A good kind of WAR

A Good Kind of WAR: Las Vegas hotel-casinos may be hurting, but the entertainment keeps coming. Fans of WAR, the American funk, rock and R&B legends, will get a chance to see them on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 8 p.m. in the Tropicana’s Tiffany Theater. Tickets are $50 and $60 (all inclusive) and are available at the Tropicana Box Office or you can all 702-739-2411.

Here’s a Real George: Comedian George Wallace, who headlines at the Flamingo, is offering customers two VIP tickets to his show and two dinners at the Paradise Garden Buffet in the resort for only $99. This offer is good through Feb. 14.

Slam Dunk: For those of you who follow college basketball, here’s a chance to see them in action as the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic brings together some of the nations up-and-coming teams to compete in an early-season college basketball event. This year’s field is full of teams hoping to make a name for themselves on a national level. It all takes place at The Orleans Arena, beginning Dec. 22. Here’s the sked:

Monday, Dec. 22: Noon, University of South Carolina Upstate vs. Southern; 2:30 p.m., Liberty vs. Northern Colorado; 5 p.m., DePaul vs. St. Louis; 7:30 p.m., Creighton vs Fresno State

Tuesday, Dec. 23: 11:30 a.m., loser of University of South Carolina Upstate/Southern vs. loser of Liberty/Northern Colorado; 2 p.m., winner of University of South Carolina Upstate/Southern vs. winner of Liberty/Northern Colorado; 4:30 p.m., loser of DePaul/St. Louis vs. loser of Creighton/Fresno State; 7 p.m., winner of DePaul/St. Louis vs. winner of Creighton/Fresno State.

Tickets are only $20 for both days with Nevada ID and all prices include tax. You can get them at any Coast Casino box office or the shopping mall, Galleria at Sunset.

Viva Volcano: The Mirage Volcano, an icon of Las Vegas since the hotel’s opening in 1989, has had a major makeover with an all-new audio/visual spectacle with never-before-seen fire effects and an exclusive soundtrack composed by Grateful Dead drummer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Mickey Hart and Indian tabla sensation Zakir Hussain.

Using the latest developments in flame-expression technology, the volcano’s choreographed FireShooters send massive fireballs more than 12 feet into the air. As the eruption ignites the surrounding lagoon the FireShooters bring Las Vegas’ signature blast within feet of spectators.

The Volcano erupts nightly, every hour on the hour, from dusk to 11 p.m., although hours are seasonal and subject to change.

A Switch for Spade: Comedian/actor David Spade, after appearing for the past few years at other Strip hotels, has signed on with The Venetian for a series of limited engagements in 2009. Spade’s stand-up performance will run 75 minutes, plenty of time for some real zingers as well as turning real-life situations into comedy. Spade’s first engagement is scheduled for Jan. 1-3, at 8 p.m., in the Venetian Showroom.

Tickets will run you $49, $69 and $89 plus tax and handling fees. A limited number of VIP packages, which include front row seats and the opportunity to meet Spade after the show, will be available for $149 per person plus tax and handling fees. To make reservations visit www.venetian.com, call 702-414-9000, or visit any Venetian Box Office.

All That Jazz: Mark tomorrow night (Friday, Dec. 19) on your calendar if you’re a jazz fan, particularly a Latin jazz fan, as the Rick Arroyo Latin Jazz Trio brings his special brand of jazz to the Reed Whipple Cultural Center. Arroyo and his band are known throughout the valley for their arrangements of Latin and straight-ahead jazz, and as winners of Las Vegas Latin Awards for Best Latin Jazz Performer and Best Latin Jazz Band.

Musician, composer and arranger Arroyo has been playing professionally since he was 15. He has played with world-famous entertainers such as the late Tito Puente, Artie Webb, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Joe Torres, the Yellow Jackets, the Rippingtons, Michael McDonald, Donna Summers and The Beach Boys. He and his band played at the Coral Reef Lounge at Mandalay Bay for four years, and also have performed at numerous other Las Vegas hotel/casinos and venues. Take my word for it -- they’re great.

The trio will take the stage at 7 p.m. and tickets are $7 for all seats. You can get them by calling 702-229-6211 or at the center’s box office at 821 Las Vegas Blvd. North.

Hooray for Vegas: I’ll wrap up with an email from Brenda Carrier of Edmonton, Alberta, who writes: “Hi Lenny, At the end of October my hubby and I took our 2 girls (18 and 14) to Vegas for the first time. We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations Club @ Flamingo because we wanted a condo in a central location. It was fabulous. We did lots of sightseeing (Hoover Dam, Secret Garden, Madam Tussaud's, etc.), of course shopping, and Legends in Concert and Ka.

The 14-year old is a fan of Criss Angel so I booked tickets to BeLIEve but cancelled after reading horrible reviews. Dodged a bullet there, especially now that our dollar is around $.75 US. But I don't care if our dollar falls even more -- it's not going to stop me from getting to Las Vegas. I will get there somehow; if I have to hop a bus, eat Cheetos for breakfast, even stay at (oh gawd) Circus Circus, I will be there!!”

That’s the spirit, Brenda. We’re hurting here and could use a lot more visitors like yourself.

Merry Christmas: As this will be my last column before Christmas, I’d like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and I hope that the New Year brings each and every one of you good health, much happiness and prosperity.

Good luck and I'll see you on the Strip. And don't forget to check out eNeon each Thursday by subscribing (free of charge) to the Review-Journal's weekly newsletter. If you have a question or a Las Vegas experience you would like to share with my readers, please e-mail me at lennylv@netzero.net. Please include your full name and the city or town where you live.