Let the record show that at 12:34 PM, I took what may have been a last look at my suitcase, wished it Godspeed and handed it over to a skycap for Southwest Airlines. With the slight voice tremor of a parent surrendering a child for adoption, I told him to "Take good care of it, please" and handed him a tip. Then without looking back, I headed bravely for the C-Gates.

And note that I made sure to tip the guy. If my suitcase doesn't make it to Los Angeles, I'm going to find that skycap and get my dime back.

My flight takes off at (allegedly) 2:20 and gets in at 3:25. You might want to check back later and see what time, if any, my bag arrives. I'm sure you have nothing better to do today.

I'm still in Vegas but unlike what happens in Vegas, I'm not going to stay in Vegas. Later today, I'm going to give Southwest Airlines yet another chance to lose my luggage.

Last night, I was wandering through a downtown casino, ably resisting the urge to resume a Blackjack habit I gave up years ago. (Quit while I was ahead and am determined to stay that way the rest of my life.) This was about 2 AM and I strolled near the Sports Book, where ordinarily one sees banks of TV monitors showing football games, horse races, jai alai tournaments from South America, stuff like that. The desk was closed but for some reason, every screen in the place was on and tuned to a replay of the Republican Debate.

About eight people were sitting there, not wagering. Two were asleep. One was eating a McDonald's McSomething. One was yelling at someone on a cell phone. (It's against the law to use a cell phone in a Sports Book area but maybe that's only when it's open for betting.) One was reading and the other three were watching the debate with minimal interest. A cocktail waitress who could have stunt-doubled Rhea Pearlman asked me if I wanted something. Fred Thompson was on the screen so I said, "Is there still time to get a bet down on him?"

She said, "To be President? Don't waste your money, hon. If it were me, I'd bet against all those guys. And all those damn Democrats, too."

Smartest thing I've heard about this election so far.

According to our indisputably accurate poll, 3.6% of you (currently) thought Skidoo was a fine motion picture and 20.9% found it so bizarre as to be enjoyable. If you haven't voted yet, there's still time.

In the meantime, here's about as strong a defense of it as you're likely to find.

Last Thanksgiving, I had a very good time watching the National Touring Company of Spamalot at a theater in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, looking back at what I posted that evening, I don't think I was quite lavish enough with the praise, both for that troupe and for the show itself, cleverly (at times, brilliantly) adapted by Eric Idle and John DuPrez from You-Know-What. The show was funny from start to end and there was that wonderful energy you sometimes get in the theater when the whole audience is loving what's on the stage and laughing not only non-stop but in unison.

Last evening, I went to see the Las Vegas production of Spamalot, which is at the new Wynn hotel in its Grail Theater, built (well, extensively refurbished) especially for this show. If I'd seen this production and not the other, I'd be sitting here now writing a blog post about the colossal disappointment that is Spamalot; of how Idle and DuPrez only managed to turn one of the funniest movies ever done into a mildly, intermittently entertaining musical. Obviously, that's not the case. It was hilarious in Columbus, Ohio and I'll bet it's wonderful in New York. So why was it so diminished here?

It wasn't because the show's been trimmed a bit. One song — "All for One" — is out, as is most of "Run Away" and a few choruses of others. The whole back-and-forth with the guards guarding Herbert is cut and the Knights Who Say "Ni" had their part reduced, which must have pissed them off. A few scenes have been reordered, and some lines and lyrics have been changed, including all the references to Act One and Act Two, since they also removed the Intermission. But I didn't particularly mind any of the omissions and one — a big trim in "All Alone" — actually made the song funnier.

Some of what went wrong was that theater. It's cold and dank and those of us with mezzanine seats were viewing the action as if from one of those helicopter rides over the Strip. But a greater problem was the production, itself. I'd say about half the cast was fine…as good as the folks I saw in Ohio, one or two maybe even better. But the other half sure wasn't. The show is larger than life so the actors have to be, and some of them just lacked the personality and flair, which slowed the whole momentum and, I suspect, handicapped the strong performers. In one scene, I thought to myself, "This is what Spamalot will be like when they release the rights to perform it at the Community College level." (Seinfeld star John O'Hurley opened the production here and that's him in the photo above playing King Arthur. He's not in the show these days, though I heard a Wynn employee tell someone that they'd heard he's coming back.)

