EASTSIDE CANNERY OPENS ON THE BOULDER STRIP      

The $250 million, industrial-themed Eastside Cannery opened its doors on Aug. 28 as the latest addition to the Cannery Casino Resorts family and the newest casino in the Boulder Highway gaming area.   The Eastside Cannery features a distinctive 16-story tower of bronze, glass and steel, with an eye-catching sawtooth roofline. There are 307 oversized guest rooms and suites with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and wide-screen plasma televisions.    On the casino level, there are 65,000 square feet of gaming space with more than 2,000 slot machines, 26 table games, a 450-seat bingo hall, a live keno lounge, poker room and Race & Sports Book. On the second level, there is are 20,000 square feet of ballroom and meeting space with the ballroom having 17,000 square feet that can be divided into five rooms.  

Eastside Cannery offers an array of dining options: Carve?, Casa Cocina®, Sweet Lucy's Tableside Buffet?, The Deli? and Snaps 24-Hour Café?.  Slated to make its debut in the fall is the lounge and kitchen, ONE SIX? on top of the 16th floor with a view.        

BLT BURGER AT THE MIRAGE IS NEW WITH CLASSIC ACCOMPANIMENTS            

Acclaimed chef Laurent Tourondel has opened his award-winning 198-seat BLT Burger at The Mirage in a space previously occupied by Siegfried & Roy's indoor tiger habitat. 

Tourondel was Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chef in 1998 when he was cooking at the Palace Court Restaurant at Caesars Palace.  He has since created several successful restaurants around the country and was honored as Bon Appétit magazine's 2007 Restaurateur of the Year.

BLT Burger offers a variety of burgers including beef, American Kobe, lamb, Atlantic salmon and The Stripper served without a bun.  The diverse casual menu also includes salads, eight types of fries and rings, milkshakes including spiked ones and desserts such as "Krispy Kreme" Doughnut Bread Pudding with Rum-raisin coconut sauce.

The comfortable interior setting reflects both the natural Nevada landscape with a 16-foot, floor-to-ceiling sepia tone panoramic photo mural and the glamour of Las Vegas with end-grain wood, walnut and yellow-glazed lava stone, accented with golden furniture upholstery and dramatic lighting. The circular expo grill is surrounded by a polished, red-glazed brick wall and colored with a large metallic dome illuminated with colored lights and a 16-seat bar.

BUSY MARY WILSON PERFORMS AT SOUTH POINT    

Between a myriad of projects, Las Vegas resident Mary Wilson of the famous Supremes will headline at the South Point, Sept. 12-14.  Tickets are $30 to $40. Whirlwind Wilson just returned from London, where she was hosting and taping American Idol-type shows with high school students competing in theatrical musical pieces.  Earlier in August, She was in London to launch her display of 70 Supremes' gowns that will be on display there until October and then tour the UK.  She also recently made an appearance for Prince Albert II in Monaco for the Princess Grace Red Cross Gala. On Sept. 7, Wilson was in Berlin, Germany, for a huge Motown convention.  In 2009, The Supremes and Motown, now a Berlin-owned company, will both celebrate their 50th anniversary. Goodwill Wilson is a spokesperson for the Humpty Dumpty Institute funded by Princess Diana so next month she'll be in Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos for 10 days to focus on the issue of un-exploded landmines and bombs in Asia and to raise money.          

NEW M RESORT WILL INTRODUCE FLYING ELECTRONIC LIGHTSHIP         

M Resort, Spa and Casino is an all-new $1 billion resort that will open in March 2009.  It's located on more than 90 acres at the southeast corner of St. Rose Parkway and Las Vegas Boulevard.  M Resort has signed with The Lightship Group, the world's largest airship operator, to introduce a new era in outdoor advertising and entertainment with a flying electronic lightship, which is one of only three in the world, to the Las Vegas sky beginning in September.      Adding visual stimulation, the M Resort will be home to the twin-engine A-170LS video lightship, which is essentially an electronic 2,100-square-foot light sign on a blimp.  Utilizing an array of LEDs (light emitting diodes) the lightship will feature the world's largest 70' x 30' aerial television screen. It will be able to broadcast a multitude of media from live television and streaming video, to Web sites and static images while offering vibrant full-color clarity. 

HARD ROCK OPENS A PREMIER POKER LOUNGE         

The Hard Rock has created Las Vegas' first Poker Lounge with a decadent atmosphere.  The new 7,000-square-foot, 24-hour Poker Lounge is a full- service poker room with a lounge feel and the newest addition to the property's $800 million expansion and renovation. The $30 million space features 18 poker tables including five private, high limit tables.     

The trendsetting Poker Lounge unveils a number of "firsts" including a full bar inside the venue and available bottle service.  Other exclusives include: full menu (24 hours); kiosk for sports betting; available certified Rock Spa masseuses; all-female VIP host staff; high-limit slot and video poker machines; private rooms with large-screen televisions and private iPod docs for personalized music or movies for private events and tournaments; restrooms; safety deposit boxes; the Genesis Reservation System and more.

OZZY OSBOURNE WILL PERFORM AT AFFLICTION EVENT AT THOMAS & MACK    

Heavy metal legend Ozzy Osbourne will perform live at Affliction "Day of Reckoning" on Saturday, Oct. 11 at the Thomas & Mack Center.   The mixed martial arts event will be the first Affliction show in the Las Vegas area.  Tickets are prided from $75 to $500, call 702-739-FANS.

