Although a few Democrats in the state Senate toyed with the idea of growing a spine and opposing raising the hotel-room tax, all of them -- plus several Republicans -- did the easy thing and opted for Plan A: Soak the tourists. Again. So the new top rate in Las Vegas will be 13%. Pardon us while we put this cigar butt out in your face, too.

All the rationale you need can be found in the final line of Ed Vogel's story, where he's told this "may be more palatable than other tax increases because the tax would be paid by tourists." The disdainful tone expressed toward tourists by KVVU-TV talking heads on this morning's 7 a.m. newscast simply drove the point home: Tax that schmuck behind the tree.

Of course, the tax increase was popular with two-thirds of Clark County voters. Wouldn't you love any tax that somebody else has to pay? Despite having booked the revenue already, Gov. Jim Gibbons will take the coward's way out and let the new impost become law sans signature. That hardly befits a decorated military veteran. (Proving yet again that irony is dead, Gibbons reiterated his now-is-not-the-time-to-raise-taxes mantra the very same day.)

The solons' fecklessness is pithily summarized by an understandably exasperated Jon Ralston:

The session is nearly a third over and a pervasive sense of deja vu is settling in. Governor presents controversial idea(s). Legislature declares them DOA. Partisan sniping ensues between lawmakers and governor and among legislators. Final budget/revenue plans are an abomination, some kind of Frankensteinian creation that has no policy underpinnings but fills a budget hole with cobbled together revenue Band-Aids.

While Gibbons' budgetary 'solution' might be dubbed the Nevada Chainsaw Massacre, the Dems' non-response is equally deplorable, consisting as it does of socking it (among others) to the casino industry even more than ever. This approach would simply amplify existing inequities in Nevada's structure, as Hugh Jackson tried to explain to the Lege, throwing in some charts that even a legislator could understand. They neatly highlight the disparity between the enormous revenue contribution made by casinos -- hundreds of millions of bucks -- and the measly input from the mining industry.

Silver Lining Dept.: Amid all those beyond-horrid numbers from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, note that slot hold is down almost a full percentage point. Hopefully the example of M Resort, trading off loose slots for longer play (the old Cactus Jack's philosophy) will find more adherents. Oh, and Washoe County was up. We'll take any good news we can get and this was pretty unexpected.

A reader enlightens me. Among the possible reasons for the increased smoke infestation at formerly respectable joints like Sunset Station (and Eastside Cannery), a California visitor suggests another: The ban on smoking in Nevada restaurants has driven the cigarette-and-cigar crowd to the casinos more than ever, since the latter represent one of the few safe havens remaining. He's noticed a gradual increase in the smokiness of Red Rock Resort and comparable places that provide a one-stop-shop for dinner, video poker and a smokin' them while you've got 'em.

Can't argue with that ... although the rapid declivity of both Sunset and E-Can into mega-ashtrays suggests to me a confluence of factors, all of them untoward.