You wanna make Bill Clinton lose his cool? Ask him about caucuses in casinos. Not a good moment for the ex-Prez. He can't be happy about this, either.

Now that the Culinary Union is enjoying a moment in the sun, thanks to its Obama endorsement, it's getting a moment in a different kind of Sun. Seems it may be overplaying its hand. All of this tit-for-tat nastiness might (just barely) redound to the benefit of my guy, John Edwards. (And, yes, you get to taunt me if Edwards is crushed on Saturday.)

BUT ... if you enjoy online gambling (click about three screens down) you won't want to vote for Edwards, who's against it, full stop. Sen. Clinton holds the same position as the AGA, favoring a taxpayer-funded study. Sen. Obama, with typical pith, calls the 'Net a "Wild West of illegal activity, but not only supports the study but regulation, too.

So I'd call Obama the most liberal on this issue (he plays poker, after all), Edwards the most conservative. (I like Obama's health-care position the best, his education stance the least.)

No GOP breakdown? Or do they have to wait until Friday for their Sun spot? Not fair.

Best News of the Week: The truth is still out there. And not a moment too soon. But could they thrown in some chupacabras? (I'm surprised someone hasn't thrown El Chupacabra into the "secure our borders" debate.) The Significant Other just loved that chupacabra episode.

Local paper deems Congress worse than steroids. You can't make this stuff up.

Even Better News of the Week: Another impostor band has been booted from the Sahara. This brings Larry Marshak's much-criticized and controversial revue to a grinding halt, at least for the nonce.

Cosmo Update: As mentioned in "What's News," the Wall Street Journal has a lengthy take on the foreclosure threatening the Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino. It observes, ominously, that owner Ian Bruce Eichner "gained notice during an earlier real-estate downturn in the early 1990s when he lost several projects in New York City."

Even more worrisomely, the WSJ notes that Eichner is in default for $935 million and that Wall Street could be looking at a $100 billion write-off thanks to the collapse of subprime lending. The story also references local disillusionment with the condo-hotel business model. Not to mention that the project has been limping along already.

Another paper, meanwhile, paints a smiley face on the whole affair, deeming it merely "a setback." Deep in the story, however, there's some excellent historical background, the consensus of various experts being that the Cosmo will get finished ... eventually. It just might take as much as four years.

Quote of the day: "We're a beneficiary to the degree that America's on sale." -- MGM Mirage President James Murren, whose company is trying to sell 9.4% of itself to Dubai World.

Speaking of Dubai World. Is that the secretive company allegedly tied to the Cloverfield monster? Uh, no, that'd be Tagruato. Um, never mind. (Has the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority explored 'viral marketing,' by the way? Just a thought.)

As for the LVCVA, small wonder that Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons is apt to applaud Las Vegas Sands President William Weidner's calls to defund it, or at least raid its budget on occasion. Just look at who's the most 'george' donor to Gibbons' legal defense fund (other than the Gibbonses themselves, that is). George Maloof is in for 10 G's, too.

No Ho Roadshow: The proposed IPO of Stanley Ho's casino empire, SJM, is too rich for some investors' blood, reports the AFP and the South China Morning Post. Hence, a planned roadshow was scrapped and the $1 billion stock offering won't be seen until after Chinese New Year.

THIS isn't the Cloverfield monster, but the 3,000-lb. beastie just might be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "giant rat of Sumatra." (Search for "prehistoric rat" on Yahoo News for further details.) Talk about a rodent problem!

Sweet revenge: Former Tropicana Casino & Resort President Pam Popielarski is back at the Atlantic City Trop, whose fortunes she guided for a bakers' dozen years, this time as a consultant. She was one of many Trop employees who were ousted a year ago, when then-owner Columbia Sussex (recently kicked out of New Jersey) went on a cost-cutting jihad. Magnanimously, Popielarski is dropping a lawsuit against Columbia Sussex that alleged age- and sex discirmination.

Popielarski is part of a triumvirate of veteran casinos execs that will be advising former state Supreme Court Justice Gary Stein in his trusteeship of the embattled property (currently at the bottom of the A.C. market). Gary Simpson, a former senior veep of finance for previous Trop owner Aztar Corp. is also on board.

Somewhat worrisome is the appointment of controversial, well-traveled former Foxwoods boss Mickey Brown. Given Brown's stormy past and despite his considerable accomplishments, he may not be the face New Jersey wants to put on the Trop in lieu of layoff-fixated William Yung III. At least Brown's background as a regulator could be put to good use, as Columbia Sussex's persistent disregard or (to give it the benefit of the doubt) incomprehension of New Jersey laws was its undoing.