Latin diva Gloria Estefan will make her only West Coast appearance this year at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday, Nov. 3. She burst into the public eye in 1985 as the energetic front woman of the Miami Sound Machine. She has since become an international recording star of epic proportions with 21 album releases, over 70 million record sales and 32 top ten singles. She is the single most successful crossover performer in Latin music history.

Last year, Estefan made her acting debut in the film "Music of the Heart" in which she shared the big screen with Meryl Streep and Angela Bassett. She also starred in the HBO movie "For Love or Country: the Arturo Sandoval Story" with Andy Garcia.

Recently she released her "Greatest Hits, Volume II," a woven collection of her best-loved English-language hits for the past nine years. Tickets to her show range from $50 to $150, call 702-474-4000.

Anyone looking for a pleasant diversion right now should catch the latest IMAX Theatre adventure film, "Adventures in Wild California," playing in the 280-seat Luxor Theatre located in Pharaoh's Pavilion.

The adventure film from MacGillivray Freeman Films features extreme athletes, innovative scientists and fearless conservationists who keep pushing the limits of what is possible for humans to achieve in nature. The breathtaking settings are all in California and they are made bigger than life on a screen measuring nearly seven stories high. IMAX films have frames that are 10 times the size of conventional 35-mm film. The sound is delivered by a booming 15,000-watt sound system.

MacGillivray Freeman Films broke industry box office records with "Everest" which grossed $100 million after two years of release. "Adventures in Wild California" is the company's twenty-fourth large-format film.

Tickets are $8.95 per person or $13.95 per person for a double feature. The movies now showing are "Adventures in Wild California," "Mysteries of Egypt" and "Cyberworld 3D." Call 702-262-4555 for show times.

Country music sensation John Michael Montgomery will perform in the Stratosphere's new Outdoor Events Center on Friday, October 12. Montgomery has scored ten No. 1 singles and sold more than 14 million albums in the country music recording industry.

Released in 1994, his hit, "I Swear," became a wedding anthem and one of the decade's most enduring love songs. "I Swear" was honored with a Grammy, a CMA and an ACM award for Song of the Year.

Tickets are $35 for floor and premier seats and $25 for plaza seats, call 702-380-7711 or go online to stratospherehotel.com.

Other upcoming events at the Outdoor Events Center include the Beach Boys concert, which has been rescheduled for Sunday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. Also, world class boxing will take place on Saturday, Oct. 20, with the main event featuring Junior Jones, former World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior Featherweight World Champion with a 48-5 record, facing Mike Juarez, an 11-year professional veteran with a 23-10-2 record.

The Tropicana will host the next Casino Legends Hall of Fame induction ceremony in the Tiffany Theatre on Friday, Oct. 12, at 1 p.m. The inductees this time will be the Smothers Brothers, Rose Marie, Lieutenant Governor Lorraine Hunt, Freddie Bell and Jimmy Durante with actress Margaret O'Brien accepting on his behalf. Bob Anderson will again host the event that is open to the public.

The Casino Hall of Fame houses and displays the largest collection of Nevada gaming memorabilia. More than 15,000 items are on display in approximately 5,000 square feet of space. The attraction is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. General admission is $4 for adults and $3 for seniors.

James Taylor will headline at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Oct. 13. His songs have captured the hearts of a generation of music fans during his thirty-year career.

Most recently, Taylor released the album "Hour Glass" in 1997 featuring musical talents Stevie Wonder, Shawn Colvin and Branford Marsalis. The album debuted at #10 on the Billboard charts and received a Grammy award for Best Pop Album.

Tickets for Taylor's concert are $35, $55 and $75, call 702-632-7580. Tickets purchased the day of the show will be $2 more.

Pop princess Britney Spears is set to host the HBO special, "Britney Spears Live From MGM Grand," during her first-ever live television concert on Nov. 18 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena at 3 p.m. The rising pop quintet, O-Town, will perform as special guests. Their career came to life on the ABC reality TV show "Making of the Band."

Spears' last single, "I'm A Slave For You," is the first release from her third album, "Britney," scheduled to be released Nov. 7.

Tickets are on sale for $39.75, 55.25 and $75.25. Spears is also suppose to perform at the MGM Grand on Nov. 17. For information, call 1-800-929-1111 or 702-891-7777.

