Watch for casino operators to invest more in their race and sports books, Wall Street analysts say. Simple economics dictate the moves. In 2005, Las Vegas sports books made almost 20 percent on average on all bets placed on the Super Bowl. That was up from less than 1 percent in 1998. For 2005, $2 billion was played on race and sports books and almost $100 million on the Super Bowl alone. With more newcomers betting more money on their favorites for the fun of the game, rather than betting the odds in order to win, casinos see the sky as the limit.

Lots of businesses are irate over the recently reported 12-month delay in the Harmon Avenue extension. They say east-west traffic is what Las Vegas is all about, and every 10 minutes lost in traffic is 10 minutes in lost productivity. From the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where Harmon dead ends, to the Palms, which has always planned to benefit from the Harmon Avenue corridor, businesses complain the delay benefits only MGM Mirage and its Project CityCenter at the expense of the rest of the community.

It's no mystery why visitor counts for Las Vegas hotel-casinos stayed high heading into the holidays. More visitors come not to gamble, but for the entertainment, dining and shopping. And record numbers of visitors here told market surveyors ahead of the holidays they were in Las Vegas to do their Christmas shopping. No other place in the United States compares when it comes to high-end retail in a compressed shopping area. Not even the famed Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif., or Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

Los Angeles-based WPT Enterprises, known for its World Poker Tour, is going where none have gone before. It is launching an overseas gambling Web site that industry insiders believe will prove profitable despite U.S. Department of Justice admonitions that online gambling is illegal. WPT will bar American citizens, who generate 80 percent of online gambling revenue, from its Europe-based Web site. Still, gaming lawyers say it's a risky bet, arguing federal law is at best "unsettled."

Rumor has it Mario Batali, already renowned in Manhattan, where he owns seven restaurants and a wine cellar, is expanding his $65 million empire to Las Vegas. He's opening a pair of dining joints in The Venetian, his first forays out of New York, along with a place in Los Angeles. Batali, also an East Coast TV personality and best-selling author, is getting a helping hand from Wolfgang Puck's former wife, who performed the same services for the now-leading celebrity chef when he was building a name for himself and later branching out here.

Gaming Wire Editor Rod Smith can be reached by e-mail at rsmith@reviewjournal.com or by phone at 477-3893.