TAKE A GAMBLE ON VEGAS SIN CITY WANTS A PRO SPORTS TEAM, AND THE NBA MIGHT BE WILLING TO LISTEN -- IF A DEAL CAN BE REACHED ON BETTING.

Byline: RAMONA SHELBURNE 

Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS - Are you ready for the Oscars?

No, not the awards' show Ellen DeGeneres is hosting. The LasVegas Oscars, an NBA team named after Oscar Goodman, the flashy mayor of Sin City who spent nearly every waking moment this past week promoting his city as a "natural fit" for the NBA.

On the surface, it's hard to disagree. Las Vegas (population 1.9 million) is the fastest-growing city in the U.S. with a built-in basketball fan base from the UNLV glory days. It's also got a bazillion hotels to accommodate out-of-town teams.

There's just one problem.

"It's a tiny little issue we have," NBA Commissioner David Stern said. "About betting on basketball games."

That's pretty much been the hang-up every time Goodman has tried to lure a professional sports franchise to his city.

Major League Baseball flirted with Vegas when the Montreal Expos were looking for a new home. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell essentially put Vegas in the corner and shook a disapproving finger at it.

But while Stern has made statements about not considering the city for a franchise if NBA games were on the gaming books, the fact he chose Las Vegas as host to this year's All-Star Game suggests that might not be the end of the discussion.

Wednesday, in the most encouraging sign yet, Stern told Goodman, "The ball is in your court."

Goodman's eyes nearly popped out of his head. In this town, saying "the ball is in your court" is basically license to run with it, do a 360 and throw down a tomahawk dunk. If there's a will, Las Vegas will find a way.

First, both sides will need to figure out the gambling issue.

"They need a compromise on that," said Joe Maloof, co-owner of the Sacramento Kings whose family owns one of Las Vegas' hippest hotels, The Palms. " I think if (Stern) stays to that -- that we'll have to take all NBA games off the book -- I don't think that would work. But I think there's a compromise somewhere. Maybe they take the local team off the books. Start that way."

As it stands, because of the Maloofs' association with the Kings, The Palms does not accept betting on NBA games. But as a show of good faith -- and as a condition for hosting the All-Star weekend -- every casino agreed not to post betting lines on any of the All-Star activities.

The mayor though, isn't ready to completely give ground on that.

"I'm not conceding amending any of the gaming," he said. "There's a lot of cutting edge things we can do. ... Larry King from CNN asked me, 'If you were David Stern, what would you do?' And I said, if I was David Stern, maybe I'd ask if the NBA could get a piece of the action."

That's just Goodman's opening posture, though.

"The only non-negotiable issue is the name. It's going to be the Las Vegas Oscars," he joked. Well, sort of joked.

The truth is, Las Vegas wants a pro team, any pro team, badly enough that a compromise probably wouldn't be too hard to push through. Especially considering how receptive casino owners were to George Maloof's initial calls to hold betting on the All-Star weekend events.

"My brother George called, and they all were 100 percent supportive and took it off the books," Joe Maloof said.

After the gambling issue, Stern said the league would have to determine whether the local economy could support a franchise.

Las Vegas would be one of the NBA's 10 smallest cities. But as Goodman points out, Las Vegas entertains more than 40 million visitors a year.

Phoenix Suns All-Star forward Shawn Marion, who played at UNLV, says the basketball community in Las Vegas is more than ready for an NBA team.

"The fans here are great," Marion said. "They're more accommodating to the NBA fans. It's not like most college games, where there's a student section with people jumping up and down all the time. They're older. They've been here since the Tark days."

Still, Marion said he's not completely sold on the idea of a team in Vegas because it would diminish the city's standing as the spiritual home for many NBA players, who spend their summers in LasVegas. USA Basketball made the town its formal home for the next three years.

"If there's a team here, there's a team," Marion said. "But I like coming here knowing there's not a team. The players aren't here all the time, so when you are here, you get more love, more attention. If they were here all the time, it wouldn't be the same. It wouldn't have the same aura."

So let's say all that other stuff gets worked out. What team would Vegas get?

Because of the Maloofs' ties to Vegas, and their troubles working out a deal for a new arena in Sacramento, there has been widespread speculation that the family could relocate the Kings.

Stern wants no part of that.

"The one thing we agree at the NBA and the Maloof family agrees: They want the NBA to be in Sacramento, and they want to own the team in Sacramento. I don't know how to be more precise than that," he said.

Goodman doesn't want to concern himself with those kind of things just yet. He's just focused on making the right pass, now that the ball is officially in his court.

"We're the kind of place where people yearn to wrap their arms around something and there's no better way to do that than to have a team here," he said. "Las Vegas is a world-class city. All it needs to complete the equation is a pro sports team."

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CAPTION(S):

12 photos, 3 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (NBA slot machine)

(2 -- color) no caption (Las Vegas)

(3) Dwayne Wade

(4) Gilbert Arenas

(5) LeBron James

(6) Chris Bosh

(7) Shaquille O'Neal

(8) Tracy McGrady

(9) Kobe Bryant

(10) Kevin Garnett

(11) Tim Duncan

(12) Yao Ming

Box:

(1) Supreme court

East, West

(2) WESTERN CONFERENCE RESERVES

(3) EASTERN CONFERENCE RESERVES