Gov. Jim Gibbons has scuttled away from one of his several proposals to jack up taxes on the only segment of Nevada that's carrying its own weight -- the casino bidness. He's retreating from a demand that casinos pay taxes on uncollected markers (which, in turn, would be certain to cause a tightening of casino credit). Midnight Jim continues, though, to support raising hotel-room taxes in Clark and Washoe counties, and taxing comped meals. The casino industry's love affair with Gibbons -- which helped get him into office -- has so far proven a one-way romance.

Worries about Boyd. Here's why I resist the occasional invitation to give stock picks: No sooner have I sung the praises of Boyd Gaming's sound fundamentals, its diversified casino portfolio and its (Echelon excepted) aversion to risk, comes news that analysts have the heebie-jeebies in re Boyd. A slow-ramp-up at Water Club in Atlantic City and weakness in the Las Vegas locals market are the primary worries.

Advertising during the Oscars: Casinos that ran ads during last night's interminable Academy Awards snoozer included M Resort (twice), Encore, the CasaBlanca in Mesquite and Green Valley Ranch, which has suddenly discovered a great lurve for the local clientele. The latter is quite a turnaround for a property that used to tout its high-end cachet. Oh, and Mickey Rourke got totally, utterly and criminally screwed. Which ruined the evening right then and there.

Atlantic City Death Watch, cont. After taking a long gander at the market, Macquarie Securities analyst Joel Simkins had this to say: “In our view, there is a distinct possibility that one to three casinos could be permanently closed in the next few years, particularly when many older locations are barely breaking even and, we believe, cannot be rehabbed to be economically viable.” [emphasis added]

Anybody care to speculate which casinos Simkins has on the "do not resuscitate" list? Resorts Atlantic City is a no-brainer for the "one." As for the "to three," we could toss in the Atlantic City Hilton and Trump Marina, where the news comes in two flavors -- Bad and Worse.

The Tropicana might also be on the bubble, partly because it's not performing up to its preponderant size and also on account of interim management's inability to restore the business that was lost during the Columbia Sussex reign of error. A veteran Trump-watcher has another suggestion, writing that"his decision to abandon and bad-mouth the company suggests that this may not be the routine Chapter 11 bankruptcy from which the company eventually emerges. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last gasp for Trump's three Atlantic City casinos."