The Amazing Jonathan, who has been a tremendous hit downtown at the Golden Nugget, will be moving his show to the Flamingo located center Strip on Jan. 18. He'll follow Gladys Knight's show in a 9:30 p.m. time slot. His run at the Golden Nugget will end on Dec. 15.

The collective musical brain trust called Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) lead by Paul O'Neill will perform at the Aladdin Theatre on Dec. 14. Tickets are $21, $26 and $38.50, call 702-785-5000.

The live show will center on TSO's critically acclaimed "Christmas Eve & Other Stories," which is a musical that chronicles the mission of Heaven's youngest angel, sent to earth by God, to bring back, "the one thing that represents everything good." His journey culminates in his helping to bring a runaway child home for Christmas.

TSO is busy with the recording of two new albums, two simultaneous Christmas tours, a PBS holiday special and the DVD release all taking place over the next six months. In March 2003, the group will premier their newest rock opera, "Beethoven's Last Night," in 20 cities. This first non-holiday tour will again be a full scale, musical production.

It seems every major hotel is adding a nightclub. At the Rio, Bikinis Beach & Dance Club has an obvious theme built around gorgeous young ladies clad in tiny bathing suits. One dance platform is a shallow pool and another is a shower integrating the idea of water and the beach to the d‚cor.

The Imperial Palace has opened Tequila Joe's (TJ's) that turns into a nightclub right off the Strip sidewalk after being a full-service bar all day beginning daily at 11 a.m. TJ's is open for lunch and dinner and offers Happy Hour two-for-one drinks from 4 to 8 p.m. daily.

The adult entertainment scene will gain a new venue in December when a topless club called Sapphire opens at 3025 Industrial Road. Following on the heels of the 25,000-square-foot Jaguars that opened in May at a cost of $15 million, the 75,000-square-foot Sapphire with 13 skyboxes is costing $25 million to develop on seven acres of land.

The "official" adult After Fight Party on Friday, Nov. 22, will be held at 10:30 p.m. in the Showroom at the Venetian, which can hold approximately 1,500 people. DJ's, The Heavy Heads, will provide diverse and eclectic styles of music. Tickets are $20, call 702-807-8421.

The main event for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The $100 million Cannery Casino & Hotel under construction on 28 acres in North Las Vegas right off Interstate 15 at Craig Road is most distinguished by its 1940s retro/industrial exterior with a 120-foot tall smoke stack. The design provides an insider's view of industrial America following World War II by showing aged brick and exposed pilasters.

The Cannery is positioned five minutes from Nellis Air Force Base, ten minutes from the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and five minutes from Downtown. The locals-oriented property will have 201-rooms and an indoor/outdoor multi-purpose entertainment and exhibit complex that will appeal to visitors.

The Club, a 6,700-square-foot indoor venue, will be able to easily be converted to an over 20,000-square-foot outdoor show space. The unique feature for making the conversion is a set of custom-built 15-foot by 60-foot glass doors that open to create an open-air amphitheater/festival site. The Club will be featuring concerts, exhibits, parties and various outdoor festivals.

Internationally acclaimed chef Wolfgang Puck will be autographing his new book, "LIVE, LOVE, EAT!," in his Wolfgang Puck Caf‚ at the MGM Grand from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 5. Following the signing, the Caf‚ will hold a Winemaker's Dinner featuring recipes from Puck's new cookbook and specially selected wines from the Kendall-Jackson Winery. The dinner is $100, call 702-895-9653 for reservations.

Lainie Kazan, who stars as the mother of the bride in the surprise hit movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," is booked at the off-Strip Suncoast showroom, Nov. 22-24. There was a time when Kazan was a regular headliner on the Strip.

Comedy legend Don Rickles is enjoying his second year as a Stardust headliner. For his next engagement Nov. 21-24, songstress Christina Saffran Ashford, who has toured with jazz pianist Herbie Hancock and the Duke Ellington Orchestra, will join him.

B.B. King will appear Nov. 29-Dec. 1. Comedian Bill Engvall will follow with back-to-back engagements Dec. 6-7 and 12-14. Wayne Newton, who headlines at the resort 36 weeks a year, will return on Dec. 26.

Siegfried & Roy with the support of Neiman Marcus held a press conference at the Fashion Show mall and launched the Siegfried & Roy Celebrity Teddy Bear Autographed (and dressed) Online Auction to benefit Opportunity Village, a local charity for people with disabilities. The magicians will auction more than 150 themed bears signed by various celebrities starting Nov. 19 and ending at midnight Nov. 29.

