The proposed regulation has nothing to do with car crashes, doctors or wrongful death, but Platis was interested because of one of his other passions: pari-mutuel wagering.

While one of his business cards lists him as a lawyer for the Platis Law Firm, another has him as chief executive of international operations for Parimutuel Entertainment LLC, a company that acquired instant credibility in December when the Gaming Commission approved its concept and agreed to draft regulations to incorporate it into the state gaming scene.

Platis' proposal is to allow pari-mutuel wagering on athletic events and races that haven't been in the pari-mutuel spotlight in the past.

Pari-mutuel wagering is different from other casino gambling. Instead of playing against the house, pari-mutuel bettors compete against each other.

Under a standard pari-mutuel wager, a bettor chooses an entrant among a field of contestants. It's most popular in horse racing, where a field of horses is in a race and bettors wager on which horse will win, place or show.

Pari-mutuel has some more exotic bets which require the selection of the top two finishers (a quinella) or the top two finishers in the correct order (a perfecta) or the top three finishers in order (a trifecta).

Under the pari-mutuel system, all bets are placed in a pool. The house takes a commission of that pool as its cut and a percentage of the winnings is paid to bettors who placed wagers from participants that finished first, second, third and sometimes fourth. The winnings are calculated based on the number of bettors who wagered on a specific participant. Pari-mutuel differs from fixed-odds wagering in that the pool and the odds aren't known until wagering is closed.

Horse races, dog races and the sport of jai alai - once played in Las Vegas when Bally's was known as the MGM Grand and had a jai alai fronton - are popular pari-mutuel contests.

Now, under Platis' system, wagers could be taken on golf tournaments (as opposed to fixed-odds wagers), on billiards or pool tournaments (think of the big events that occur annually at the Riviera), dart tournaments (they're gaining in popularity) and auto or motorcycle racing (a new way to bet NASCAR).

The system also could be used for big tournaments such as the World Series of Poker, said Platis' legal representative, Jeff Silver, at a recent regulative workshop.

To allow such wagers, regulators would have to amend the state's Regulations 22 and 26B. In a proposed amendment to Regulation 26B, Platis' concept is identified as a "regulated competitive tournament."

Under the proposed amendment golf, billiards, darts or auto or motorcycle racing tournaments would have to have at least 16 entrants for a pari-mutuel wager.

To allow wagers for card games, another regulation (23) would have to be modified and the proposed regulation would require a field of at least 32 contestants and it would have to be conducted by or sponsored by a nonrestricted Nevada gaming licensee or by one of its licensed out-of-state affiliates.

Will the concept catch on? There are mixed feelings within the industry.

Sayre made it clear that while regulators can put the rules in place, it's entirely up to promoters like Platis to market the concept.

Vic Salerno of American Wagering, which operates the Leroy's chain of sports books in Nevada, questioned whether the pari-mutuel concept for sports is necessary since bettors can wager on car races and golf tournaments already and they aren't big draws. Would there be any market at all for bets on dart and billiard tournaments?

Silver concurred that it will be up to promoters to develop the market. He noted that the Control Board and the Gaming Commission see game inventors every month at their meetings, all of them hopeful that their latest variations on poker or blackjack will catch on in casinos and be the next table game like Let It Ride to take hold.

Silver told the story of a former associate of his, colorful Gaming Today Publisher Chuck Di Rocco, who died in 2004. Silver said Di Rocco offered a proposal for wagering in Nevada on horse races in other states when satellite broadcasts were introduced. That, Silver noted, was a new concept that set a standard that is now the backbone of race book wagering.

It's unclear when regulated competitive tournaments will come before regulators, since the Control Board and the Gaming Commission will take on noncontroversial regulations first and save the more complex proposals for later in the year.

In other gaming and tourism news:

It's no secret that it's been more difficult to sell real estate in these hard economic times.

One of the signs of the times is that gaming regulators are receiving an unusually high number of requests to allow one of those Nevada oddities, the eight-hour tent casino.

When a location with a gaming license is bought or sold, it has to house some form of gaming for at least eight hours in a year to maintain the license. Often, a licensed operator sets up a trailer or tent and offers slot machine play for an eight-hour period on 16 slot machines, the minimum number for a nonrestricted site, to maintain the license.

