What happens in Vegas shouldn't stay in Vegas

Viva Las Vegas.

From all accounts, the burgeoning oasis in the middle of the desert, where opulence and decadence often converge in the wee hours of the morning at an all-you-can-eat $3.99 buffet, has been the perfect backdrop for the NBA's signature showcase, All-Star weekend, which mixes celebrity athletes, glitz and glamour like no other industry.

With its slot-machine soundtrack, infatuation with cheesy facsimiles and Elvis Presley impersonators seemingly on every corner, Sin City brilliantly has played the role of zany sidekick to the business-attired NBA.

Think Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.

For everyone's sake, though, this act should never be repeated again.

And let's hope NBA commissioner David Stern was simply appeasing his host when he gave Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman the OK to present a proposal to league owners for an NBA franchise.

For years, Stern has said Las Vegas wasn't a viable market as long as legalized betting on basketball exists. After a few days of touring the sights, he seems to have softened his stance.

"Our owners are the ones that ultimately call the shots," Stern said.

To date, no owner has publicly spoken a negative word about Las Vegas. Last week,Sonics owner Clay Bennett lumped Las Vegas in with Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Anaheim as potential destinations for an NBA franchise.

"I always have a good time in Vegas," he said.

Well, duh. Everyone has a good time there, but an NBA team shouldn't leave Seattle, Sacramento or Orlando for Vegas.

It's not the kind of city that you marry. It's the kind of city that you, well ... it's the kind of city that you take to Las Vegas.

It's a one-night stand.

It's a wild weekend of indiscretion.

It's the place that coined the phrase "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

Stern would do well to remember this. He would also be smart to think about the litany of public-relations nightmares he inherited two decades ago when he became commissioner.

That's not to say that one city could cast the entire league back into the drug-infested days of the 1970s, but do we really need to mention Pete Rose and Art Schlichter?

Do we need another point-shaving scandal that nearly toppled sports teams at Arizona State, Boston College and Northwestern?

And does anybody remember the rampant allegations of impropriety surrounding the UNLV men's basketball team during its heyday?

If Stern, who instituted a dress code and feels the need to tell players to "keep your guns at home," thinks he has an image problem now, then he hasn't seen anything yet. Bench-clearing brawls, strip-joint shootouts and drug and marijuana arrests would pale in comparison to the litany of problems a team in Las Vegas would present.

I'm talking about a "CSI" episode or the latest installment of what Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz coined: "Bentleys, Babes, Bullets and Blunts."

Simply put, young millionaires with idle time in a state where gambling and prostitution are legal (although prostitution is forbidden in Las Vegas) is a recipe for disaster.

The anecdotal evidence is too compelling to ignore.

Michael Jordan, the league's most iconic player, and Charles Barkley, the league's most popular TV personality, have all but admitted to having gambling addictions.

After a recent practice, Washington Wizards All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas wagered teammate DeShawn Stevenson $20,000 that he could make more one-handed three-pointers from the college line than Stevenson could hit two handed from the NBA line.

After video footage of Arenas canning 73 out of 100 and winning the bet began circulating on the Internet, he told reporters that he doesn't intend to make Stevenson pay.

Still, this type of wagering happens on every court -- although for much smaller stakes -- after every NBA practice, so imagine what takes place off the court.

A couple of years ago, a former Sonics player once accrued roughly $50,000 of debt during the course of the season in a card game popular among NBA players called Boo-Ray.

"Michael [Jordan] had a saying that he wanted to bet whatever it was that made you uncomfortable," Sonics All-Star Ray Allen said.

For some people, that's $20. For Stevenson, it's $20,000.

Now add the seediness of Las Vegas and you begin to understand why the NFL and Major League Baseball have kept a safe distance from the city, while the NBA continues to hover like a moth drawn to its neon lights.

The Utah Jazz played 11 games there during the 1983-84 season, and the Lakers moved a first-round playoff game to the city in 1992 because of riots in Los Angeles. The NBA holds a summer league at UNLV, which is also the training camp for USA Basketball and the site for the 2007 FIBA Americas basketball tournament.

"I don't know when or how, but sooner or later Las Vegas is going to land one of the major professional franchises," said Joe Maloof, whose family owns the Sacramento Kings and the Palms casino in Las Vegas. "This city has a history of beating the odds."

Let's hope not.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com