Las Vegas Vacation Blog Blog

So Andy Rooney hates gambling and has no fun in Las Vegas. Not fair, because his money’s always welcome here.

“60 Minutes” viewers who tuned in Sunday night were treated to another exhausting diatribe from the 91-year-old commentator, who this time argued in favor of shutting down the gaming industry.

“How come the government doesn’t protect citizens from losing their money by making gambling in casinos illegal?” he asked, while applauding reports that gaming revenue is on the decline.

“There’s only so much money in the world and if it’s lost at a gambling table, it’s money that isn’t spent on things America makes,” he continued. “I mean who’s best for this country — a machinist at an automobile plant in Detroit or a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas?”

At this point, Mayor Oscar Goodman was likely clenching his fists so hard he may have injured himself.

Make gambling illegal? Somebody cut this man’s microphone!

Perhaps he’d like to help a few hundred-thousand casino workers find new jobs in Detroit, after the city solves its own unemployment crisis, of course.

Gambling produces nothing? Last time I looked it produced this beautiful city in the desert. It also produced a few winners along the way, although Rooney, who said he’s always lost, wasn’t one of them.

Upon hearing that, one can automatically assume he has a bias and a bone to pick with the city.

But the outrage is just our gut reaction. In reality this case doesn’t call for finger-wagging. Instead we should be thanking Andy Rooney.

He’s just given Las Vegas a great endorsement, the kind you can’t buy with billboards promoting pool parties at the Hard Rock. First of all, it’s a safe bet the swimsuit crowd has never heard of Rooney, so no loss there.

As for the rest of the audience, Rooney’s ramblings may actually inspire them to roll the dice in our fair city.

Why? Well, first of all, no one likes to be called a loser or a sucker, two words he used to describe his viewers.

Secondly, everyone knows that when a grown-up tells you something’s bad for you, it makes you want to do it more and more. Frankly, at 91, who’s more grown-up than Andy Rooney?

Rooney’s audience may have just been reminded of what happens when the fun stops, if I can borrow a line from those gambling addiction pamphlets.

Life is short, and if given the choice between watching a roulette wheel spin or listening to a lecture about the problems with manual transmission, I’ll bet most people would reach for the remote.

At least there’s a chance the roulette wheel can give you a return on your investment.

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LAS VEGAS - Oscar De La Hoya has fought Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. He lost to them all - Mosley twice.

But what De La Hoya saw Mayweather do to Mosley in a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision on Saturday night convinced him that Mayweather is the best of this generation and possibly of all time.

“Mayweather is special. We have to respect that,” De La Hoya said.

Mosley rocked Mayweather in the second round and looked to be on the verge of saying to him, “The buck stops here.” But Mayweather survived the round and then shut down Mosley for the next 10.

It was a masterful display by Mayweather. He answered the critics who said he hadn’t ever beaten a legitimate welterweight with the victory over Mosley, a three-time welterweight champion and the current WBA champ.

He answered those who said he couldn’t weather a storm if his chin was tested. After getting hurt by Mosley, Mayweather didn’t fold. And he proved that there isn’t an opponent that he can’t completely shut down.

Even so, Mayweather (41-0, 25 KOs) knows it wasn’t enough to please all of his critics.

“I’m in a no-win situation, because no matter what I do it’s never good enough,” Mayweather said.

Mayweather came up with his fight strategy with his uncle and trainer, Roger, and his father, Floyd Sr. The things he did to neutralize Mosley were in-fight adjustments.

“Mosley has very fast hands, but he doesn’t have a jab,” Roger Mayweather said. “He has tremendous hand speed, but it doesn’t mean anything if you can’t hit the target. He’s fast if he fights somebody who’s slow. How was he going to win if he couldn’t outbox my nephew? I just told him (Mayweather) to keep him in the middle of the ring and box his ears off.”

Mosley said he wanted to end matters in the second round, but his neck tightened up and couldn’t finish the job. As his trainer Naazim Richardson noted, Mayweather gives you a brief window of opportunity to get the job done. If you don’t take advantage, then it’s curtains for you.

Richardson said Mosley was making excuses in the dressing room after the fight, but he told him to stop because no one but his mother wanted to hear them.

Even though he still has the WBA welterweight title, the 38-year-old Mosley (46-7, 39 KOs) said he didn’t know what he was going to do. He said he would go on vacation and think about his next move.

After the fight, most of the questions were about a possible bout for Mayweather against Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather said if Pacquiao is interested in fighting him, then he will agree to Olympic-style testing. If not, then Mayweather said he will move forward without him. Pacquiao turned down a proposed fight with Mayweather back in December because he wouldn’t agree to the testing.

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