Good bets for landing shows on the Strip: Bette Midler, above, at Caesars Palace and Cher, below, performing at Mandalay Bay.
Corporate potshots at the competition traditionally remain in the boardrooms of the gaming towers along Las Vegas Boulevard.
That changed in a very public way last week.
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Steve Wynn and Bobby Baldwin, two giants of the gaming industry, slammed their rivals in national interviews.
Possibly smarting from the failure of his "Avenue Q," Wynn told Newsweek free-lancer Steve Friess that the local lineup of Broadway shows won't compare to his upcoming "Spamalot."
Wynn said "Phantom of the Opera," due to open this year at The Venetian, has "played out." Mandalay Bay's "Mamma Mia!" arrived in Las Vegas "late in its life" and is pulling in only 800 people per show, he said.
And "Hairspray," which opened last week at the Luxor, "is not 'Spamalot,' " Wynn said.
Baldwin, who is in charge of MGM Mirage's $7 billion Project CityCenter, appeared to lambast actor George Clooney's Las Ramblas project.
"I think that's been about as successful as me acting in movies," Baldwin told CBS reporter Sandra Hughes during Thursday's CBS News evening broadcast.
Baldwin wasn't kidding when he told Hughes the current competitive climate is "a slugfest."
Wynn's jabs at "Mamma Mia!" ruffled some feathers at Mandalay Bay. Those in the know say the crowd numbers Wynn cited were inaccurate and that the Las Vegas show is not only the most successful of 12 worldwide, but it has recouped its original investment three times over.
It was also pointed out that Wynn wooed "Mamma Mia!" for Wynn Las Vegas, something he acknowledged in his Newsweek interview.
Luxor honcho Felix Rappaport, in an e-mail, said he chooses not to comment about competitors and added he "couldn't be happier" with "Hairspray."
The Venetian was asked for a response but did not reply.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
An insider says bet on it: Bette Midler is heading for Caesars Palace in late 2007, and Cher will end up at Mandalay Bay. ...
The Playboy logo went up last week on the Palms' new Fantasy Tower. Palms owner George Maloof said the Playboy Club, which will crown the tower, will open with a blowout bash in September. It will be the first Playboy Club opening since the 1980s and, with all the rest now closed, it will be the only one in the world.
SIGHTINGS
Jennifer Love Hewitt, celebrating her 27th birthday, which is Tuesday, in the Hot Pink Suite in the Palms' Fantasy Tower. She dined at Little Buddha and enjoyed a strawberry-topped chocolate sponge cake prepared by N9NE Steakhouse chef Barry Dakake. ... At the Aladdin/Planet Hollywood boxing card Saturday: "General Hospital" hunks Maurice Benard and Steve Burton, pals of Brian "Hawaiian Punch" Viloria, who took an 18-0 record against Jose Antonio Aguirre. Also spotted on the property: illusionist Criss Angel and Cheri Oteri of "Saturday Night Live." ... Aerosmith's frontmen Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, backstage after attending the early performance of K? (MGM Grand) on Friday. ... Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony and fiancee, La La Vasquez, the MTV veejay, at Rain (Palms). ... Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees, getting his long hair trimmed at the Electric Chair salon in Anthem on Friday, before heading to spring training.
THE PUNCH LINE
"In a big upset, a bull terrier named Rufus won (the Westminster Dog Show). Wayne Gretzky's wife lost a million dollars on the show." -- David Letterman
