by Jackie Brett Send Me E-mail

Disney superstar Miley Cyrus, who plays Hanna Montana and is the 15-year-old daughter of Billy Ray "Achy Breaky Heart" Cyrus, will perform at the MGM Grand Arena, Jan. 18-20. Tickets range from $125 to $160.

Cyrus has extended her Best of Both Worlds tour by adding 14 more dates after tickets for the original 55 dates sold out in just minutes. She is becoming one of the hottest young pop stars in recent years. Both of her albums, "Hannah Montana" and "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus," went to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and total album sales are approaching five million copies.

The first Hannah Montana concert tour was as an opening act for the Cheetah Girls. Miley won the "Favorite TV Actress" award at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. She also appears in the Disney movie "High School Musical 2" and is set to star in her own movie, "Hannah Montana: The Movie" in 2008.

A true rock 'n roller, Lenny Kravitz will bring his mix of rock, soul and funk to the Pearl inside the Palms on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008, at 8 p.m. The Get on the Bus with the Love Revolution tour kicks off Jan. 17, in support of Kravitz's anticipated release It Is Time for a Love Revolution due to hit stores on Feb. 5. Tickets are $35, $40 and $45, call 702-474-4000.

Governor Jim Gibbons presented the Nevada Entertainer of the New Millennium award to Celine Dion at the annual Governor's Conference on Tourism held this month at Caesars Palace. The governor and Nevada's first lady gave Dion a Nevada-mined turquoise necklace. Dion ended her five-year residency at the Colosseum, which was custom-built at a cost of $95 million for the performer, this month. Since her show opened in March 2003, it has grossed more than $400 million and been seen by nearly 3 million people.

The boutique next to the showroom that offers Dion-branded items will close on Jan. 2.

Bette Midler will take over the showroom in February. Meanwhile, the stage will be removed and a smaller, conventionally flat stage will be created and about 150 new seats will be added in the front rows.

There are days in your life when you hear news that is inconceivable. To learn that a good friend and incredible entertainer, Sweet Louie of the Checkmates, has passed away on a cruise ship while out on tour stops you dead in your tracks. How can this be, you ask yourself.

Sweet Louie and his dear friend since childhood and partner Sonny Charles have provided fans with four fabulous decades of party-time entertainment. As deserved winners of numerous Best Lounge Act awards, the Checkmates have always been No. 1 crowd pleasers. Sweet Louie has always been the bubbly one with the contagious charm. When they performed at the old Silverbird, this reporter stayed up for all three shows and then would go out for a hamburger with them at the old Jolly Trolley.

The Checkmates have continued to charm and be-guile audiences to this very day. Their biggest hit was Black Pearl in 1969. My memories and love of Sweet Louie will continue on forever.

Singer, songwriter Clint Holmes is performing nightly except Sunday at 9 p.m. in the Sahara Theater through Dec. 31. Clint Holmes Unplugged Holiday Show is a special limited engagement full of festive music. Holmes is joined by instrumentalist Domenick Allen, a former band member of Foreigner, and musical director Bill Fayne of the Las Vegas Tenors. Tickets start at $49, call 702-737-2515.

Having seen these three perform together at the Excalibur a couple months ago, it's easy to guarantee a great show. The chemistry and talent these three gentlemen present is captivating.

The legendary funk band WAR has been tapped by resident Flamingo comedian headliner George Wallace to share the stage for two weeks from Jan. 15-26 at 10 p.m. Wallace is in his fourth year as a headliner at the Flamingo. He is best known for his "Yo Mama" jokes and his infamous "I Be Thinkin" lines. Tickets are $86.35.

WAR will rock audiences with their eclectic fusion of rock, funk, jazz, Latin music, R&B and even reggae. Since becoming popular in the '70s, this combination has given the band an enduring musical career and sales in excess of more than 50 million records. WAR keeps up a tour schedule of more than 150 dates per year.

AGO, the elegant Italian trattoria named after its celebrated executive chef partner, Agostino Sciandri, will launch a new Las Vegas location at the Hard Rock this winter, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the landmark Los Angeles eatery.

AGO is best known for its authentic Tuscan-style Italian fare that emphasizes light and simple cooking. The menu will be consistent with the restaurant's four other locations across the U.S., including Los Angeles, Miami and soon-to-be New York.

AGO Las Vegas, designed by Ralph Gentile, will include a sleek and welcoming lounge where diners can sample AGO's one-of-a kind cocktails or small plates from the bar menu. Guests then enter the intimate dining area which will include a special "Cava" room designed in the spirit of an underground wine cave.

An official grand opening hosted by Robert DeNiro and Agostino Sciandri is scheduled for late-February.

The sculptures of Richard MacDonald featuring circus and performance artists are now being exclusively and permanently exhibited and available for purchase in the newly redesigned "O" Theatre lobby at Bellagio. The gallery is born out of a relationship between Guy Laliberté, Founder of Cirque du Soleil, and MacDonald, a master of figurative sculpture. The "O" Theatre lobby has been transformed to showcase more than 50 bronze sculptures along with original drawings, serigraphs and lithographs.

Linkin Park with special guests, progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria have been added to the Hard Rock's 2008 lineup with shows on March 6 and 7. Tickets start at $69.50. Linkin Park's third studio-release "Minutes to Midnight," has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales exceeding 1 million copies in the U.S. in just four weeks. Linkin Park has sold 40 million records worldwide since their debut in 2000.

Miss USA 2008, the 57th Miss USA beauty pageant, will be held at the 7,000-seat Theatre for the Performing Arts at Planet Hollywood on April 11, 2008.

MAMMA MIA! at Mandalay Bay welcomed its 2 millionth guest this month. The hit musical has broken all box office records and been seen by more than 20 million people worldwide. The Las Vegas production opened on Feb. 13, 2003.

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