WELCOME TO Kimo’s Vegas ... The Player’s Edge!

OCT. 12-18 are the dates for the PGA Tour’s Shriner’s Hospitals for Children Open hosted by Justin Timberlake. The singer has promised that this year’s concert will be even bigger than in 2008 that featured the Jonas Brothers, 50 Cent, Lionel Ritchie and more. Last year’s winner, Las Vegan Marc Turnesa, is 91 on the PGA’s Top 100 Tour Players to Watch ... Local boy Dean Wilson (another Sin City resident) also is on the list at No. 70.

COMING SOON ... reality TV commercials (OMG). The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority hosted the entire city of Cranfills Gap, Texas, population 350, to a free Vegas vacation. In exchange, the Cranfillians agreed to allow cameras to record their exploits, escapades and weeklong romp through Sin City for an upcoming advertising campaign ... They stayed in a variety of hotels, including the Bellagio, ate at fancy (expensive) restaurants, went pole dancing and some even got married. So how come dey nevah ask the good peoples of Papakolea for come?

THE CONCERT promoters’ trade magazine Pollstar calls it North America’s biggest-grossing music tour of 2008. Madonna’s “Sticky & Sweet” concerts grossed $105.3 million in just 58 shows. Vegas diva Celine Dion was second, bringing in $94 million.

THE TOP-GROSSING SHOW in Vegas is Bette Midler’s The Show Girl Must Go On ... Anyone remember when the ‘63 Radford grad used to open for Johnny Carson at the Sahara more than 40 years ago?

THAT WAS QUICK: The Real Deal, the interactive poker show at the Venetian, is now officially a thing of the past. It did, however, last a little longer than Point Break Live did at the V Theater in the Planet Hollywood - it went belly up after only four days.

KIMO’S VEGAS SHOW TICKET TIP: Check out TravelZoo.com. It often has discounted tickets to many big Vegas Strip shows ... Right now specials include Blue Man Group for $50, Mystere, KA and Zumanity for $60 and LOVE or Le Reve for $90.

YEAR ON YEAR (October ‘07 to October ‘08) Las Vegas Strip and Downtown revenue is down 24.3 percent. But they still made $8.3 billion in the first 10 months of the year.

LATELY, POLITICIANS have been handing out billions the way you and I take breathing for granted ... The next time someone says the “B word,” think about it this way: A billion seconds ago was 1959 ... A billion minutes ago Jesus walked among us, and a billion hours ago dinosaurs roamed the earth.

THEY ALL SAY THAT: Billionaire Phil Ruffin says he plans to make no changes to the management, pirate show and Cirque du Soleil show Mystere in his new hotel. He did say something that most new owners don’t say, and it’s that his purchase of the TI won’t affect the resort’s 3,200 employees’ seniority, benefits and retirement.

VEGAS COLUMNIST Norm Clark is reporting that the tightening economy has a record number of strippers visiting the Strip.

ODDS ARE: Vegas sports books are favoring the Titans 4-1 to win the AFC ... Astute bettors had their money on Tennessee at the beginning of the season, when the odds were 30 to 1. The Giants, however, are favored to win the Big Game 2 to 1. Remember: The goal of a sports book is to get half the bettors on each side because they make their money on the vig they charge you to make the bet.

LAST YEAR, Vacations Hawaii hosted more than 2,200 people for the UH-UNLV game in Vegas. Sales and marketing manager Kevin Kaneshiro says they’re anticipating an even bigger gang for this year’s game. Packages start at $899; call 591-4777 to book yours early.

GET MORE Kimo’s Vegas online at http://www.KimosVegas.com, http://www.AroundHawaii.com, and in both issues of MidWeek.

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