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Siegfried & Roy donated their income from their Sept. 28 show to the Disaster Relief Fun to help the victims and survivors of the recent terrorist attacks. As 31-year residents of Las Vegas, they want people to know that the city has a lot of magic and a big heart. The illusionists cancelled two shows the night of the attacks and then took a planned hiatus.

Additionally, Siegfried & Roy cancelled their long-planned appearance in Germany to accept the prestigious 2001 "Golden Henne" in recognition of their lifetime inspiration and contributions to Germany and its people, out of "respect for the victims of the terrorist attacks and their survivors."

They were also scheduled to be Grand Marshals of the 44th annual German-American Steuben Parade in New York City on Sept. 22, but that event was replaced by a memorial prayer service at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Seductive "Miss Nude World" Vanna Lace has replaced Playboy Playmate Cynthia Brimhall as the star of the late-night adult revue, "Skintight" at Harrah's in the Main Showroom. Lace has appeared in "Penthouse" magazine as well as on HBO. She has won the title of "Miss Nude International," and been a six-time "Miss Nude Body Beautiful."

The latest version of "Skintight," which is now in its second year, also features a new lead singer, Darryl Ross, who is replacing Traci Ault. Tickets are $39.95 plus tax.

The low profile implosion of the Desert Inn's 14-story tower is scheduled for 2 a.m. on Oct. 23.

Next year's NASCAR Winston Cup weekend will be March 1-3 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The dates will include the UAW DaimlerChrysler 400 Cup race on Saturday and the 300-mile Busch Grand National Series Event on Saturday. Tickets are on sale now, call 702-644-4444.

Tickets are on sale for subscriptions for the 2002 Broadway season at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts, call 702-785-5866. Subscriptions cost $112.50-$266.00. Individual tickets for each show will go on sale later in the season.

The scheduled plays are The Who's "Tommy," Nov. 27-Dec. 2; "Blast!," Feb. 12-17; "Rent," April 23-28; and "Guys and Dolls," May 14-19.

Season subscribers can also buy lesser-priced tickets to any of the "Cats" shows from Oct. 9-14, for $36.50 to $72.50. And subscribers can buy $30-$65 tickets to the Dec. 8 Mannheim Steamroller "Christmas Extraordinaire" performance.

Due to recent events causing severe financial setbacks in tourism, numerous building projects are being postponed or cancelled and shows are scaling back.

The Mandalay Resort Group has announced it will temporarily halt construction of a 1.8-million-square-foot convention center next to Mandalay Bay.

Another cancellation has been Caesars Palace's plans for a $475 million additional hotel tower.

Other possible delays may be the Venetion's 1000-room tower and a delayed opening for the convention center's expansion.

Oktoberfest can be experienced at the Mount Charleston Lodge every weekend through Oct. 20, from noon to 5 p.m. The Oktoberfest Feast is served outside on the East Deck of the Lodge for $13.75 and inside from a limited Oktoberfest menu for $10.95 plus tax and gratuity. "The Dumkopfs" provide live Oom-Pah band music and perform the Chicken Dance, Edelweiss and other favorites.

This is also the time of year at Mt. Charleston, which is situated in the heart of ht Toiyabe National Forest, when the Aspen leaves turn a beautiful shade of sunny gold. Fall season is a perfect time for a nature hike. For information, call the Mount Charleston Lodge at 1-800-955-1314 or 702-872-5408. Mt. Charleston is about an hour's drive from Las Vegas.

Another Jazz Under the Stars concert starring Rick Braum and Michael Lington is planned at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park on Oct. 6. The park is located 18 miles west of Las Vegas off Charleston Blvd. Tickets are $38.50, call 1-800-969-8342.

On Oct. 26, the Aladdin will host the Radio Music Awards. Confirmed performers and presenters include Elton John, Lenny Kravitz, Tim McGraw, Stevie Nicks, Sugar Ray, Snoop Dogg and Nelly Furtado. Tickets are$65, $100 and $175, call 702-785-5000.

The movie making industry is also affected by the current affairs. The Showtime series "Resurrection Blvd." called off its scheduled Las Vegas shoot. They were suppose to shoot scenes at the airport and second-unit footage of crowds cheering at a boxing match at Mandalay Bay that was cancelled.

The combined 7,800 employees of Harrah's Las Vegas and the Rio All-Suite Hotel are joining more than 40,000 fellow workers from 24 other Harrah's Entertainment Inc. properties in a voluntary, company-wide, six-week fundraising campaign. Monies raised will go to aid families who suffered devastating losses in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

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