Amid lots of negative news on projects in progress, it's been announced that Encore, the $2.1 billion 2,034-suite sister casino to Wynn Las Vegas, will open in December, a few months earlier than the previously announced winter 2009 debut. Encore will feature five restaurants, seven bars and lounges, a nightclub, a retail promenade with 11 stores, a spa and a small events center. The suites — it's all suites — will range between 700 and 6,000 square feet. Opulent? You bet — Encore is the first Las Vegas resort with a construction price tag of more than $1 million per room.

SEAFOOD BUFFET BACK: The Rio's Village Seafood Buffet has reopened after a lengthy closing for remodeling. Las Vegas' most elaborate seafood buffet features oysters, clams, shrimp, scallops, crab legs and lobster in many different serving styles and preparations, as well as one of the city's premier dessert assortments. It costs $38 per person.

MADNESS: The annual March Madness frenzy is on. While last week's opening rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament drew the biggest crowds, the next couple of weeks through to the Final Four and Final (into April) will also be big in the casinos, with sports books televising all the games and supporting them with promotions and specials on food and drink. Two casinos that hold big March Madness parties are the Las Vegas Hilton and the Orleans.

ON TV: The World Poker Tour kicks off its sixth season this week, but on a new network. The first of 23 two-hour episodes airs tomorrow on GSN. The series previously had run only on the Travel Channel. Also, NBC will air the fourth Heads-Up Poker Championship in April.

CHOWDER CHATTER: The good clam chowder at the Palace Station Oyster Bar, formerly $5.49 a bowl, is now $6.99 a bowl and $3.99 a cup. It's one of the best in town.

PHONES IN BOOKS: Nevada regulators are looking into abolishing the foolish and inconvenient law against using cell phones in sports books. No timetable has been set, so you still can't use your phone in the sports-betting area without risking admonishment from security.

LAS VEGAS CANCELED: Not the city, the TV show. After five years and 106 episodes, NBC has pulled the plug on its weekly drama, "Las Vegas." Over the years, the show provided an interesting mix of casino portrayals good and bad, though it was always difficult to get past its premise that the chief of surveillance (James Caan) ran the casino.

Q. Who's got the best French onion soup in town?

A.That's a tough one, as tastes and prices come into play. But here are three you can count on: Ruth's Chris West, Mon Ami Gabi at Paris, and a sleeper, Austin's Steakhouse at Texas Station. All are about $7.

For information about Las Vegas shows, buffets, coupons and deals, see www.LasVegasAdvisor.com.