Columnist Ron Kantowski: Letterman show picks a winner in Magliulo

Ron Kantowski's notes column appears Tuesday and Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4088.

What were the odds of Vinny Magliulo appearing as a special guest on The Late Show with David Letterman? Not even the man himself could wager a guess.

The line wasn't up on the big board at the Caesars Palace Race & Sports Book, where Magliulo is director, so we're assuming it was a Tyson-vs.-Douglas long shot. But if you're holding a "Magliulo will go" ticket for this past Monday night's Letterman show, you're a winner.

The personable Magliulo wound up sharing the entire opening segment with Letterman. The host would provide the oddsmaker with the subject for a joke, and Magliulo then would post a line on whether the joke would solicit laughs from the audience.

The bit played well, and Magliulo and Caesars even received a plug from retired Joint Chief of Staff Colin Powell, who was Letterman's first guest.

"I thought I was going to get drafted," Magliulo said Wednesday as he waited on his return flight to Las Vegas at New York's Kennedy Airport.

Magliulo said Letterman's segment producers were responsible for his appearance, which was coordinated through Phil Cooper and Debbie Munch of Caesars' public relations staff.

"They are a talented group of folks," Magliulo said of Letterman's staff.

"It kind of reminded me of our (sports book) industry in terms of preparation time. The taping went quick but there was three hours of preparation prior to the show."

He said despite the fact that several of his family members from Brooklyn were seated in the studio audience, he never got nervous -- not even when Letterman started cracking wise about the colorful tie that Magliulo's wife had picked out for the occasion.

"I was too excited to be nervous," he said. "Besides, it was nothing like standing in front of all you guys in the (local) press."

* HERE'S THE BUZZ: It has been said they roll up the sidewalks at 7 p.m. in Salt Lake City, but they must roll them back out just outside of Franklin Covey Field, home of the PCL's Salt Lake Buzz.

The Buzz actually outdrew the Montreal Expos, possessors of Major League Baseball's rustiest turnstiles, in back-to-back games this week.

Tuesday night, the Expos and Braves played in front of 7,069 spectators while the Buzz and our very own Stars drew 8,639. On Monday, only 7,078 shed their plastic seat disguises for the Expos and Braves while the Buzz and Stars attracted 7,739.

Unless you believe Buddy Carlyle and the Stars are a better draw than Greg Maddux and the Braves, the Expos have some serious problems.

* REBEL POWER: The Sporting News college football power ratings are out and UNLV checks in at a decent No. 74 (given last year's miserable 0-11 record) among 114 Division I teams. The Rebels were ranked 110th in last year's final poll, one spot behind the June Taylor Dancers. "Thanks to new coach John Robinson alone, the Rebels will be intriguing," sayeth TSN.

So far, the John Robinson factor is outweighing the Lou Holtz factor -- in the polls as well as on the scales. South Carolina, 1-10 last season prior to hiring Holtz, is slotted No. 77 in The Sporting News preseason poll.

Other teams ranked behind UNLV include Maryland, Illinois, Pittsburgh and New Mexico, just two years removed from a Copper Bowl berth.

* AROUND THE HORN: Las Vegas apparently quietly submitted a bid to host the ATP Tour's 2000 World (tennis) Championships -- and lost it just as quietly. The event, which has been held in Germany since its inception in 1990, will be staged in Lisbon, Portugal in 2000. The year after that, it goes to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Nine cities -- Barcelona, Lisbon, London, Milan, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Valencia, Spain and Las Vegas -- made bids. So at least it wasn't as if we lost out to Cleveland or something. ...

Don't believe the license plate holder. Old bowlers sometimes do die. And sometimes, they roll a perfect game. Joe Dean, 87, of Columbus, Ohio, recently became the oldest bowler to roll a 300 game, achieving the feat in his Tuesday afternoon league at Holiday Lanes in Columbus. "I can usually tell how I'm going to do by how my legs feel," said Dean, who rolls 20-25 games a week and maintains a 175 average. "They were feeling really well that day." ...

According to Brian Hilderbrand's golf notes in Wednesday's Sun, it's going to cost the golfers who will attempt to set the record for the fastest round of golf $45 for the privilege of trying. But for that $45, they'll get only one shot in the relay-type event. Maybe playing one of Billy Walters' courses isn't such a bad deal after all. ...

The Sam Boyd Stadium refurbishment project seems to be really moving along now, and at a first and distant glance -- from the 515 freeway -- the new press box and stadium facade has a Camden Yards, industrial look to it. Pretty neat. ...

I can't keep my Mayweathers straight. It was Floyd Mayweather -- not Roger as indicated in this space Tuesday -- who has signed with a Chicago-based promotional firm whose only other sports client is Sammy Sosa. Considering he's not the best driver in the world -- Roger Mayweather once wrecked his car just outside the press room, disrupting a Tommy Hearns-Iran Barkley news conference -- Floyd's Uncle Roger, himself a former fighter, might have trouble signing with an insurance agent.

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