The other problem, I'm almost embarrassed to suggest, was the audience. They didn't seem very into it even though they seemed to be familiar with Python and the movie. In Columbus, there was a huge roar of recognition when The Knights Who Say "Ni" or the French Taunter or the Black Knight appeared. Here…nothing. Or at best, a slight giggle as if to say, "Oh, this part." There was applause and a bit of cheering at the end but nothing like I witnessed in Ohio.

I've written here in the past about attempts that have been made to mount full Broadway imports (or even original musicals) in Las Vegas. They haven't had too good a track record and I've suggested, first of all, that some of the wrong shows have been brought in — like Avenue Q, which flopped in (I think) the same showroom that Spamalot now occupies. I still think Avenue Q didn't belong in Vegas and certainly not in an auditorium that size. I've also suggested that the trimming which is usually done has hurt some of these shows.

Last time I discussed this, someone — I'm outta town and laptopping it so I don't have the message here — wrote to suggest that I was overlooking the biggest problem. Vegas, he said, is just not a theater town. There are too many other things to do, and good theatergoing requires the commitment of an evening in both time and attention. You can't just squeeze a play in among the eighteen other activities you want to accomplish before it's time to leave. I didn't think there was anything to that when I read his message…but now I'm not sure.

I still recommend you see Spamalot. Just don't see it in Vegas.

Still, the trip wasn't a total loss. I had ten minutes to kill before it was time to truck into the theater so I sat down at a Video Poker machine — first time I've played one for money in…must be fifteen, eighteen years. I resolved not to lose more than ten bucks and third hand in, I hit a straight flush…and went into Spamalot somewhat happier than I was on the way out.

The late Del Close was one of the giants of improvisational comedy and a kind of theater (and thinking) that are all too rare in the world today. Recently, he was one of four inductees into the Hall of Fame for alumni of Manhattan High School. This article makes a few factual errors but is worth a peek. There's a reference in there, by the way, to another inductee named Inger Stensland. Ms. Stensland later became quite well known under her professional name of Inger Stevens.

And what you really might enjoy watching — and I'm afraid the audio isn't very good at it, nor is the picture — is the video on this page of Bill Murray, speaking at the induction ceremony…which, to give it the seriousness it so richly deserves, took place at half-time of a basketball game. Thanks to Kim "Howard" Johnson for the links.

The L.A. Times has a nice obit up for Bill Idelson. And no, I haven't heard where and when the memorial service will be.

The big news on the strike front this weekend seems to be that the WGA will be signing one of those interim agreements with United Artists, an independent movie producer which has been re-formed with the clout of Tom Cruise as its primary asset. That will put a few writers back to work but the larger significance is that it's another gain in the p.r. battle. It shows the Guild is ready to make a deal and that an important producer has no trouble accepting the terms that the AMPTP finds so unthinkable. That was the big plus of the Letterman deal.

Many phone calls are probably occurring even as you read this, with AMPTP bigwigs applying pressure on other independents not to follow suit. They will undoubtedly succeed in many cases, and it's stunning that they didn't stop Cruise's company. As Larry Gelbart once said, "An independent producer is someone who's dependent on everyone." You can fund your own movies in this town, especially if you're Tom Cruise and investors will line up to thrust cash upon you. Getting those films distributed properly is another matter, and that's when you often must rely on the kindness not of strangers but of majors. If I had a well-financed independent film company, I'd probably be getting a call or two from the top guys at the Big Studios saying, "You're not going to sign that WGA contract, right?" And I'd probably be replying with some less obvious version of "Well, what are you going to do for me if I don't?" Or maybe, nervously, "What are you going to do to me if I do?"

But others will follow…how many, we don't know. Pressure is building against the AMPTP in other ways, as well. The Golden Globe Awards have never been so important in this industry as they are when it looks like they're not going to happen. To the studios, the show represents a means of promoting product and they don't like the idea of that being denied to them. More significantly, they don't like the idea of the unions banding together and being effectual, and the Golden Globes are being scuttled by a joint action of the WGA and the Screen Actors Guild.

