The Morning Midway: Can Cirque du Soleil "Save" Vegas ...

This from CNN's Don Simon: As a vast new hotel-condo-everything else complex called City Center is about to dump six thousand new rooms onto an already depressed market, the question is -- will it lure new visitors to Nevada or only drain the other hotels? And they are wondering if the new Elvis Presley Cirque-produced bash will pull in a rebirth of tourism dollars. This following a 22 month decline in business, and with City Center having been barely able to raise construction costs. One of its hard-pressed sponsors is Dubai World, currently unable to meet its debts.

Can Cirque du Soleil save Las Vegas? Believe it or not, that was a question framed by Simon to a local official.

The betting and entertainment capitol has suffered 22 straight months of declining gaming revenues. Unemployment is over 13%, and the foreclosures here lead the nation.

What a story. Will the fortunes of both Cirque and Sin City collide into a heap of unsustainable over expansion? They're calling it the biggest bet ever to be waged in the town.

"Hound Dog," they're counting on you!