Las Vegas is the most interesting suitor on that list and the one city that takes you aback in-a-discovery-that-Tiger's-Swedish-Nanny-Wife-has-a-twin-sister type way. Is anyone else half expecting that Vijay Singh will make a play for Elin's sister? Vijay's already taken Tiger's world no. 1 ranking, his season money record so why not make it the ultimate slap in the face and hook-up with his wife's twin sister. If that wouldn't motivate Tiger I don't know what would. Vegas is easily the standout city for pure PR motivations among all the potential professional sports cities but like the gorgeous girl it's hard to think about her in a serious long-term commitment way. Cities like New York, Boston and Chicago that can support four or more teams are the equivalent of sports marriage capitals. On the other hand there are some cities not suited for marriage and instead thrive in hosting big one-time events and in that capacity Vegas is the one-night stand of the sporting world. There's a reason why Vegas is so successful at hosting boxing events, award shows, NASCAR races and not so much at supporting long-term commitment sports albeit at a minor league level (CFL, IHL, Minor League Baseball). Things are slowly changing in Vegas and there's a compelling argument building for seriously considering Vegas as home to an NFL, NBA or MLB team.

Each month about four to six thousand people move to Southern Nevada, making it the fastest growing community in the nation. According to 2000 U.S. census data the Las Vegas Metropolitan area and surrounding communities grew by 83% in the 90's and the state grew by 66% giving it top billing for fastest growing state for the 4th decade in a row. Henderson, NV, approximately 10 minutes from The Strip, has been named the fastest growing large city in the U.S. The population of Las Vegas now rests close to 1.5 million, placing it as the United States' 32nd largest area. To some these stats might be as meaningless as hearing the Colts are 0-5 when playing outdoor games in November against teams that play in States that start with the letter 'M" and when the Chinese Calendar is aligned with either a dog or snake. In any case all those stats lead up to the simple fact that Vegas is growing and growing quickly.

To boil it down to its simplest level, there are a few key determiners for what makes a site a possible home for a sports franchise. Here's how Vegas compares:

Corporate Backing and Economic Structure: The city boasts claim to being home to three Fortune 500 companies - not surprisingly all three (MGM Mirage, Caesars Entertainment and Harrah's Entertainment) are Casino and Gaming companies. Economically Vegas is built on the backs of three key industries: construction, service, and hotel, lodging and entertainment. The area ranks well ahead of the U.S. standard employment rate in all three industries.

Land Availability: The leading reason why the construction industry is as prospering as it is in Nevada is because of all the land availability. We are talking about the desert after all. There's land everywhere for arena/stadium construction and that's illustrated by all the casinos being built as if they were Wal-Marts.

Media Size: Las Vegas has the 51st largest TV market in the U.S. Not exactly a strength for the city to leverage in obtaining a team but on the other hand, markets like Green Bay (69th), New Orleans (43rd) and Buffalo (46th) have made their franchises work in similar markets.

	The city has already shown an ability to support mediocre performances.

Community Buy-in: Probably the most important aspect of any successful franchise is the fan support of the community by way of season ticket sales and attendance figures. In order to convince any league to grant you a team you need to be able to deliver a Field of Dreams-type promise "that if you build it, they will come." When deciding on whether or not the community will support a team you need to discount the fluctuating boxing type crowds that Vegas draws for big fights; these people are the one-stand sports fans I talked about earlier. To carry a professional sports team with upwards of 42 home dates you need to look solely at the community. If Sin City is awarded a professional team they'll likely inherit a flawed relocation team or an expansion team - in either case winning is certainly not guaranteed. Will Vegas support a loser? To those who have caught long-running shows on The Strip from Howie Mandel or Carrot Top the answer is pretty obvious.

Of course if Vegas is awarded an NFL team fan support and season ticket sales are no longer a question. People from surrounding cities as far as Arizona, will gladly ditch their home state club and cheer on the Vegas club, if they remotely look like a winner. Speaking of Arizona how bad of an owner do you have to be not to make football work in the state? Being an NFL owner is license to print money. The league is the equivalent of having an unlimited supply of Mulligans in golf; regardless of how many mistakes you make shared league revenue always bail you out. The Bidwell family who runs the Cardinals are happy with making enough money to turn a little profit all the while turning off fans by letting prized free agents go and never really pushing for a championship - sounds a lot like Bill Wirtz and the Chicago Blackhawks ownership group.

The most identifiable element I haven't touched on is also a likely reason why Vegas may never receive a team: gambling. Sports leagues benefit greatly from gambling, not so much in direct money but from increased fan interest that only gambling can generate. So it is a little contradictory to learn how opposed some leagues are to Sin City for this very reason, led by the NBA. The NBA has an anti-gambling provision it imposes on every state/province that has an NBA team. It's the reason why the NBA ordered the Ontario Lottery Corporation to drop NBA games from betting lists before it awarded the Raptors to Toronto. It'd be interesting to see how Nevada could work their way around that provision because you know that sports books are not going to trade off NBA games for a team. Nevada did have a ban that was recently uplifted that prevented taking bets on Nevada teams. Maybe if the ban is reinstated the NBA will be satisfied.

	Tight restrictions on advertising are a real ball breaker for Vegas' chances of getting a team. (Source: HBO)

Then there's the issue of individual league provisions on advertising and sponsorship - this, as Paulie Walnuts would say, is a ball breaker. The NHL is the most liberal of all leagues by allowing ads from casinos. The NBA prohibits advertising from casinos that allow sports betting. MLB also has tight restrictions; ads cannot relate to gambling but can mention casinos and no ads are allowed from any institution that has sports books. And finally the biggest ball breaker from the NFL, which bans networks and their affiliates from running ads for casinos, sports betting and Las Vegas…that's right Las Vegas. Without some of these provisions being uplifted Vegas has no chance of getting a major sports franchise because without the gaming industry the team would have no corporate backing or advertisers.

Ignoring all the league provisions and restrictions that will block a team going to Vegas its fun to think about the possibilities of a team calling the city home. The choice of names for the franchise would be endless, what with the entire gambling connotation: Double Downs, Dice and of course, if you don't have high expectations: the Las Vegas Craps or the Las Vegas Flop. Plus just think about all the stories and trouble you'd hear players getting into on a road trip. The beat writers would be getting carpal tunnel from all the scandal reporting. Think about all the weekend sports vacation packages the Las Vegas tourism industry could make for sports fans. But alas to borrow from Curt Schilling's thinking it looks like the only mentions of "Aura and Mystique" in Las Vegas will still be of the non-sports variety.