A high-profile example: Station Casinos' trailer casino on the site of the old Showboat and Castaways site last year. The company isn't sure whether there ever will be a casino at that site, but just in case it does, it opened a casino for the requisite time to keep gaming active.

At May's Nevada Gaming Commission meeting, regulators approved a 16-slot tent casino at the Beach, a sometime nightspot with a nonrestricted gaming license at Paradise Road and Convention Center Drive, across the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Representatives of United Coin Machine Co., primarily a slot-route operator, got the license. At the time of the meeting, it was unclear when the tent casino at the Beach would be operated.

But United Coin officials said they have at least two more similar requests coming up in the next few months at properties that have been difficult to move during economic hard times.

It now appears that the United Airlines-US Airways merger deal is dead.

Although there's no way to know what would have transpired had the deal been done, the early analysis would have to point to this being a good thing for McCarran International Airport, a good thing for Las Vegas, a good thing for Phoenix and a bad thing for United.

Having gotten to know and understand US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker's strategy, his bid for consolidation of the industry likely would have resulted in fewer flights for Las Vegas. It also would have meant Phoenix losing a major corporate citizen in US Airways, as the operation was expected to move to United's home, Chicago.

Parker would have had a monumental task unifying labor groups, whose members also are rejoicing about last week's announcement about the No. 2 carrier at McCarran.

When Parker relayed the no-deal news to US Airways employees, he didn't even make reference to United. Here is what some of his e-mail said: "After much work and many conversations with other airlines, we have come to the conclusion that consolidation involving US Airways will not occur at this time. This is not to say that something won't occur in the future - as you know I strongly believe that consolidation is required in our industry and that US Airways would benefit from participating. Rather it is simply unlikely that anything will happen in 2008 as our industry continues to struggle with how to function in a world with $130-per-barrel oil prices.

"This environment, while challenging, is not one that we did not anticipate. We are doing a great job of taking care of our customers and we are well prepared to withstand the current environment. Thanks to your hard work, we are (No.) 1 in on-time performance so far in 2008 and have great momentum as we head into the summer. We have more cash relative to size than most of our peers and have fewer obligations coming due in the next few years.

"While we are prepared for this environment, we, like all airlines, need to adapt our plans and business models in light of much higher fuel prices. We are working a number of initiatives and you'll hear more about them in the weeks and months ahead."

One of the latest belt-tightening initiatives that already have begun on US Airways flights is that the airline no longer will give away snacks. US Airways will still give out free soft drinks, but the days of free pretzels and peanuts in the airline's economy cabin are over.

Police departments across the valley routinely conduct sting operations to monitor the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages to minors.

On May 25, Henderson Police officers, with the help of young volunteers, conducted compliance checks at 12 locations. Five of them sold alcoholic beverages to underage buyers.

Among the five locations receiving citations were two that in addition to selling alcohol hold nonrestricted gaming licenses: Casino Montelago at Lake Las Vegas and Terrible's Town on Boulder Highway.

While those two locations will have to deal with Henderson on the illegal liquor sale allegations, state gaming regulators may have more to say about it, since citations like these often lead to Gaming Control Board punishment.

A television documentary is in the works on the design and construction of the Grand Canyon Skywalk, the controversial tourism attraction owned by the Hualapai Indian Tribe at Grand Canyon West.

The National Geographic Channel, a joint venture of National Geographic Television & Film and Fox Cable Networks, is producing the hourlong show with details and never-before-seen footage of the glass walkway perched 4,000 feet above the canyon floor.

The show is expected to be aired in early 2009.

The tribe has come under fire on a number of fronts since the attraction opened early last year. Many of the traditional tribe members questioned the wisdom of building the high-profile attraction on a world-renowned natural treasure.

Tourists have complained about the high price of admission. Although prices have fluctuated since opening day, most visitors haven't been able to walk on the Skywalk without paying $50 to $75. Many disgruntled visitors who cough up the big bucks to get on the Skywalk are then shocked to learn that they can't take their cameras on the attraction. The tribe fears people who drop their cameras may damage the horseshoe-shaped glass walkway.

I look forward to seeing the National Geographic documentary, if nothing else to hear whether any of the environmental and cultural issues are discussed and to see if National Geographic cameras are allowed on the walkway.