COLUMN: Michael Paskevich

     So, you forgot to buy flowers, broke into the gift box of chocolates and even neglected to make a dinner reservation for this evening.
      Well, Mom has forgiven you before. And there's still a chance to salvage Mother's Day today with several entertainment options that might just plant a loving smile on the face of that special lady.
      If she's in the mood for romance, the showy Latin kind, Julio Iglesias croons while pressing his tummy at Caesars Palace today (8 p.m., $75 per ticket) and Dad might thank you as well. A more rigorous, rhythm and blues-based evening with Tom Jones at the MGM Grand Hotel (9 o'clock, $51.70) will include his killer takes on Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)" and Paul Anka's "She's a Lady" among an always-inventive selection of quality songs.
      There are the big band sounds of Tito Puente at Palace Station (8 p.m., $12.50) or Verne Byers and his orchestra at The Hop (11 a.m. to 3 p.m., $7.95 includes brunch).
      Las Vegan Buddy Greco, who just released a 17-selection CD tribute to the late Nat King Cole with local luminaries Joe Lano on guitar, Bob Sachs on bass and Tommy Check on drums, plays the Railhead at Boulder Station tonight at 8 and 10 with no cover charge or drink minimum. This will be his last Las Vegas date until late July after he returns from a gig at Carnegie Hall.
      Multitalented comedian Norma Zager, a self-described "middle-aged Jewish mom," has devoted her spare time to developing low- and no-fat cakes and cookies. She'll hand out "Love Cookie" samples following her shows today at 8 and 10:30 p.m. at Catch A Rising Star comedy club at the MGM Grand Hotel ($14). Zager's style has been compared to Totie Fields -- she's working on a screenplay about the late comedian -- and now she'll have to be prepared to weather comparisons to cookie maven Mrs. Fields.
      A few more tips: "Forever Plaid" is a wistful, funny and musically rewarding play at the Flamingo Hilton (7 and 10 p.m., $19.95); "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" plays the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts at 2 and 7:30 p.m. today ($19.50 to $65); and Nevadans with a valid driver's license or military ID can get two-for-one tickets today only for "Starlight Express" at the Las Vegas Hilton. Impressionist Danny Gans is a can't miss at the Rio (8 p.m., $44.95), but tickets are always hard to come by.
      And for something completely different, there's "Soaps in the Quarter," a new talk and entertainment show that opened Saturday at The Orleans, replacing "Gone Country." Brad Maule, who plays Dr. Tony Jones on "General Hospital," will host the show each week with rotating special guests.
      Fellow "General Hospital" in-patients Sean Kanan and Steve Burton will join Maule at 2 p.m. today. Tickets are priced at $14.95. The soapsters will be available for autographs after the show. ...
      Looking down the road, Elayne Boosler will open the remodeled Congo Theater at the Sahara May 20 (through June 1), followed by Rich Little June 2-29, Jackie Mason June 30-July 9 and return dates with ventriloquist Jeff Dunham. Negotiations are ongoing regarding plans for afternoon and late-night shows at the Sahara. ...
      Every time I pass by a billboard touting master magician Lance Burton -- "appearing nightly through 2009!" -- I wonder if he's ever going to get a vacation from his duties at the Monte Carlo. Turns out he will get a deserved break June 27 when comic Rita Rudner moves into Burton's self-named theater for a run through July 6, briefly giving the Strip its sixth headliner room. ...
      And now that the Bee Gees have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and are on the comeback trail, which Las Vegas resort is most likely to give the brothers Gibb a chance at cashing in on their renewed status?
      How about The Mirage? That would seem to be the perfect habitat for the "singing dolphins" of the disco era.
     
      Michael Paskevich's entertainment column appears Fridays and Sundays.