Nathan Burton's flair for magic and comedy have taken him from "America's Got Talent" to the V Theatre in the Aladdin's Desert Passage mall, where Burton's sitcom pilot -- titled, naturally, "Nathan!" -- shoots Thursday and Friday.

Just as "Seinfeld" focused more on comedian Jerry Seinfeld's (make-believe) life offstage than it did on his stand-up career, "Nathan!" will be "more about the life" of a Las Vegas magician than the magic itself, Burton explains.

Las Vegas-based Maxxam Entertainment is producing the pilot; chief executive officer Don Barnhart (whose credits include such hits as "Mork & Mindy" and "Full House") will call the shots.

The V Theatre will play itself during the onstage portions of the scripted show, Burton notes. But "the dressing rooms are a little small," so sets will be constructed for the backstage scenes.

The show hasn't sold -- yet -- but officials from one network are so interested "they want to see it now," Burton says. (That explains why those involved with "Nathan!" are rushing to meet an April 15 deadline. Along with millions of taxpayers ...)

Rolling along: "Let the Good Times Roll" could be a Las Vegas motto. (That is, if New Orleans hadn't gotten there first.)

But it also serves as the title of an hourlong Lifetime special focusing on a tournament, devoted to the dice game known as Bunco, taking place at Mandalay Bay.

The documentary, expected to debut in mid-May, begins its four-day visit Thursday, with scheduled stops on the Strip as well as at the tournament, according to line producer Martin Snider.

Keep on trucking: In addition to beckoning established filmmakers, Las Vegas also attracts student hopefuls, such as Stanford University undergraduate Dennis Lo, who begins a three-day shoot today on the docudrama "Overloaded."

The festival-bound feature, about a Utah-bound trucker hauling freight, will include footage of a truck driving down the Strip -- and pulling into a Tropicana Avenue hotel, reports Lo, who says he chose Las Vegas because "it's a wonderful place in terms of all the visuals."

Fighting chance: The sixth season of Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter" doesn't begin production here until late May.

But welterweight (155-170 pounds) wannabes proficient in mixed martial arts will have a shot at joining the competition during an open casting call April 10.

The tryout will begin at 8 a.m. at the Palms' Fantasy Tower (in Rock meeting rooms A and B). UFC president and "Ultimate Fighter" host Dana White will oversee the auditions, along with executive producer Craig Piligian and Spike TV's Brian J. Diamond.

For additional information and applications, go to www.ufc.com.

Carol Cling's Shooting Stars column appears Mondays. Contact her at 383-0272 or e-mail her at ccling@reviewjournal.com.