The Imperial Money Machine at the Imperial Palace is "blasting" money at 3:30 p.m. every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in November and December. Five customers' names are randomly drawn and they have two minutes to get to the Kabuki Lounge and one-minute to "grab" their share of over $3,000 in cash. You qualify by playing table games, slots and keno, placing a sports bet, staying at the hotel, and dining in the hotel's restaurants.

TOP OF NEXT COLUMN

Catch A Rising Star comedy club at the Excalibur will be closed from Dec. 6-14 due to the National Finals Rodeo.

In November at the Riviera, "An Evening at La Cage" will be dark Nov. 18-20. "Splash" will be dark on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, and reopen on Friday, Nov. 29. The Comedy Club will be closed Nov. 18-24.

In December at the Riviera, "La Cage" will be dark Dec. 17-26, hold a New Year's Eve show at 10:30 p.m. on their regular dark night, and be closed on Jan. 1, for one night only. "Splash" will be dark Dec. 11-24. "Crazy Girls" will be off from Dec. 15-Jan. 2.

Paul Anka has cancelled his Nov. 30-Dec. 7 Mirage engagement.

"Spirit of the Dance" at the Golden Nugget was suppose to take a hiatus this month, but instead has switched the time off to Dec. 16-29. At that time, the showroom will undergo some remodeling to help audiences better view the dancers' feet.

Steve Wyrick's - "Magic to the EXTREME!" show at the Sahara will be dark, Nov. 18-24.

The Tropicana will be acknowledging this year's National Finals Rodeo event by issuing a limited edition $5 NFR chip that will be sold at athe casino cage beginning on Nov. 27. This will be the 16th chip released as part of the resort's 2002 commemorative chip series.

Home for Ethel M Chocolates is Henderson, Nev., where the company's factory is located. Free tours with a complimentary piece of candy at the end are daily, and at this time of year, the two-acre botanical cactus garden is spectacularly decorated in lights for the holidays.

Every year, Ethel M Chocolates packages holiday treats. Some of the special offers this year include the Surreal Santa Collection with a gift box design inspired by Pablo Picasso, a trio of fleece stockings featuring Snowman, Moose and Santa, and an Antler Sleigh packed with tasty presents. You can check gift items out at the factory, at 15 locations in the Las Vegas area by calling 1-800-438-4356.

The very popular "$10,000 Chicken Challenge" game promotion at the Tropicana, where humans play tic-tac-toe with the bird, will be closing on Dec. 1, and moving to its sister property, the Ramada Express, in Laughlin.

While the history in the Las Vegas valley is relatively young, some of it has been preserved at the Clark County Museum on Boulder Highway. The newest addition to be relocated on the museum's grounds is a landmark red barn that was built near the corner of Charleston Boulevard and Lindell Road in 1955 in a wide-open area. For all these years, it's been a notably familiar site.

Platinum-selling Canadian chanteuse Celine Dion, who will open her new show, "A New Day," at Caesars Palace next spring on March 25, has announced her large, multiyear endorsement deal with DaimlerChrysler. Her involvement will be recording a new song for a commercial, and making a few appearances at tightly controlled company events.

On Wednesday, Nov. 20, a wine dinner will be held at Spiedini inside the off-Strip J.W. Marriott Resort at 6:30 p.m. The Raymond Estate Winery will be featured along with a five-course meal for $65, call 702-869-8500.

Another opportunity to eat well will be on Nov. 25, when Alize at the Palms plays host to a Friends of James Beard dinner in memory of legendary Chef Jean-Louis Palladin. Many famous chefs will be in attendance along with Alize chef and owner Andre Rochat. The evening will begin at 6:30 in the Ghost Bar with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. The dinner is $175 for members and $200 for nonmembers, call 702-951-7000.

A new summer survey by J.D. Power and Associates resulted in McCarran International Airport leading the nation's airports in customer satisfaction. The report was based on 10,250 responses from airport evaluations given by consumers in several countries. The study measured passenger satisfaction at 46 major worldwide airports and ranked different categories, including accessibility, quality of terminal and gate facilities, check-in and baggage claim ease, food and beverage locations and retail availability.

Mandalay Bay's convention center, scheduled to open in January with 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space, will be the third-biggest convention space in the country, following McCormick Place in Chicago with 2.2 million square feet, and the Las Vegas Convention Center with 1.95 million square feet.

Last year, NASCAR Cafe at the Sahara experimented with serving fried turkey dinners for the holidays and met with much success. The turkeys weigh 12-15 pounds and are marinated for 48 hours. Your choices are having the full meal at the restaurant for $9.95 plus tax and beverages, ordering complete "Feast To Go" dinners, or just picking up the turkey and taking it home. This offer will run Nov. 26 and 27, and Dec. 24 and 25, call 702-737-7223.

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