The final dash to buy the Aladdin may be turning into a one-man race. Scuttlebutt suggests Financial Capital Investment Co., the late entry that plans an Asia-themed casino, is finding capital sources clamming up, or at least proving hard to pry open. That could leave Robert Earl's Planet Hollywood group alone in the starting gate, unless a last-minute racer saddles up, and there aren't any signs of that yet.

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Up north of the border in Vancouver, British Columbia, an international gaming conference has convened, bringing together all the best and the brightest, and what's the No. 1 topic of conversation around the water coolers? It's problem gaming and whether there's a lawsuit filed yet that'll prove to be the tobacco case of gaming. The fear is that the suit exists and it could spell even bigger trouble for gaming than cigarette litigation was for tobacco companies.

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Commuters here are getting bombarded with electronic ads to lure gamblers to Barona Ranch Casino in San Diego. Sadly, however, the campaign makes no sense at first blush. Come to the beach, but Barona is 45 minutes from the Pacific Ocean. And come play our links, but golf abounds in Las Vegas. Ad execs tell us the casino claims $1 million a month in summertime from Las Vegans, so maybe with that much at stake, anything is worth a try.

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Signs seem to show, some even locally, that the panic over severe acute respiratory syndrome may be subsiding. Wynn Resorts' Steve Wynn recalled all expatriates working at his upcoming resort in Macau off the coast of mainland China when the possible pandemic broke out. Now we hear Matt Maddox, Seth Schorr and the rest of the crew are being sent back. Idle hands no doubt make idle minds and personnel on site can bring projects in faster.

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Talk about marketing to baby boomers. The biggest winner for casino managers last year was the new "Beverly Hillbillies" slot machine from International Game Technology. Does anyone really believe Jethro and Ellie Mae make it for the hip young singles crowd? Coming attraction: "M*A*S*H," featuring the Korean conflict medics from 1970s TV series. Next, we can just imagine a game featuring the "CSI" morgue. Gaming executives say the concepts are driving casino business, especially, it seems, for baby boomers.