One of the many reasons I don't think the Writers Strike will last six more months is that allowing that would effectively merge our strike with SAG's contract negotiation, not only now but in future years if both contracts wind up being renewed at the same time. Here's the worst possible nightmare for whoever will be in Nick Counter's place three years from now: It's July of 2011 and the contracts for the Writers Guild, the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild are all expiring simultaneously. If ever all of labor in Hollywood could link arms and shut the business down until there are major increases, that would be the time. Even now, with SAG's deal expiring seven months after ours, the proximity is a problem for the studios, especially since the actors' demands so closely mirror the ones we have and which the AMPTP is refusing to discuss. From the producer point-of-view, driving WGA and SAG even closer together is whatever the opposite is of a "divide and conquer" strategy. ("Unite and surrender?")

The fiasco of the Golden Globe Awards — nominees and presenters refusing to appear — is reminding the producers that they may own the building but if they don't have us, all they have is a worthless building. The AMPTP has done a lot of things that in hindsight do not seem to have been in their own best interests…but here they're looking at the pilot for a combined WGA-SAG strike. You've gotta think they won't let this one go to series.

In late night news: Leno and the WGA are sparring over what Jay can and cannot do on the air. I caught a little of his monologue on Friday night and it sure sounded written…and not entirely by him. I like Jay as a performer and I've long had a high opinion of him as a decent, ethical guy. But the rules say he can't employ writers and they may say — I'm still a bit fuzzy on this — that he can't even write for himself. I'll be most disappointed if when all is said and done, the conclusion is that Leno broke the rules.

One kinda-clever thing he has done: This week, he and Jimmy Kimmel will exchange guest appearances…two guys in the same, writerless, semi-guestless boat bailing out one another. That's a smart/generous move on Jay's part since it'll do more for Kimmel than vice-versa. It's also kinda surprising since Mr. Kimmel has made no secret of his intense dislike of Mr. Leno. War creates the oddest of alliances.

Lastly: I'm going to be back on the picket line next week at some point. I think we are picketing CBS Television City after all, but we're ending each day's hiking at 1 PM. I'm guessing that's our way of picketing the soap operas and other shows that tape in the morning but not picketing Craig Ferguson, who tapes much later in the day.

As we all know, The Price is Right has been running on CBS since about ten minutes after Philo Farnsworth invented television. I think they're now keeping it on the air because of some obscure clause in the AFTRA contract that says that at all times, Drew Carey must have two series.

What you may not know is that there's a version that is not televised. Fremantle, the company that owns the venerable prize dispenser, has a "live" Price is Right show that plays around the country, sometimes in more than one city at a time. One current outpost, and it's been there for a while, is at Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas. Audience members can buy tickets (about fifty bucks a head) to watch one of their favorite programs, approximately recreated on stage, and they can win prizes.

At the moment, it's hosted by Todd Newton, who seems to be the emcee of about half the new game shows done these days. The announcer is Randy West, who has announced and/or handled warm-ups on dozens of shows, including Deal or No Deal and the televised Price is Right.

I've followed Randy's career for years. He's a terrific announcer in the tradition of the late Johnny Olson and Rod Roddy…a tradition that sadly is excluded from most game shows these days. Randy and I have some mutual friends and have exchanged the occasional e-mail…so last night, I went over to Bally's, met him in person finally, and was his guest for the show there. It's not something I would have otherwise attended — I can walk from my home to where the real Price is Right is taped and get in free — but I was curious as to how they refashioned the program for the venue, and I wanted to see Randy work.

Boy, he's good. I know about voiceover and warm-up work (here's an article I wrote several years ago about audience warm-ups) and it ain't as easy as it seems, especially when a real pro does it. Randy is a real pro. Todd Newton is very good, too. He keeps it moving but puts contestants at ease and — most important — makes sure they know how to play the games they're up there to play.

Even though Randy arranged for my ticket and I was ineligible for prizes, I still had to stand in line and get the little pricetag nametag to wear on my chest. The line was fascinating. I got to talking with a couple from Wisconsin who never missed The Price is Right on the telly and were tingling at the very thought of seeing it in person. The possibility of being called to "Come on down" and play was too chilling to even contemplate. Also chatted with a family from Michigan and a few others who all admitted that it was a long-nurtured dream to see the TV show in person…and I got to wondering why that seemed so unreachable to them. Granted, all I'd have to do to get to a taping is walk about nine blocks and wait in line a few hours…and of course, since it's right there, I never have. But it was humanly possible for these people to get to Las Vegas and buy tickets. Why did it seem so inconceivable to them that they could go the extra miles to Los Angeles and get tickets to the real thing?

