John Katsilometes says word around town is that Pure Management Group will engineer revamping of hot-spot Luxor club that was the rage when it opened in 1998.

Sunday, March 19, 2006 | 7:26 a.m.

Ultraclubs, like those who frequent them, sometimes require extreme makeovers.

And word around the clubs is that Pure Management Group is in the process of taking over Ra, which is bracing for an already announced revamping project that will include expanding and renaming the facility and giving it a new identity. Construction is scheduled to begin in June.

Headed by Robert Frey, Pure Management operates Pure and Pussycat Dolls Lounge at Caesars Palace, Tangerine at Treasure Island and Coyote Ugly at New York-New York. The company's plan at Luxor is to push the expanded Ra back into the spotlight; the hot spot was considered a state-of-the-art club when it opened in 1998 but has slipped into the shadows in favor of larger ultraclubs - such as Pure.

Pure Management also closed Bikinis at the Rio in December and has plans for a trendy bowling center to take its place; some of the more addled Bikinis frequenters probably won't notice the difference.

NoteMart

She need a place to stay?: Pencil in (figuratively, we mean) Madonna for a show at MGM Grand Garden Arena over Memorial Day weekend ...

Simms is in: The late Chester Simms, who served as general manager at the Flamingo, is going to be honored with a Star on the Las Vegas Walk of Stars on May 6. Simms was a member of the Flamingo hierarchy in the '50s and '60s. Accepting on his behalf will be his son, Doug Simms. The ceremony is planned around the Kentucky Derby, one of the elder Simms' favorite spectacles ...

Hint of Barry: A tweak in Barry Manilow's show schedule at the Las Vegas Hilton is worth noting: His scheduled dates from Oct. 18 to Oct. 21 have been canceled for what Manilow's official Web site lists as "family and recording commitments" (the hotel is refunding tickets for those dates, and for another canceled show - the 10:30 performance on April 1).

Given that Manilow hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts and struck platinum (1 million copies sold) of his "Greatest Songs of the Fifties" release, that October slot would be a logical time to dedicate to recording and/or promoting a new CD - and the '60s seems to be the next decade on that retro calendar ...

The last hurrah: The final headliners at the Stardust are Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, scheduled to appear Oct. 26-28. The production show "Headlights and Tailpipes" is scheduled to run through the hotel's closing (but not through its implosion) ...

Steidle to appear: Former Marine captain Brian Steidle, who was the U.S. representative to the African Union's peacekeeping mission to Darfur from September 2004 to February 2005, will be in town at the Green Valley Ranch on March 27 as part of his nationwide speaking tour to promote the "Million Voices For Darfur" campaign. His appearance is set for 6:30 p.m.

Steidle shot hundreds of images while recording the genocide in Sudan, where it is estimated 300,000 people have been killed and another 2 million have fled their homes since February 2003. Steidle's 21,000-mile journey is titled "Tour for Darfur: Eyewitness to Genocide"; for information go to www.SaveDarfur.org ...

Goin' back to Miami: The Light Group - in the form of two of our city's hottest clubs, Jet at the Mirage and Light at the Bellagio - is partnering with Red Bull to host the Winter Music Conference kickoff party Wednesday at the wildly popular 3,000-square-foot Mansion in Miami. Reportedly, 100 of the hottest (hottest, we tell you!) women from Las Vegas are being flown in for the event. Light also hosted a star-studded party at the WMC in 2005 ...

Sighting: A descendant of slave-revolt gladiator Spartacus on Friday night (Saturday morning, actually, about 2 a.m.) at Mandalay Bay. How do I know he was a descendant of Spartacus? He was wearing a black bathrobe with "Spartacus" stitched across the back in big gold letters ...

Asphalt jungle: A reader checks in with this sighting - a fully operational, street-legal beige Ford Pinto, spotted on West Charleston and Rainbow boulevards ...

And finally: Celebrating St. Patrick's Day, a Friday plate sighting on a green convertible Ford Thunderbird: AYRISH.