So Sheldon Adelson will actually "pick up some of [John L.] Smith's expenses incurred in defending himself from the libel suit" filed by the Las Vegas Sands potentate -- a suit that has been characterized as "false and vindictive"? If Adelson is willing to make such a total capitulation, then the contents of his Nevada Gaming Control Board file must be pretty hot stuff.

Gambling ≥ babysitter. Here's a Vegas trend that needs to be nipped in the bud. First it was the couple who went their separate ways, leaving their toddler stranded -- in front of Imperial Palace, to add insult to injury. Now these two morons make the police blotter. Let me make it real simple for this duo: If you can't afford a sitter, you can't f#&%ing afford to gamble, OK?

Now that's panic. So an unnamed casino industry lawyer (fronting for whom, I'd like to know) has floated the idea of lowering the gambling age in Nevada to 18. Whereupon the heads of the Nevada Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission solemnly promised to take the matter up with the Lege. Seems to me that, if anybody's going to carry this politcally radioactive isotope to Carson City, it ought to be the potential beneficiaries and their designated representative, the Nevada Resort Association. Regulators are not (or should not be) policy advocates.

As for the merits of the idea, it has strong proponents and detractors. After all, if you're old enough to pull the levers of democracy and get your ass shot off in Iraq, society shouldn't begrudge you a few hands of blackjack. But it's an unambiguous index of the fear and desperation running through the casino industry that it's looking to college students as its potential source of economic salvation.

Jerque du Soleil. Just in case you were starting to feel sorry for Cirque du Soleil, now that it has a full-blown catastrophe on its hands, along comes CdS' Guy Laliberté to try and blow some smoke up our collective kiester. "[A]t this point in time, the only entertainment in town that's working is those six different Cirque du Soleil shows," he says between cigarette puffs.

So what about Jersey Boys, Phantom, Mamma Mia!, The Showgirl Must Go On, Donny & Marie, Wayne Brady, Penn & Teller, etc.? Duds every one, I guess. Whatever Laliberté is smoking, it must be a lot stronger than tobacco.

Speaking of wacky substances, guess who's being mooted as a potential Vegas headliner? Whitney "Crack is Wack" Houston, that's who. While the potential-trainwreck curiosity factor will be high, Houston and ex Bobby Brown played a one-night joint engagement at the Aladdin eight years ago to attendance estimated at 6,000. Those numbers don't augur well for an extended run by Houston solamente. Then again, Luxor has a showroom that may be available soon, so who can afford to be picky?