Act III plans 18-screen theater

      The first-run screening of Las Vegas continues.
      Act III Theatres -- which currently operates movie multiplexes at Boulder Station and Texas Station casinos and the under-construction Sunset Station -- will open its first free-standing Southern Nevada theater by the end of the year in the Lakes-Peccole Ranch area of western Las Vegas.
      Construction will begin "as soon as possible" on the Wellington 18 at Sahara Avenue and Fort Apache Road, according to Randall Blaum, spokesman for Portland-based Act III.
      The 18-screen theater would be Southern Nevada's largest walk-in theater. Act III plans to open the multiplex in time for 1997's Christmas releases.
      The Wellington 18, like other Act III multiplexes, will feature digital sound in auditoriums built to THX quality assurance standards.
      The chain also plans to introduce its trademark StadiumRiser seating -- which separates each row of seats with seven-inch risers -- at the Wellington 18.
      Act III plans to retrofit its existing Southern Nevada theaters with StadiumRiser seating following the busy summer movie season, Blaum said.
      The Act III multiplex represents the latest entry in Southern Nevada's continuing movie theater boom.
      United Artists, which opened its Showcase 8 on the Strip in March, has set May 23 as the debut date for its 10-screen Rainbow Promenade at Rainbow Boulevard and Smoke Ranch Road.
      Century Theatres previously announced plans for a 12-screen multiplex scheduled to open in November adjacent to the Orleans hotel-casino at Tropicana Avenue and Arville Street.