John Katsilometes talks props with LV Hilton Sports Book Executive Director Jay Kornegay

Friday, Feb. 2, 2007 | 7:10 a.m.

Jay Kornegay has never been accused of "fixing" a Super Bowl, but he has been accused of fixing a Super Bowl proposition bet. It was 1999 when Kornegay, then the sports book director at Imperial Palace, posted an over/under bet on Denver Broncos reserve quarterback Bubby Brister making a single rushing attempt. Late in the game the Broncos, leading the Atlanta Falcons 34-19, pulled starter John Elway. Coach Mike Shanahan then called two "kneel-downs" by Brister.

Kneel-downs are considered rushing attempts and the bet came in "over." Problem was, neither play was shown during the telecast as cameras panned to Shanahan and Elway crying tears of joy on the sideline. "One guy, who was crazy, accused me of calling Shanahan on the sideline and telling him to pull Elway and put in Brister," Kornegay, today the executive sports book director at the Las Vegas Hilton, recalled Thursday during a phone interview. "He knew I was from Denver, I guess, and had some kind of hotline set up."

Kornegay has operated Las Vegas sports books for 18 years, first at Bally's, then at Imperial Palace and, for the past two years, the Hilton. He also recalls the 1995 Super Bowl, when he posted a prop bet on the Pittsburgh Steelers' Kordell Stewart to catch a pass, throw a pass and make one rushing attempt (you could bet "yes" or "no"). Stewart, called "Slash" because of his multifaceted skills, caught a pass and had one rushing attempt before halftime. In the third quarter, in relief of starting QB Neil O'Donnell, Stewart rolled right and cocked his arm to pass. "We had one of those parties with about 2,000 people and you should have heard the crowd. It was like everybody made that bet."

Stewart tucked the ball and did not pass. The "no" crowd went wild.

NoteMart

In responding to what it calls "grossly inaccurate" reports of Rene Angelil's gambling activity, Caesars Palace issued a statement Thursday specifying Angelil's casino losses and winnings over the past couple of years. According to the statement, Angelil's losses in 2005 and 2006 have totaled "exactly $230,000, which have been more than offset by his tournament poker winnings, of $259,079." Media reports of Angelil's casino activity surfaced after a story published Sunday in the London Observer that included this quote by Harrah's executive Jan Laverty Jones: "The problem with problem gambling is not about how much you gamble. It really isn't. It's about gambling what you can afford. That's a very difficult determination. Celine Dion's husband is a big gambler. He probably gambles $1 million a week. But he can afford to." Caesars Palace President Gary Selesner said, "Allegations that Rene gambles as much as $1 million per week are totally false." ...

Beano's Casino on West Lake Mead Boulevard just west of U.S. 95 (which has never had an Angelil sighting, to my knowledge) looks like most any other sports bar but is, in fact, considered a full-fledged casino with 35 video poker machines. As such, the casino/bar/restaurant (which opened in 1990) is still allowed to serve food and permit smoking. Recently the sign out front read, "Come In, Eat Your Smoke, Smoke Your Eats," until management replaced the message with the more pedestrian, "Smoker-Friendly." ...

Musical comedian Stephen Sorrentino, soon to be the emcee of "Legends in Concert" at Imperial Palace, is a former teammate of Cincinnati Bengals QB Norman "Boomer" Esiason. Not with the Bengals, but with the 1975 Bay-Slip freshman football team (a team made up of Bayshore and East Islip school district ninth graders in Long Island, N.Y.). "He was the quarterback, and I was the human furniture," Sorrentino jokes. ...

Methamphetamine abuse might be the scourge of our state (and even the country), but it doesn't matter to the Onion, which posted a story Tuesday with the headline: "Meth Addicts Demand Government Address Nation's Growing Spider Menace." ...

Them are deep? Plate on a blue Toyota Camry, AMRDEEP