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

SUPER PAYDAY! One of the Vegas casinos had a Super Bowl prop (a proposition bet) that the national anthem at the Big Game would be longer than or shorter than 1:42. Now let’s suppose you’re the Piano Man and you hear about the prop, and you send a close personal friend with a wad of cash to Vegas to bet the under. Then on Super Sunday your performance ends at 1:31 (well under one minute and forty-two seconds) ... he’s reportedly using his winnings to throw a Super Party in the Hamptons this spring. Art Garfunkel said, “I thought it (the anthem) was clipped. But I never imagined Billy had money riding on it, that’s brilliant. I want next.” I’d settle for an invite to the party!

THE CASINOS are saying it’ll be a record year for their sports books because, in part, of the government’s crackdown on Internet betting. The accounts of U.S. players on BetOnSports and Neteller have been frozen by the government in an attempt to curb gambling online.

WE’RE NOT the only ones who “Go Vegas”! A woman from Northumberland, England, hit the jackpot on Mecca bingo, £102,000 - a little over $1.4 million U.S. She plans to spend her winnings on a new car and a trip to Sin City.

MICHAEL JACKSON’S comeback is being carefully planned by Simon Fuller ... he’s the guy who brought the world (Insert Country Here) Idol, and is the manager of Martha Stewart, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Annie Lennox and many others. He also negotiated the world’s largest sports contract: $250 million for five years for his soccer-paying client David Beckham. His 2003 take from the U.S. version of the show alone was $60 million.

MICHAEL JORDAN, the all-time All-Star Game scoring leader with 262 points in 14 appearances, and the 1985 and 1990 Slam Dunk champion, will be judging this year’s Sprite Slam Dunk competition. Joining him will be Dominique Wilkins, Vince Carter, “Dr. J” Julius Erving and Kobe Bryant. This is the first time a player on the current NBA roster will be a judge. The winner gets $35,000, runner-up $22,500, the third- and fourth-place winners get $16,125, and every invited player gets $6,000.

IF YOU’RE a true fan with $80,000 or so to spare, you could have bid on a weekend at Hugh Hefner’s Sky Villa, the 10,000-square-foot suite. Your All-Star package includes 24-hour concierge, limo, four tickets to the game and the chance to hang with 24 NBA players who’ll be calling the Palms home for the weekend.

DAVID BONDERMAN, the Texas billionaire, dropped $10 million just for entertainment at his 60th birthday bash in Vegas for performers Robin Williams, the Rolling Stones and more. He’s the co-founder of Texas Pacific Kimo Akane Group, the private investment bank that bid nearly $20 billion to buy Harrah’s. OK, you win ... you love Vegas more than anyone else!

Get more Kimo’s Vegas online at http://www.KimosVegas.com, www.AroundHawaii.com, in both issues of “MidWeek,” on The New ESPN 1420 Thursday night at 7 and with Billy V. Friday morning at 7:20 on Hawaiian105 KINE.

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