Apparently, Steve Wynn and certain Nevada politicians have put the popular catchphrase, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", to the test.

It appears there is more than meets the eye regarding Nevada State Assemblyman Bob Beers' attempt to author a legislative bill geared toward protecting the tips of casino workers at Wynn Casino Resort. Originally penned as Assembly Bill 357, AB 248 has gone on a long journey, which at this point, may or may not see the light of day. Although the bill is still breathing at the present moment, AB 248 may end up getting the fate that was originally intended for its predecessor.

AB 357, which Beers himself authored, started off in the Judiciary Committee, where it was co-opted and injected with replacement language. Since Assembly rules were in place that only permitted those who were opposed to the bill to voice themselves, when the motion to move the bill forward to the floor was given, Assembly members were silent and the the bill was left untouched. This is where AB 357 was supposed to die.

However, following a motion by Assemblyman Bernie Anderson that the amended language brought upon AB 357 be amended into AB 248, which started as a bill pertaining to unlimited casino gambling licenses, the bill caught wind and was passed 32-10, with all ten Republican Assembly members voting against it. To give credit to the no-votes, some of these were made in defiance to the fact that Assemblyman Beers had yet another one of his bills seized by the Democrats.

Where things get the most sticky, however, is not until after AB 248 actually made it to the Senate Judiciary Committee. After some successful lobbying, Beers had obtained enough committee votes to have the bill sent to the Governor. Although it wasn't nearly the same bill that AB 357 originally was, it would at least temporarily stop the sharing of casino dealer's tips with floor supervisors - a policy that Wynn now has in place. Instead of making it to the Governor's desk, however, after an alleged phone call from Steve Wynn himself to some of his powerful colleagues in the Senate, the bill was uncharacteristically rerouted to the Commerce and Labor Committee - an obvious attempt to bury the bill once again.

Indeed, what a fiasco this entire situation has become, when all that would have prevented it from happening in the first place, was for Steve Wynn to raise the salaries of his casino floor supervisors, instead of what many people would say is stealing rightful earnings from his casino table dealers. Assemblyman Bob Beers has already made a valiant effort fighting for the underdogs. Hopefully, this battle is not over yet. As always, constituents who also see Wynn's actions as an abuse of power and riches, not to mention an injustice to his dealers, should let Nevada's Governor Gibbons know about it. He can be reached by visiting http://gov.state.nv.us/Contact.htm. Wynn dealers have also started their own website, www.wynndealers.com, where you can vote Yes for AB 248 and write your Nevada Senator: