Opened for a “preview” earlier this week, Revel, according to its Web site, has the following bands performing at The Social in the near future:

• The Next (tonight, Wed. April 4, 9pm-12:30am

• Kristen & The Noise (Thursday, April 5, 9pm-12:30am)

• Hank & Cupcakes (Friday, April 6, 9pm-12:30am)

• Lima Bean Riot (Saturday, April 7, 9pm-12:30am)

• Eleven Eleven (Sunday, April 8, 9pm-12:30am)

Also, along with Beyoncé, Maroon 5, and the Black Keys, Kid Rock has booked for Ovation Hall (on June 2).

At 85, Tony Bennett hasn’t lost a step.

The singer who’s been singing for 60 years-plus, shimmied, twirled and tapped his way across the stage at the Circus Maximus Theater at Caesars in Atlantic City on Saturday, Feb. 4.

Bennett and Jones at Caesars Atlantic City, Feb. 4, 2012. (Tom Briglia)

To a capacity crowd, Bennett and his phenomenal quartet (including the sensational guitarist Gray Sargent and “Count Basie’s favorite drummer,” Harold Jones) delivered a mind-bending hour-and-a-half show, with all the fixins, including an opening set featuring Bennett’s daughter Antonia.

In great spirit, Bennett told tale after tale between tunes, many of which received standing ovations. Bennett gave a few shout outs to folks in the crowd, including ex-heavywieght champion Mike Tyson, who was sitting in the audience with his beautiful bride, and dedicated the song “For Once in My Life” to him. Tyson was spotted at Caesars’ Dusk nightclub on Friday as well.

Ex-heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson and Janine Leishear pose for a photo in Dusk at Caesars Atlantic City on Friday, Feb. 3

After the concert, which started around 9pm, Bennett had a plane waiting for him and was off into the night. Following his stellar performance, the multi-generational crowd filtered out of the theater, the atmosphere of which was draped in the feel of an old-time show.

READ: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TONY BENNETT FEB. 2012

ATLANTIC CITY — As reported last Friday, the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey has worked out a deal with the owners of Dante Hall, a 250-seat theater on Mississippi Avenue in Atlantic City’s Ducktown neighborhood, to lease the theater for a mere $100 a month.

The college had been trying for more than a year to acquire the performing arts center that also houses office areas and large rooms on multiple floors inside the structure.

According to Galloway Patch:

“The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey has approved a plan to lease Dante Hall for just $100 a month over the next three years.

“That positions the Galloway Township-based college to become the first player in Atlantic City’s proposed arts district.

“The college still needs final approval of the lease from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which paid for the $3.5 million overhaul of the recently shuttered facility, but that approval is expected.

“The college plans to use the 243-seat facility for its own arts program in the city as well as to sublet the venue to the Bay-Atlantic Symphony, a classical music orchestra with no previous permanent home base.”

The long period of time it took Stockton to work out a deal with the owners of Dante Hall — which was rebirthed as a performing arts center in 2003 and ran childrens’ programs, nationally touring dance, classical, jazz and other performing acts, while offering an eclectic mix of non-gaming entertainment along with showcasing local talent — “was complicated by Dante Hall’s insolvency and multiple layers of Catholic Church leaders—that hall grew out of St. Micheal’s Roman Catholic Church,” according to the report.

“This is the first step in the arts district. I’m really relieved. This was a long time coming,” said Dr. Herman Saatkamp, the college’s president.

Read more on the proposed arts district here and  here.

Read Atlantic City Weekly’s recent cover story, Sketching Out an Arts Colony.

Here is what the building and its surrounding area used to look like:

Darling Nicki

ATLANTIC CITY — Although Britney Spears initially told ABC that she was heading on tour with Enrique Iglesias late last month, that idea was soon squashed by Enrique’s camp.

Billboard magazine soon reported: “Iglesias is a headlining artist and has been for some time, and would carry his own fully-themed production on the tour. The language in the carefully worded press release — which was withdrawn from certain outlets shortly after it was sent [stated] the pair would ‘tour together’ but stopped short of calling it a ‘co-headlining’ tour, the phrase commonly used for such superstar pairings as Billy Joel and Elton John, for example.”

Anyhoo, Spears is going on the road, and MTV reports that pop sensation Nicki Minaj, who recently appeared in Atlantic City, will be joining her. (And not a certain DJ from MTV’s show Jersey Shore. DJ Paulie D? On par with even Britney and Enrique and Nicki? C’mon.)

Although Spears’ North American summer tour will not bring her to Atlantic City — as of now — she will perform in nearby cities, according to her schedule listed on the Pollstar site.

Click here for a photo gallery of Nicki Minaj in Atlantic City.

courtesy ladygaga.com/photos

Lady Gaga returns to Atlantic City Feb. 19, 2011, for a show at Boardwalk Hall.

Atlantic City Weekly is giving its web users a chance to win two tickets to the show. The deadline for entries is Dec. 31, 2010.

Click here to win two tickets to the show! And to see the details and rules.

Semi Precious Weapons will again be the opening act.

“I was always an entertainer. I was a ham as a little girl and I’m a ham today,” says Lady Gaga, who made a name for herself on the Lower East Side club scene with the infectious dance-pop party song “Beautiful Dirty Rich.” “I always loved rock and pop and theater. When I discovered Queen and David Bowie is when it really came together for me and I realized I could do all three,” says Gaga, who created her name from Queen’s song “Radio Gaga” and who cites rock star girlfriends Peggy Bundy, and Donatella Versace as her fashion icons. “I look at those artists as icons in art. It’s not just about the music. It’s about the performance, the attitude, the look; it’s everything. And, that is where I live as an artist and that is what I want to accomplish. My goal as an artist is to funnel a pop record to a world in a very interesting way.”

About the first leg of The Monster Ball Tour, Gaga described it as “the first-ever pop-electro opera.”

What movie is that headline from and who said it? Leave a comment with your answer.

The opera La Boheme will be staged at Dante Hall in Atlantic City on Saturday, July 25. The fully staged production of Puccini’s classic work, featuring the Amici Opera Company of Philadelphia, begins at 8pm; doors open at 7pm and tickets are $25. Dante Hall is a small yet beautiful performing arts theater in the Ducktown section of A.C. It’s been offering great shows of all sorts for the last several years and recently held a fundraiser (featuring Bobby Rydell and the Philadelphia Clef Club) to help keep it open, which went well.

Saturday night — a little opera, maybe grabbing a bite to eat in town somewhere beforehand and then a stroll on the beach or Boardwalk. Could be a nice night. Visit here for ticket info.