Raw and on demand

It's five minutes before the tape rolls, and RawVegas.tv co-founder Brian Balsbaugh has made a bet with one of the show's producers.

He lays a crisp $100 bill on the table and challenges Eric Newby to eat an entire box of doughnuts in five minutes, sans any liquid.

It's the type of challenge that's routine, even respected, in the start-up's offices, tucked in a nondescript office complex less than a block from the Palms.

Newby easily finishes the box. Moments later he mans a camera to record another installation of "Wager Wars," a sports handicapping show on which the bombastic hosts offer betting advice on upcoming games.

Although the episode will never be seen on a television, thousands of viewers will download the clip on computers and cell phones.

Welcome to the New Media, seen by many as the future of communication.

Individuals like the founders of RawVegas hope to be the next wave of the Internet revolution, taking YouTube one step further by creating original content.

Driven by their conviction that they can make shows cheaper and better than the multibillion-dollar networks that have controlled the small screen for decades, they see a bright future.

"Wager Wars," starring Chris Jordan and Brandon Lang (played by Matthew McConaughey in "Two for the Money"), is one of 20 original shows available at any time on the site. All the shows are taped in Las Vegas and have strong local content.

There's a snarky "Daily Show"-type program with a hot blond host. There's a show featuring mixed martial arts fighters. And there's plenty of celebrity gossip targeted at the much-sought-after 18-to-34 demographic.

But it remains to be seen just how viable Internet television will become.

"We're not too far away from everybody watching TV on their laptops," boasts Steve Preiss, general manager and co-founder of RawVegas.

Preiss says viewers have watched 2.3 million RawVegas clips since the launch in January, spending an average of six minutes at the site. Those figures suggest that the site is capitalizing on young people's desire to get their information and entertainment quickly and on their own terms.

Investors have bet roughly $250,000 on RawVegas becoming a hit. Toward that end, the site is banking on drawing local advertisers, including the deep pockets of the gaming industry.

"There's no question it is here to stay as a hobbyist medium," Amy Bruckman, a computing professor at Georgia Tech, said of Internet TV. "The question is how it will become a commercial enterprise."

Network stations have begun posting entire shows online. Viewers can watch "Lost" anytime they want, for free, and see only one commercial.

"Lost," though, became popular because it's on prime-time television, not an obscure Web site.

The Internet has yet to prove it can create its own stars, with the arguable exception of model Cindy Margolis, the self-billed "Most Downloaded Woman on the Net," and a handful of people who experienced a Warholian 15 minutes of fame by living 24/7 in front of Web cameras. Instead, the Internet has largely capitalized on the fame of actors, athletes and socialites.

"Our culture loves celebrity," said Francisco Menendez, chairman of the UNLV film department. "I don't think the Web has the ability to create celebrity at this point. The Web is kind of relegated to, 'I'll look at the guy getting a pie in the face.' "

RawVegas is trying to do more, although it would be difficult to know that from a publicity stunt on the radio that ended with a topless woman getting chowder poured over her body.

Yet the site has an air of seriousness. Its shows are at least as entertaining as much of the reality programming seen on TV, and its founders bring something to the table. Preiss is a respected Web developer and Balsbaugh is president of Poker Royalty, which represents some of the country's biggest card-playing stars.

And the site has an audience. Anybody, anywhere can view the shows.

"The idea that people can get access to an audience makes me optimistic," said Joshua Gunn, a pop culture expert at the University of Texas.

Meanwhile, back at RawVegas, the guys have switched sets. Now Jordan is co-hosting a bit about who will be the next "American Idol." His co-star, Lacey Jones, a model-perfect poker pro in a low-cut shirt, keeps stumbling over her lines. But she keeps trying.

And so will everyone else at RawVegas.

You can bet on it.

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