Packer. Remember the name.

A lot of people in the casino industry already know it. But 2008 may someday be remembered as the year in which the Packer name first joined the ranks of Wynn, Adelson and Kerkorian as some of the biggest players in Southern Nevada's casino industry.

James Packer, Australia's richest man, executive chairman of Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd. and son of legendary gambler Kerry Packer, will soon be up for licensing in Nevada. When his father died in 2005, James Packer inherited Kerry Packer's empire, which includes PBL and the Crown casino brand Down Under.

Although the Nevada Gaming Control Board can't talk about pending investigations, the Packer name has been associated with a number of deals announced in 2007.

He's an investor in Fontainebleau Las Vegas on the Strip, and it recently was announced that he's buying Cannery Casino Resorts, not so much that he wants to get into Las Vegas' locals market but because Cannery has a foothold in the emerging Pennsylvania market.

He's also bought into the Las Vegas Tower project, a proposed 1,064-foot skyscraper hotel at the former Wet 'n Wild site on the Strip. As a result, the name of the project has been changed to Crown Las Vegas.

If the Packer investigation is completed this year and regulators consider his licensing, it should be one of the biggest gaming industry stories of 2008. But there are a few others worthy of note, with some of them coming up early this year.

A packed January regulatory calendar is expected to include yet another private-equity deal — the type that made big headlines in 2007. Station Casinos went private last fall and late last month, Harrah's Entertainment did the same in the biggest private-equity deal in gaming history.

Next up: American Real Estate Partners, parent company of the Stratosphere and the Arizona Charlie's properties, which is selling to a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs. The novelty of private-equity has worn off, but any time Carl Icahn buys or sells, it's news, and the Stratosphere has become such a Las Vegas icon, the deal will draw some attention.

So will another Las Vegas landmark, the Hard Rock Hotel, whose owners, the Morgan Hotel Group, will come forward for licensing in January. Currently, the property's casino is being managed by a licensed subcontractor, a common strategy while an owner awaits licensing.

Another high-profile property whose owners will be scrutinized in 2008 will be the Cosmopolitan, the next-door neighbor of CityCenter. And regulators also may see CityCenter's partners before the end of the year with the anticipated licensing of executives of Dubai World, the well-heeled company based in the United Arab Emirates.

When asked about what other big gaming stories are on the horizon for 2008, Dennis Neilander, chairman of the state Gaming Control Board, said Nevadans will start seeing some of the fruits of technology labors this year.

The concepts of server-based gaming and wireless gaming already have been approved, and some devices have even been tested in the state's gaming labs. In 2008 we'll start seeing some of the gadgets in action. Neilander thinks wireless gaming — using PDA- and tablet-sized computers to place bets from restaurants, lounges and poolside — will become more popular, especially after field testing of some units occurs at the Venetian early this year. But he doesn't expect their use will become widespread until 2009.

Likewise, server-based gaming may find its way into a casino or two this year, but operators are still trying to figure out the best way to use the new technology and get the best bang for their bucks. Server-based gaming enables casinos to change slot machines with a few computer keystrokes. Slot managers will be able to change betting denominations, win percentage and even the look of a slot in just a few minutes behind the scenes. Regulators have ordered that players receive ample warning of an impending change.

The technology has the potential of maximizing profits from the slot floor, but Neilander said the industry is still trying to figure out the pricing model that will determine just how lucrative server-based gaming will be.

On the resort opening front, 2008 will be another lean year. In fact, fewer hotel rooms are projected to be opened in 2008 than last year — depending on how you look at Las Vegas Sands' Palazzo.

The Venetian's sister property technically opened its doors last year, but not all the hotel rooms were completed. A grand-opening celebration, in fact, is on tap later this month. If you include Palazzo's 3,025 rooms, 2007 had a total of 4,224 hotel rooms come on line.

By comparison, 2008 will only see 3,086 new hotel rooms, according to statistics compiled by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The big openings for this year will be Palms Place (599 rooms early this year), the Trump International (1,282 rooms in May), the expansion of the South Point (800 rooms in July) and Station Casinos' Aliante Station (202 rooms by the end of the year).

In addition, the conversion of the Nevada Palace into the Eastside Cannery is expected to net an additional 203 rooms by late summer or early fall with 307 rooms coming on line and 104 going away.

Although 2008 won't be a blockbuster for hotel room expansion, watch out in 2009 and 2010 when the likes of Wynn Encore, CityCenter, Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Cosmopolitan, Echelon, M Resort and a second Trump tower arrive at the party.

