Paula Abdul, a judge on Fox's "American Idol," is an entertainment consultant at the Silverton.

Paula Abdul has been a Laker Girl and "Forever Your Girl." Now she's the go-to girl for a trio of new entertainment projects at the Silverton.

David Krause, the Silverton's vice president of marketing, dubs her a consultant, clarifying the "American Idol" personality's involvement with the property where she has been sighted in recent months.

Abdul is involved in the whole "master plan" for the casino expansion, specifically a new indoor nightclub and concert hall, an outdoor pool and "beach" venue and a 27th-floor nightclub.

The beach area, which will accommodate 4,000 people and have room for three different outdoor stages, could be in business this summer. The 1,800-seat indoor venue and the penthouse nightclub will be part of new construction scheduled to arrive late next year.

Krause says the former pop star is helping design the venues, a level of involvement that goes much further than the Pussycat Dolls-style revue one might expect from the association.

"She's done a lot of things people don't know about," Krause says of her entertainment industry credentials. "She's done a lot more than people would think." ...

Las Vegas' "Broadway couple," Paige O'Hara and Michael Piontek, are continuing their 15-year married tradition of never having been in a show together and rarely working at the same time.

O'Hara, best known to families as the voice of Belle in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" animation, opened "Menopause, the Musical" Wednesday at the Las Vegas Hilton. She also will be part of "Hello, Jerry," a showcase for Broadway composer Jerry Herman, as part of the New York Stage & Beyond series at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas next fall.

Piontek, on the other hand, ended his run in "Mamma Mia!" on Sunday. He's going to start his open-ended vacation with minor knee surgery scheduled for Friday, taking care of an injury that occurred in one of the musical's dance numbers.

Piontek played Harry, the British businessman, and was the last remaining principal to have opened "Mamma Mia!" at Mandalay Bay in February 2003. He says he was surprised to have been renewed for the third year and knew it would be his last, because the producers of the ABBA musical tend to replace all the principals at the same time and aren't keen on longevity. "That's just the way they do business," he says. "Maybe it's a British thing."

The new cast breaks away from the young tradition of having a Las Vegan star as Donna, the innkeeper who gets a surprise reunion with three ex-boyfriends. The new Donna is Carol Linnea Johnson, a Chicago native who helmed the Broadway edition for a month last fall, after understudying the role for three years as a member of the ensemble.

The new cast debuted Monday. The fact that "Mamma Mia!" is embarking on a fourth year on the Strip is encouraging to producers of other incoming Broadway titles, though it may be an apples-and-oranges comparison. "Mamma" doesn't need name stars and its break-even point is said to be lower than half-capacity for the 1,800-seat theater.

The local "Mamma" also was gutsy enough to increase the number of its lowest-price tickets last fall. Some shows seem to fear such a move would smell of failure, or lower their title's "prestige," or similar hogwash. Anyway, there's no shame in making adjustments as the novelty wears off, and "Mamma" now has two substantial sections of seating at $49.50. ...

The pop-rock band Chicago is the first ship-jumper from the Stardust since the venerable property announced it would close by year's end. Chicago will play the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theater March 16-29. ...

The Flamingo slips a new act even more quickly into its schedule. Joy Behar of "The View" will do her stand-up comedy act on Feb. 23. ...

Yeah, Vegas. That's the ticket! Jon Lovitz, best known for his movie work and "Saturday Night Live" sketch comedy, developed a stand-up comedy act a couple of years ago. He has an eye on Las Vegas and has been talking to Carrot Top's manager, Gary Propper, about working the Luxor during Carrot Top's vacations.

Propper also has been pitching the notion of a ticketed show to the folks at the new Hooters casino (formerly the San Remo). Initially, the casino is sticking with lounge/club bands and dueling pianos inside its three entertainment venues. The new property's marketing director is Richard Langlois, who had similar responsibilities at the Las Vegas Hilton before the hotel's sale to Colony Capital in 2004.

Mike Weatherford's entertainment column appears Thursdays and Sundays. Contact him at 383-0288 or e-mail him at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com.