That gurgling sound you hear from up north is Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV) trying to drown the state government in his bathtub. And if the casino industry gets soaked in the process, fine by him.

What you're not hearing is a peep of protest from gamers who, you'd think, would be tired of acting as the milk cow for the rest of Nevada. Whether it's revoking tax emptions on comped meals, raising the room tax for the umpteenth time or collecting taxes on dishonored markers, the casino industry is the one sector of the Nevada economy that can be singled out for additional levies without any fear of polical repercussion.

Maybe the fellows in the executive suites have tired of being a doormat, but they're giving scant evidence of it these days. After all, it might be awkward to say, "Hell no, we won't" to Midnight Jim after J. Terrence Lanni and friends invested so much capital installing Gibbons in the governor's mansion -- and precious little thanks have they received. By this point you'd think they'd be ready to kick Gibbons' butt up one side of Carson City and down the other. However, they seem more inclined to absorb an(other) ass-kicking than administer one.

As for Gibbons, he seems mesmerized by the logic of those anti-tax obssessives who incessantly repeat the mantra that even the measliest tax burden upon big-box retailers and mining conglomerates will translate into catastrophic job losses. If we subscribe to that line of thinking, should taxes on Nevada's casinos be repealed, employment in the gaming sector would explode!

Actually, no, it wouldn't. When the casinos in Midnight Jim's own backyard have collectively lost money for two fiscal years running, they've got priorities considerably more urgent than expanding their payroll.

More about Siegel. No, not Bugsy. S&G was contacted by Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Benjamin Spillman to draw our attention to a piece on Stephen Siegel's expansion into the Mount Charleston market. It features commentary by LVA's Anthony Curtis, who -- although we haven't discussed the matter -- is of the same mindset as yours truly. Namely, that as smaller operators continue to struggle and (are expected to) shed properties, Siegel will be nicely positioned to move in and start sweeping them up.

Harrah's vs. Harrah's. I apologize for some confusion that was inadverdantly sown amongst the readership. The dilapidated Harrah's Entertainment Web site to which I was referring was not Harrahs.com but the press site, media.harrahs.com. Not only are some Harrah's properties altogether omitted from the site, other pages -- like the one for Grand Casino Biloxi -- have clearly been neglected for a long, long while. (Web site as corporate metaphor?)

The contrast between, say, the aggressively well-maintained Atlantic City pages and who-cares attitude regarding other ones is a reminder that, nearly four years after completing its absorption of Caesars Entertainment, Harrah's media-relations operation is still "siloed" into a hodgepodge of fiefdoms -- a patchwork of principalities that resembles pre-Bismarck Germany. For efficiency, it doesn't begin to compare with the equivalent MGM Mirage operation down the street.