Meanwhile, across the ocean, things aren't slowing down in Macau, where two major properties, the Venetian Macau and the MGM Grand Macau, opened their doors in 2007. Several amenities, including a Cirque du Soleil theater will open at the Venetian Macau in 2008, and the company's successful convention model will kick into high gear this year.

More casino resorts on the Cotai Strip are slated to open later in the year. Slated for opening through the year are Far East Consortium properties with the Cosmo, Intercontinental, Dorsett and Holiday Inn brands, the Conrad, Traders and Shangri-La complex, the Sheraton and, possibly by the end of the year, a Hilton. The Four Seasons, integrated with the Venetian Macau, is also expected to near completion.

In Singapore, construction will continue on two casinos, including the Las Vegas Sands project in the city's marina district, but doors won't open until the following year.

Construction but not completion will be a key story in 2008 for other tourism amenities in Las Vegas.

Preparation has been in the works for several months on the Las Vegas Convention Center's $890 million face-lift. In 2008 locals will start seeing some of the work, which is being spread over more than two years so that there is minimal disruption to trade shows and conventions that have been on the calendar for years.

Chris Meyer, senior director of convention center sales for the LVCVA, said more than 36 hours have been spent in one-on-one sessions with meeting planners 14 months in advance of events to overlay show dates with construction plans.

Meyer said 2008 should be a banner year for conventions with the first quarter being "absolutely spectacular."

In addition to the 148,000 people the LVCVA expects to attend next week's International Consumer Electronics Show, a January staple, the World of Concrete exposition later in the month is expected to draw 85,000.

The Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show will bring in 45,000 people in February and the first of two MAGIC apparel shows will draw 120,000 in the middle of the month.

Mid-March will see the return of the ConExpo-Con/Ag construction equipment show, which covers the most square footage of any Las Vegas show. It's a once-every-three-years show and when it arrives, 120,000 people come with it.

Meyer said another big convention event for Las Vegas is the co-location of the NxtComm and InfoComm telecommunications in June that between them will bring 30,000 people to Las Vegas.

Two smaller shows on the convention calendar should have a substantial effect on future visits to Las Vegas, Meyer said. The Travel Industry Association's International Pow Wow, a gathering of travel professionals from around the world, occurs in late May, while Meetings Professionals International brings 3,000 meetings and show organizers to town in August.

Another once-every-three-years show is on the convention calendar for September when the National Mining Association's MinExpo comes to town with its armada of big trucks and scooping machines.

Meanwhile, residents should start seeing changes on the landscape at McCarran International Airport and at the Las Vegas Convention Center this year.

Randy Walker, Clark County Aviation director, said locals will start seeing construction rising out of the ground for McCarran's new Terminal 3, a facility that will have its own parking, ticket counters, security lines, baggage claim and aircraft gates. No longer will passengers have to go through McCarran's central terminal to get to their flights once the new terminal is completed — which won't be for another couple of years.

What will be completed is the fourth wing of the D gates, which should be open by summer, giving McCarran nine more gates.

Walker said he's anxious to see what happens on the airline consolidation front, but made no predictions. There have been reports of United and Delta discussing a merger and the managers of Southwest Airlines say they are staying alert to opportunity. Walker said any consolidation could affect the physical placement of ticket counters and other services at the Las Vegas airport.

Aviation consultant Mike Boyd sees 2008 as a year of "air service rationing" that could impact the traveling public. He was referring to efforts to cut back service at airports such as New York's John F. Kennedy International and he expects the trend to spread to other airports across the country, including those in Southern California, the source of most Las Vegas tourists.

Boyd blames government mismanagement of air traffic and says the skies are not as overcrowded as the public has been led to believe. But he also says airlines should share in the blame for not standing up to Federal Aviation Administration bureaucrats and demanding a better solution than cutting flights.

"I don't see a rosy 2008 for the aviation industry, and there's nothing in the pipeline to fix the problem," Boyd said.

But there is some good news. Boeing's newest aircraft, the 787 "Dreamliner" is expected to make its debut in the skies over Seattle sometime this year. Boyd expects test flights to occur in 2008 with an outside chance that the new jet would enter commercial service for some airlines by the end of the year.

Boyd said airlines that fly the 787 and Airbus' competitive response, the A350, would see a 10 percent to 15 percent cost advantage because of fuel economies.

Some analysts have said the new airliners, built with plastic composite materials instead of metal, would someday be a boon for Las Vegas because the new planes will have greater range and could connect the city with a number of international markets.