Gambler that he is, Calvin Ayre knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.

Ayre, founder of the Bodog.com gambling marketing Web site and an increasingly popular convention, has just announced that the heat from the Justice Department is becoming a bit too intense in the Internet gambling racket to hold an upcoming seminar on Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

Ayre placed a soft spin on the issue.

"Due to the uncertainty created by the U.S. Department of Justice's recent actions, the decision has been made to not proceed with the Bodog.com Marketing Conference at Atlantis in December," he wrote on his Web site.

Apparently, the Bahamas isn't far enough off shore for comfort for the gambling site operators who benefit from the conference. The Justice Department recently moved to indict BetOnSports officials, a decision that has the multibillion-dollar industry running scared.

HELLS ANGELS-MONGOLS: District Attorney David Roger and his team were shut out of the prosecution of the Hells Angels in the deadly Laughlin shootout in 2002 in the wake of a federal indictment, but he said this week his office will be ready to take on the Mongols when the opportunity presents itself.

The DA's office and the homicide bureau of the Metropolitan Police Department played an integral role in analyzing and cataloging evidence in the Hells Angels case, which is set to resume Monday in U.S. District Judge James Mahan's courtroom.

CLOSING THE BOOK: Gamblers Book Shop owner Howard Schwartz, a legend in the traditional gaming information business, says he's ready to sell his amazing store after 27 years. Schwartz, 66, purchased it from its original owners, John and Edna Luckman, who started the book shop and publishing company 42 years ago.

The store features nearly 3,000 titles and has an inventory of almost 100,000 books.

"I'd like to pass the baton of colorfulness and integrity to somebody who would really continue this on," Schwartz said.

BRUNO'S BUS RIDE: Last week's story of wheelchair-bound World War II veteran Bruno W. Busch, who was thwarted from boarding a CAT bus after able riders using the handicapped seating area refused to move, has generated a flood of response in support of the man who fought on the islands of Tinian and Saipan.

From local veteran Allen Ashby: "I would like to know if possible, when and where Mr. Bruno Busch gets on the CAT bus. Being an Air Force veteran, and the son of a WWII vet, I will be there to assist him in getting a seat on the bus."

From Master Sgt. J. McGaha of Fort Walton Beach, Fla.: "I would bet you a dollar to a doughnut that the idiots sitting on that bus probably never heard of Tinian, Saipan or the fact that an atomic weapon was used during WW II. ... However, ask these same fine citizens the latest news about Sean Combs or Tom Cruise and you would get a very detailed account of their lives."

PROJECT SUNSHINE: Project Sunshine, the group that sends children stricken with cancer and other debilitating diseases to summer camp, will benefit from the 2006 Art & Innocence Celebration scheduled for Saturday at the World Market Center downtown.

The Brett Torino Foundation will display the philanthropist and developer's muscle car collection following a parade down Interstate 15. Those special summer camps are hosted at Torino Ranch.

The Art & Innocence Celebration fund-raiser and auction is Saturday evening.

ON THE BOULEVARD: Did you know the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas raised a record $4 million in 2006 to provide humanitarian relief not only to Israel, but also to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami disaster? ... While we're on the subject of giving, Betty Engelstad's recent $15 million donation to the Nevada Cancer Institute through the Engelstad Family Foundation has to be the quietest large charitable contribution in local history.

BOULEVARD II: The rumored impending sale of the Barbary Coast to Harrah's continues to buzz. ... Stagehands Union Local 720 workers scored another victory with the National Labor Relations Board in their fight with producers of the Blue Man Group. The NLRB unanimously ordered Blue Man bosses to bargain in good faith. ... Saturday in Goldfield, boxing teams from UNLV and UNR will square off to commemorate the centennial of the Gans-Nelson fight.

Have an item for the Bard of the Boulevard? E-mail comments and contributions to Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 383-0295.