That's the magic number that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius foresees from casino licenses and racinos. Note, however, that the enabling legislation is still being vetted by the courts. Nevada officials, besieged by less-than-expected gambling revenues and a gubernatorial demand for at least 4.5% budget cuts, can only gaze in despair at Kansas' $935 million rainy-day fund, the biggest in the U.S.

Sticking with states that begin with 'K,' Las Vegas Sands COO William Weidner is singing a siren song to Kentucky legislators. Although his revenue projections look just a mite rosy, Weidner needs to make a strong case, as he (and Gov. Steve Beshear) will have to win over a supermajority in both houses of the Kentucky Lege, not to mention a majority of Bluegrass State voters. Riverboat owners in the southern Illinois and Indiana markets must be watching this with apprehension.

Oh, that recession: But don't worry; Deutsche Bank reports that casinos -- and the slot business in particular -- are especially recession-resistant. That, and casinos are everybody's favorite quick-fix when the economy goes south.

Go figure. Both Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino had pretty bad months at the slots (neither casino reports table game revenues). In the case of Foxwoods, it's particularly baffling, in light of greatly increased coin-in from players -- $123 million more. The Day implies a cause-and-effect relationship between the revenue plunge at Foxwoods and the abrupt resignation of its president, John O'Brien. 

Boy, is my face red. No sooner had I deemed the Culinary Union's belated endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama a quasi-irrelevance than the Nevada teachers' union made it very relevant by getting het up and trying to shutter the "at large" caucuses being held on the Strip. (This story has been all over "the Internets," so I'll spare you any links.)

While this solicitude for the (D)emocratic process is touching, its timing is suspect. And it enabled the Culinary's D. Taylor to claim, in a neat bit of rhetorical jujitsu on MSNBC's Hardball, that his adversaries were trying to hold down minority voting on the eve of Martin Luther King Day. So now the Culinary is looking very relevant indeed.

Mixed results for the second night of The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Because, frankly, there's nothing more important. Well, maybe a war or two, the economy, education, terrorism and global warming, etc. But other than that, nothing.