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After a $25 million makeover, a new Mirage volcano promises to be even more of a spectacle, with fireballs tossed skyward, water spouting 120 feet, flames, steam and simulated magma _ all synchronized to a dramatic percussion soundtrack.

"With the (former) volcano, what people did was watch it," says Jim Doyle, director of new technology for WET, the design company doing the work. "What we want now is for people to react to it. We want the (fire eruptions) to dance. We're adding a rock 'n' roll score, and we want to make people want to move, and pull them through the proscenium."

More than 120 devices called FireShooters will shoot fireballs 12 to 15 feet into the air, accompanied by a soundtrack created by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and Indian tabla artist Zakir Hussain.

"We're trying to take fire and make it an art form," Doyle says.

WET certainly has the credentials to harness the elements. Perhaps its most famous project is a few blocks south of the Mirage _ the fountains at the Bellagio, where the dancing waters are so mesmerizing that onlookers often applaud.

The new 35-foot volcano is scheduled to debut in December, with nighttime eruptions lasting 4 � minutes and repeating every hour.

You can follow the volcano's progress by checking its blog at www.mirage.com/volcano, which includes a video about the music. There's also a contest for visitors to recount their experiences at the old volcano _ the winner gets a trip to Vegas for the unveiling of the new volcano.

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Airfares to just about everywhere, including Vegas, are going up, but at least Sin City visitors are getting a break on hotels once they get there.

Online ads for Vegas casino hotels are touting some of the lowest room rates in years, and there are statistics to prove it.

In July, average room rates were $105.97 a night, down 10 percent from July 2007, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. In the year-to-year comparison to date, room rates were down 6.6 percent. Most tourist statistics have dropped, including the number of visitors, occupancy rates and gaming revenue.

Room rates in Vegas are extremely fluid, but some specials that came via e-mail this month included: MGM Grand, $69 for selected weekday nights; the Mirage, $72 to $88 for many weekday nights in November and December; and Mandalay Bay, offering a free night with a three-night stay over selected dates.

Park and click. One of the most popular photo ops in Vegas is posing with the diamond-shaped "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign at the southern gateway to the Strip. Until now, tourists had to either stop at a turnaround or park on either side of busy Las Vegas Boulevard and sprint to the sign, because it stands in the middle of the multilane road.

To eliminate that hazard and make it easier for tourists to get their Kodak moment, a 12-space parking lot is being built in the median. It's expected to be finished in November.

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Already one of the world's mega-casinos, Mohegan Sun in southeastern Connecticut has added still more gaming space to its sprawling casino layout.

As part of an expansion that began last year and will continue through 2010, Mohegan Sun opened a 64,000-square-foot addition last month that includes a 42-table poker room and a Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville restaurant. Mohegan Sun had been without poker for several years.

About 70 percent of the new space, which is called the Casino of the Wind, will be for gaming, increasing the total casino footage to about 345,000 square feet, with 376 table games and more than 6,700 slots. In addition to the Buffett restaurant, there will be a deli.

Mohegan Sun will celebrate the opening of the Wind casino next month, giving away a hybrid car each day.

The expansion began last year with a gaming space featuring Asian games. It will culminate with the 2010 opening of a 922-room hotel and a House of Blues entertainment complex.

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Bill Ordine: ordineb@aol.com

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� 2008, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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