Orleans Showroom, July 17-20. Tickets are $39.95, $49.95 and $59.95 plus tax, call 702-365-7075.

Dion began recording in the late '50s with a group of friends from the Bronx street corners. Dion and the Belmonts recorded enduring tunes such as "A Teenager in Love" and "Where or When."

In 1960, Dion ventured out as a solo artist and racked up a string of No. 1 hits such as "Runaround Sue," "Lovers Who Wander" and the anthem "The Wanderer."

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When "The Sound of Music" comes to the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, July 23-25, it will star the great-grandchildren of Captain Von Trapp... Sofia, 14, Melanie, 12, Amanda, 11, and Justin, 8. This will be the first time that a Von Trapp will perform in "The Sound of Music."

The show based on the family's life was the final collaboration between composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Tickets range from $40-$60, and cost $39.00 for the Thursday matinee, call 702-785-5000.

The North Strip Stratosphere is another casino running weekly summertime pool parties on Thursdays from 6 to 10 p.m. Admission to the "Wild Nights Pool Parties" is $10 for men (first drink complimentary) and free for women, who also get to drink for free from 6 to 8 pm. For information, call 702-380-7777.

The nearby Sahara has teamed with 97.1 The Point radio to put on Splash Pool Parties on Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. with giveaways and drawings. Entry fee is $2 with one free drink included and Sam Adams Beer is $1.50.

The male dance strip revue at the Riviera, "Men, The Show," features Las Vegan Ricco Elbaz, who recently won the Lightweight Division (194 pounds or less) and Best Overall at the Nevada Bodybuilding Championship competition. Tickets for the nightly except Tuesday show are $32.95 plus tax and fee, call 702-794-9433.

This month, Mirage impressionist Danny Gans has eliminated his $80 tier of tickets. Now all tickets for his show are $100, call 702-791-7111.

It's strongly rumored that a Tommy Tune-directed production of Jerry Herman's "Miss Spectacular" may fill a new legitimate theater being built at The Venetian.

Pop singer Laura Branigan, who came to fame in 1982 with the single "Gloria," will grace the Suncoast Showroom on July 5 and 6. Tickets are $39.95, $44.95 and $40.95, call 702-636-7075.

Branigan, a four time Grammy Award nominee, has had three other top ten hits, "Self Control," "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You," and "Solitaire." She is busy recording her new CD.

Twin brothers have reopened the old Pot O'Gold Casino on Market Street in Downtown Henderson after the former 7,500-square-foot gaming venue had been closed for more than two years. With an infusion of $2 million in renovations and remodeling, the property has reopened at The Emerald Island.

The essentially new 12,000-square-foot casino is a 17th Century Irish-village-themed place with murals, building facades and other antique touches.

The Emerald Island's most distinctive feature is the 9-foot-high illuminated "emerald" on top of a 60-foot outside tower.

Two recently released photo books are about Southern Nevada and available at local bookstores.

"Henderson," by Jackson Armstrong-Ingram, is the latest installment in Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series. In time for the 50th anniversary of the incorporation of Nevada's second largest city, the book tells the story of the making of the city through approximately 200 black-and-white images. The city grew from a population of 7,410 and an area of 14 square miles in 1953, to 208,000 people in an area stretching more than 80 square miles in 2001. The book sells for $19.99.

"Las Vegas, A Photographic Tour," by Carol Highsmith and Ted Landphair, is a visual tour of the city's past and present through about 300 photos of places, people and unique things. Published by Crescent Books, an imprint of Random House Value Publishing, the book sells for $15.99.

Comedy clubs have a solid "laugh-hold" on the Strip along with Rita Rudner at New York-New York. After 11 years as a visiting headliner, she had a regular gig at the MGM Grand that lead to her permanent move across the street to her very own room at New York-New York. She's a queen of rapid one-liners.

Comedy clubs are a mainstay and three have their names established in other cities. In Las Vegas, The Improv at Harrah's, The Comedy Stop at the Tropicana and Catch A Rising Star at the Excalibur follow a similar format of multiple, usually three, comedians with the lineup changing weekly. This is a great inexpensive way to get acquainted with talent-on-the-rise and most of the participants have appeared on national television.

Clubs that operate the same as the three already mentioned but with no counterparts anywhere are The Riviera Comedy Club at the Riviera and The Comedy Zone Downtown at the Plaza.

The Chicago-based Second City improvisation troupe expanded into the "City of Laughs" a couple years ago and took over the 200-seat Bugsy's Celebrity Theatre at the Flamingo.

Off the Strip, there are more clubs. At the Palace Station, Laugh Trax has different laugh-makers weekly, Tuesday through Saturday.

Buddy Hackett's son has been running comedy clubs steadily for years. Currently Sandy Hackett's Comedy Club is at the Greek Isles. The show is performed seven nights a week at 9 p.m. with Hackett as a constant comic while a second comedian joins him. This show even has a steak and shrimp dinner offer.

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