All bets would be off if the National Basketball Association brings its 2007 All-Star Game to Las Vegas, thanks to a ban approved Thursday by state gambling regulators.

At the request of the NBA and tourism officials, the Nevada Gaming Commission voted unanimously to prohibit wagering on the February contest and related events.

"The amount of wagering on NBA All-Star games is relatively little compared to the benefit for the state of being able to host this kind of event," Commission Chairman Peter Bernhard said.

The World Series of Poker is drawing so many gold-bracelet hopefuls and poker-obsessed fans that players are having trouble getting to the bathroom because of the crowds.

"It's been pretty hectic around here," says Greg Raymer, who won a gold bracelet and $5 million in the main event last year. "Even going to the bathroom can be a challenge. I have fans waiting to take a picture with me or ask for an autograph."

Phil Gordon, a professional player, says he signs 50 autographs on his way to the restroom.

To thank selected fans for their allegiance during his child-molestation trial, Michael Jackson and his family plan an invitation-only bash Saturday night at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez — although it is not clear whether the self-described King of Pop will be on stage.

Jackson, 46, was acquitted Monday on all counts of molestation and conspiracy after a 14-week trial that brought throngs of his most ardent fans to the steps of the courthouse in Santa Maria, California.

For every dollar Arizona's Indian casinos won from gamblers in 2003, they won nearly $1.26 in 2004. Arizona's booming Indian casino industry brought in the third-highest amount of gambling revenue in the nation last year. More people living in the state and expanded gaming facilities are among reasons why.

The approximately $1.5 billion in gambling revenue in 2004 was up nearly 26 percent from 2003, according to a report being released today. The Indian Gaming Industry Report showed Arizona surpassed Minnesota for third in 2004.

Laura Davies slid home a 30-foot birdie putt at the 18th to share a three-way tie for the lead on five-under-par 67 after the first round of the McDonald's LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock in Maryland.

North Berwick's Catriona Matthew, who has had a dream run with four top-three finishes this season, had a 75 that was blighted by three bogeys in a row from the fifth (her 14th) but then the only birdie of the day came at the long eighth.

Popular on the tennis court, Andre Agassi is hoping to be a big draw on a casino floor.

Agassi's name and image are emblazoned on slot machines rolled out Tuesday at the MGM Grand hotel-casino, with a percentage of proceeds and licensing fees to go to his Las Vegas-based charitable foundation.

"I was a little hesitant, being a professional athlete, about the association with gaming and wagering," Agassi told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

With the constant changes in New York’s gambling scene, the gaming industry will be holding its fourth annual summit at Verona’s Turning Stone Casino Resort on June 21st and 22nd.

New York has experienced many gambling changes since last year’s summit. Changes include the addition of gaming floors at Batavia Downs and Monticello Raceway.

Raceways were given the green light on VLTs, Virtual Lottery Terminals, which are similar to slot machines, regulated by the New York Lottery.

Now that the governor has signed off on legislation allowing gamblers to play poker or roulette at poolside or slots from a restaurant salad bar, regulators will have to make some judgments on mobile gaming safeguards.

Gov. Kenny Guinn on Wednesday signed AB471, a bill initiated by Cantor G&W (Nevada) LP, an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald LP, the New York-based financial services company that says an adaptation of its interactive bond-trading technology will work for casino gambling.

Cantor representatives worked quietly on their innovative proposal months in advance of the 2005 Legislature, and the result was a measure that didn't create any big concerns among the state's casino regulators and was opposed by only one of the state's 63 legislators.

With its famous strip of outsized mega-resorts and over 37 million visitors a year, Las Vegas is still the undisputed kingpin of the U.S. commercial casino market. But gaming venues from Michigan to Mississippi are giving Sin City a run for its money.

The State of Nevada passed gaming legislation in 1931, giving Las Vegas a considerable head start in the gaming business, and it has been honing its expertise as a gambling town ever since.

New Jersey introduced legislation to introduce casinos in Atlantic City in 1976, and a number of U.S. states have followed suit over the last decade or so, spawning commercial casino operations in 11 U.S. states — and many of them are showing significant revenue growth.

If football is a game of inches, then golf is a game of millimeters. The distance between blades of grass can change what might have been a sweet shot blasted 300 yards straight down the fairway into one shanked hard into the woods. Coming up too quickly on a stroke can be equally disastrous, sending the ball skidding into the rough instead of the green.

It is hardly surprising, then, that today's most sought-after golf equipment is designed to minimize the impact of these millimeters. From manufacturing golf balls that spin less to milling drivers that allow players to change the club's corner weighting to best suit their individual swing, new technologies can help average duffers shoot farther and with more accuracy than ever before...