With a career spanning more than 37 years, Osbourne has entertained millions worldwide. The Grammy Award-winning rocker has released more than 20 solo albums.  In 2002, Osbourne and his family gained national appeal with their reality show The Osbournes on MTV.

LAVO RESTAURANT AND NIGHTCLUB WILL OPEN AT THE PALAZZO                       

LAVO, a new Mediterranean bathhouse inspired dining and nightclub concept from the creators of TAO Las Vegas, will open its doors at The Palazzo this month. The 20,000-square-foot lounge, restaurant and nightclub will include 20-foot ceilings, tile walls, a sleek curved bar, leather seating and Moroccan tables.                 

The 4,500-square-foot nightclub, which is located on the second floor with views of the Strip, will house a VIP area with posh banquettes, embossed leather walls, and mirrored mosaic tile and a domed ceiling above the dance floor.  There will be nightly programming featuring renowned DJ talent. 

HYPNOMAGICIAN KEITH BARRY WILL PERFORM AT PLANET HOLLYWOOD          

Hypnomagician Keith Barry will have a limited engagement at the Planet Hollywood Showroom from Oct. 28-Nov. 27.  The European superstar mind illusionist, who first astonished U.S. audiences in 2006 with his celebrity-filled, hour-long magic TV special for CBS, will bring his blend of magic, illusions and hypnosis to the American stage for the first time.  Tickets are $55, call 702-474-4000. BOYZ II MEN AND THE

TEMPTATIONS PLAY THE ORLEANS SHOWROOM        

The Temptations will headline, Sept. 11-14, followed by Boyz II Men, Sept. 19-21, in the 827-seat Orleans Showroom.  Tickets range from $49.95 for The Temptations to $34.95 for Boyz II Men, call 702-365-7075.

For more than 40 years, The Temptations, who were part of the original Motown machine, have had an avalanche of hits beginning in 1964 with their first major hit The Way You Do the Things You Do written by Smokey Robinson.   

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Boyz II Men are the most commercially successful R&B group of all time.  They have sold ludicrous numbers of records and have been involved in three of the longest running No. 1 pop singles in history.  The group was formed in 1988 in Philadelphia's High School of the Creative and Performing Arts.       

It was the Boyz's hit, End of the Road that dethroned Presley's Heartbreak Hotel, as the longest running No. 1 single.  Remarkably, the group later broke their own record with, One Sweet Day, which sold more than 14 million copies.

'JERSEY BOYS' OFFERS THE ABSOLUTE BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE 

Jersey Boys, the hit musical about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons at the Palazzo, now offers the Absolute Best Seats in the House VIP Package, which includes an Absolut specialty cocktail, access to a private theatre entrance through a VIP hallway with memorabilia, a oversized souvenir program, and seats in the front orchestra section.  Package price is $235 per person, call 866-641-SHOW or 702-414-9000.

'PHANTOM' CELEBRATED 1,000 PERFORMANCES AT THE VENETIAN          

After more than two years at The Venetian, Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular hit another milestone on Aug. 25 when the show, cast and crew celebrated 1,000 performances with a champagne toast and cake.  Some fun stats include: The Phantom has spent 1,000 hours in the make-up chair, equating to over 41 days; ingénue Christine Daaé has had a total of 11,000 costume changes; and more than 3,802 hours have been spent maintaining the other star of the show, the one-ton, 15-foot tall, 16-foot wide chandelier.

QUICK CLIPS           

The 40/40 Club, which is part of music mogul Jay-Z's chain of All-American sports bars and lounges, opened its third location at the Palazzo last January.  It's been announced that it will be closing and the hotel will convert the 24,000-square-foot space into a race and sports book.       

There are more show closings.  Ooh La La at Paris and The World's Greatest Magic Show at the Greek Isles have each taken their final bows.     

The Fremont Street Experience (FSE) downtown, where free Viva Vision shows run nightly at the top of the hour from nightfall to midnight, recently topped MSN Travel's "Free Things to Do in Las Vegas" list at the No. 1 spot.  Other prominent Las Vegas attractions included the fountains at the Bellagio, the lion habitat at MGM Grand, the aquarium at The Mirage and The Sirens of TI.         

A new travel entertainment Web site in Las Vegas is the BestOfVegas.com, which recently held a star-studded launch party with Nicky Hilton at the Palazzo in the Sugarcane Lounge at Sushi Samba.        

CORRECTION: Received an e-mail regarding my Aug. 24 column item about Olympia Weekend being held at the Orleans Arena, Sept. 25-28.  It turns out eight-time champion Ronnie Coleman from Texas will not be at the event this year.        Krave Nightclub, in association with Warner Brothers, will bring Candis Cayne, who plays transgender mistress Carmelita on ABC's prime-time drama Dirty Sexy Money and is the first transsexual to play a transsexual in prime time, to guest host the official Sex and the City  - The Movie DVD release party on Sept. 20.  DJ Marco, Cayne's boyfriend, will spin that night.      

Starting Sept. 22, Strip House at Planet Hollywood will offer a selection of signature steaks paired with flights of top-shelf Scotches priced at $30 and $50.

The Las Vegas Jazz Society, which features groups from big bands to small combos, will present its live outdoor concert series at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park that's about 15 miles from the Strip on Sept. 12 and 13, at 7 p.m. Tickets in advance are $10 online at unlvtickets.com or call 702-594-PLAY (7529) for information.           Airport parking fees at McCarran International Airport on Sept. 9 (along with charges for cabs, limousines and buses) are about to go up, as much as 50 percent in some cases.