The excitement along the line was quite real and maybe even a bit contagious — this, even though they all knew they weren't about to see The Price is Right the way they really wanted to see it, which was with Bob Barker. It has been said that everyone loves Bob Barker except every single person who ever worked with him. A book is rumored for later this year that will itemize some of the reasons for the latter sentiment. I doubt it will make any difference to these folks. They all love Bob, they cheered him in clips that were shown throughout the proceedings and applauded when Todd or Randy invoked his name, always with great reverence. My sense is that they aren't particularly fond of the new host, Drew Carey, but only because he has committed the unpardonable sin of not being Bob Barker. That seemed to be the one complaint about Todd Newton, as well. Not much he can do about that at this stage of his life.

That aside, they loved Todd and Randy and also two stunning young ladies who ably filled the shoes and bikinis of Janice, Holly, Dian and other Barker's Beauties. They even accepted the reality of smaller prizes and necessary modifications in their favorite game show. To maximize the number of folks who get to play, each round starts with four players, chosen by a random draw, being called down to Contestants Row to bid on an item. One wins and comes up on stage to play a bigger pricing game. The others get Price is Right t-shirts and get to slink back to their seats, rather than stick around and bid in the next round. Other prizes are given out for no apparent reason…and it seemed like about a seventh of the showroom left with something, even if it was only points for Bally's slot card club.

All the games are exact facsimiles of popular ones from the TV show. The first lady up on stage played The Race Game and won it, first time out. Someone else played Hole-In-One and hit the ball right into the cup. An older man who'd barely seen the TV show did a spectacular wipeout on the Mountain Climber game. Apparently in Iowa, toasters cost $120.

The two most exciting rounds — exciting in that the audience was thrilled just to see these games live and in person — were The Big Wheel and Plinko. The ovation when the Plinko Board was revealed was about the same as when Jerry Lewis was doing his telethon in 1976 and Dean Martin walked out on stage. Maybe a little bigger.

On TV, contestants spin the wheel to determine which of them gets to be in the Showcase Game at the end. Here, it's a standalone game played for money. The audience was ecstatic as one of their own not only earned himself $250 by winning the Big Wheel game but got a bonus hundred for making the wheel stop on One Dollar. Then he got a bonus spin which offered a thousand dollars more if the wheel landed on the One Dollar, $500 if it landed on either of the two adjoining spaces. He won the $500. The gent who got to play Plinko took home $900. They were the two big winners of the night.

The way the Showcase Game works here is that, first of all, there's only one showcase. It consisted of five items, two of which were a trip to Mexico and a new car. Two ladies chosen at random from the audience got to compete and each wrote down their estimate of the total price of the showcase. The one who bid closer to the actual retail price without going over would win just the trip to Mexico…but if she was within $100, she'd win the whole showcase, car included. Randy told me that had happened a day or two earlier but at the performance I attended, both contestants way overbid and limped back to their seats with Price is Right t-shirts.

Despite the disappointing ending, the audience seemed to have a very good time…even those who won zip. Right after, just outside the showroom, Todd, Randy and the two prize models posed for photos with audience members who wanted a memento. One lady who'd won nothing inside was telling Todd that she watches him every day on Whammy!, and that the snapshot with him was better than if she'd won the car. Todd didn't seem to believe her but he told her thanks.

Like I said, this is not something I would have gone to see on my own, especially if it meant purchasing a ticket. (I'm not going to see the afternoon Game Show Spectacular over at the Vegas Hilton, which brings audience members up to play various rounds from defunct TV shows. Bob Eubanks, Chuck Woolery and Jamie Farr rotate as its host.) Still, I was impressed with how well the Price is Right folks replicated and modified that program, and I enjoyed seeing people enjoy it so. If I were running Las Vegas, I think I'd get rid of all those roulette wheels and craps tables, and just put in a lot of Plinko games. That's what the public seems to want.

Southwest Airlines just called. They finally figured out where my suitcase is. I have it.

Let's try another one of these, this time about the movie, Skidoo. I'm going to leave this poll up for a week on the assumption that some of you may be taping/TiVoing the film and won't get around to watching it for a bit.

Pick the statement below that most closely summarizes your feelings about Otto Preminger's oddest creation. Yes, I know your precise sentiments may not be among the options I've provided but select the one that comes closest. As Donald Rumsfeld might say, you vote with the choices you have, not the choices you wish you had.