by Jackie Brett Send Me E-mail

The Rio has begun building a $7 million, 21,000 square-foot entertainment complex dedicated entirely to women. Billed as The Ultimate Girls' Night Out destination, the Rio's new complex will be the first in Las Vegas to offer such a venue. The multi-faceted entertainment experience will be a place where women of all ages may come together and celebrate occasions such as bachelorette parties, high school / college reunions, 21st birthday celebrations, office parties and just about any other instance when a "girls' night out" is in order.

Slated for a December 2004 opening, Ultimate Girls' Night Out will house the popular male stripper show and feature a 400-seat Chippendalesr Theater with a 50-foot-wide stage and private sky boxes, a spacious 1,500-square-foot ultra cocktail lounge, a 2,100- square-foot retail boutique and plush ladies' room.

Architecturally this will be a virtual theme park for women. Even the women's bathroom will be an integral attraction, complete with a plush "gossip pit" and other special features not found in any ordinary "girls' room."

The Rio believes the demand is strong for a female-targeted entertainment in Las Vegas after seeing a significant increase in show counts over the past two years.

One of Broadway's most successful shows, "The Phantom of the Opera," will be hitting the Las Vegas Strip in the spring of 2006. The popular show will open at the Venetian in a new theater located in the space previously occupied by the Guggenheim Museum.

The Las Vegas version will be scaled down to a 90-minute show. While shorter in production time, the experience will supposedly be such a new and different product that it may even undergo a different title to separate it from the original.

Real estate mogul Donald Trump and New Frontier owner Phil Ruffin have announced plans to build the $300 million 645-foot tall Trump International Hotel and Tower. Construction is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2005 and be completed in 18 months and not have a casino component.

The project will be built on 3.5 acres of vacant land along Fashion Show Drive between the Strip and Industrial Road. Trump International will be a super luxury residential hotel condominium with a 1.6 million-square-foot tower with more than 1,000 condominium-hotel units ranging in size from 636 square feet to 1,057 square feet, and have a combination of 1,693 square feet. Another 50 residential homes will range in size from 3,000 square feet to more than 10,000 square feet. Each will have a separate lobby.

The condo-hotel is being patterned after Trumps Manhattan project. Plans for his new Las Vegas place include restaurants and a luxury spa and salon. The tower will feature windows tinted with 24 karat gold.

Legendary rocker Billy Idol has the honor of doing the last performance of the season at the Mandalay Bay Beach on Friday, Sept. 17 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $49.50 in advance with tax included and $55 on show day, call 702-474-4000.

Idol mixed his bad-boy good looks with his appealing on-stage presence and became one of the biggest acts in the 1980s. Born William Michael Albert Broad in Middlesex, England, Idol joined the teen punk rock movement as part of the Sex Pistols. In 1982, Idol released his self-titled debut album and had his big commercial breakthrough and biggest hit of his career in 1984 with "Rebel Yell." In 1990, "Charmed Life" hit platinum status.

Master magician and illusionist David Copperfield will return to the MGM Grand1s 740-seat Hollywood Theatre with his latest stage production show, "An Intimate Evening Of Grand Illusion," Aug. 26 - Sept. 8, and Sept. 16 - 29. Tickets are $97 inclusive and $79.90 for matinees, call 800-929-1111 or 702-891-7777.

Copperfield, called "our era's giant of magic" by the New York Times, is always charting new territory. His latest show has new illusions including "Lottery." Also during each performance, Copperfield transports himself and a member of the audience from the stage to a deserted island on the other side of the planet. In addition, he walks through a solid steel wall and flirts with danger as he channels his energy through a deadly Black African Scorpion in a dramatic demonstration of sleight of hand.

Copperfield has performed seven times for presidents of the United States and was inducted into the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame.

Actress and supermodel Rachel Hunter will make her debut performance as the celebrity "CenterPIECE" in the Off-Broadway hit "Pieces (of Ass)" on Aug. 14 and 15 at The Joint inside the Hard Rock. Tickets are 75 for VIP Gold Circle seating and $45 for Reserved seating plus any applicable box office fees, call 702-693-5066.

Hunter became one of the most photographed international cover models in the world following her 1989 pictorial in "Sports Illustrated." Hunter's acting credits have included television appearances on "Suddenly Susan" and "The Drew Carey Show" and feature films including "Soul Mates," "MacArthur Park," "12 Rounds" and "A Walk in the Park."

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