“BRETT’S VEGAS VIEW”                          BY: Jackie Brett

NEW RESTAURANT MARBELLA OPENS THIS MONTH - Marbella located at 4561 W. Flamingo Road in the former Ruth’s Chris Steak House space is a new restaurant opening Oct. 27 for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Nightly, Marbella will transform its dining atmosphere into a trendy lounge and afterhours hotspot, similar to the discotecas on the coast of Spain: Flamenco dancers, Spanish string bands and DJs. Happy hour is from 4 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. with menu and drink specials and Thursday nights are “Ladies Night Out” with a free cocktail for ladies. Sundays will feature a bottomless Mimosa & Bloody Mary brunch from 11:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. and live band from 7 p.m. – midnight.

CABARET JAZZ WILL DEBUT AT SMITH CENTER - Jazz greats and cabaret stars will have a home in Las Vegas when the 258-seat Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts overlooking Symphony Park opens in March 2012. Inside the Boman Pavilion, the new venue will feature a regular schedule of the top performers in an intimate club setting designed for live music. Jazz artists already scheduled to perform include the San Francisco Jazz Collective and Branford Marsalis, cabaret stars include Barbara Cook, Andrea Marcovicci and Las Vegas’ own Clint Holmes, who will begin a residency the first weekend of every month.

NEVADA STATE MUSEUM OPENS AT SPRINGS PRESERVE - The Nevada State Museum will re-open Oct. 28 on Nevada Day at its new location in the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. The 70,000-square-foot new $51.5 million museum is double the size of the former museum at Lorenzi Park and has permanent and temporary exhibit space, a research library and educational labs. Highlights at the new museum include the first dinosaur fossils documented in Nevada, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel’s 1946 Flamingo stock certificate, mineral specimens from Nevada mines, preserved Nevada wildlife and Las Vegas showgirl costumes.

SOUTH POINT LAUNCHES ONLINE POKER ROOM - Michael Gaughan, owner of the South Point, will debut SouthPointPoker.com, the first free play site approved for a Nevada regulated casino in the United States, on Monday, Oct. 17. The SouthPointPoker.com, hosted on the Zen Entertainment platform, will offer: a $10,000 Main Event seat every week with daily qualifying tournaments; an additional $100,000 in cash and prizes each month; and daily tie-in promotions allowing players to win online.

FREMONT STREET FOCUSES ON HALLOWEEN - Fremont Street is the center of downtown’s Halloween celebrations throughout October. The Fremont Street Experience will host the third annual OktoberFrightFest, a month-long street party blending Oktoberfest and Halloween. Viva Vision light and sound shows are themed, while ongoing live performances throughout the month include Frank & The Steins, Alice and Ozzy’s Frightmare and Vampire Rising. In the Fremont East Entertainment District, the Neon Museum will host its first Boneyard Bash fundraiser on Oct. 28 at the Jackie Gaughan Plaza; visit www.neonmuseum.org for details and tickets.

Zombie Precinct: Screamont East will be a haunted-house attraction in the Fremont East Entertainment District across from the El Cortez. The attraction will run Oct. 14-16 and 19-31 and open at 6 p.m. nightly. Admission will be $12. Downtown festivities will culminate with the Las Vegas Halloween Parade on Monday, Oct. 31 at 7 p.m. Participation is free to anyone in costume. Costumed marchers gather at 6 p.m.; visit www.thelasvegashalloweenparade.com/.

PLAYBOY COMEDY CELEBRATES SIX YEARS AT THE PALMS - Playboy Comedy will commemorate the brand’s sixth anniversary at the Palms by welcoming comedian Jim Jefferies Oct. 27 –29. Guests who purchase a ticket to see comedian Louis C.K. perform in the Pearl will be able to see Jefferies for $20. Australian born Jeffries has had many life and professional experiences that play well into his sarcastic storytelling material touching on his favorite subjects…religion, idiots and sex.

DESIGN CENTER 101 BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND - The Las Vegas Design Center (LVDC) at World Market Center features more than 30 showrooms open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays.  To introduce this great design resource, LVDC hosts free Saturday morning coffee tours – Design Center 101. Fall dates are Oct. 22 and Nov. 5 at 10:30 a.m. in building C. For information and to RSVP, visit www.lvdesigncenter.com/events or call 702-599-3093.

THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER^® BEING CROWNED AT PALMS -  “The Ultimate Fighting Championship^® ” will return to the Pearl at the Palms on Saturday, Dec. 3, with Michael “The Count” Bisping and Jason “Mayhem” Miller settling a feud. The middleweights, who traded verbal barbs for months as coaches on season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter^®,” will meet in a long-awaited five-round main event. Plus, the first-ever bantamweight and featherweight winners of “The Ultimate Fighter^®” which will be televised nationally live on SPIKE TV, will be crowned. Tickets are $200 to $450.