wireless ,even in Vegas swimming pools!!

"Think about a swimming pool," "Casinos spend a lot of money to build them, but when guests are there, swimming, the casino isn't making any money.

"So if the people can play a hand of poker, or play the slots, while they are at the pool, that is money for the casinos," Mr. Asher said.

"The idea is to turn down time into revenue-generating time,"

Even Poolside, Casinos Entice by Hand-Held

LAS VEGAS, July 1 - No more need to fret about all that wasted time waiting in line for the buffet at your favorite casino. Or those tedious talks in a convention room just a few yards from the casino floor. Help is on the way to make it possible to gamble any time - in fact - all the time.

Gov. Kenny Guinn signed a law last month authorizing gamblers in Nevada to play slot machines, video poker, blackjack and other games on hand-held wireless devices from public spaces in casinos. The spaces include restaurants, bars, convention rooms, even swimming pools. Hotel rooms, however, are off limits, to make sure that minors do not get their hands on the new devices, which resemble personal digital assistants or tablet personal computers, depending on where they are being used.

Out by the pool of the Paris Las Vegas hotel and casino, close to the bottom of a 50-story replica of the Eiffel Tower, the idea had instant appeal. L. Dave Ross, a middle-aged tourist from Tampa, Fla., said: "I have no moral objection to the device. Sure, I'd use it out here by the pool. Why not?"

After all, Mr. Ross said, "What do you come to Vegas for, except to gamble?"

Traditionally, most casino operators regarded any technology that would allow people to gamble outside their "bricks-and-mortars casinos as a real threat," Mr. Bible said. "They worried that it would cannibalize their business."

But now, with the spreading popularity of Internet gambling, Mr. Bible said, "Some companies see the new technology as a real opportunity for expansion."

At the least, it allows the casinos to get a foothold into the realm of virtual gambling.

Internet gambling is illegal in the United States, under a 1961 anti-racketeering law. But casino companies in Britain, the Caribbean and places like Gibraltar have gotten around the law by setting up their Web servers and credit card operations offshore so that federal and state prosecutors cannot seize their assets and act to stop them. Prosecutors have also been reluctant to bring charges against individuals using their home computers to place wagers through the Internet, which has encouraged some people to participate in illicit online gambling.

In 2001, the Nevada Legislature authorized the State Gaming Commission to examine whether casinos here could enter the Internet gambling business. After a year's study, Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa concluded that without a clear new federal policy it would be legally dangerous for Nevada casinos to venture into online gambling.

But the just-approved hand-held devices will be legal because they will not be linked to the Web, Mr. Bible said, and will be more like a wireless network with game programs loaded into them.