Trump’s endorsement seemed likely to affect this Saturday’s Nevada caucuses — and the GOP nomination fight in general — about as much as a Sin City breeze disturbs the real estate mogul’s legendary hair. But he managed to create a stir of a different sort, at least for a day.

A political aide in Trump’s office spoke directly with Mitt Romney by phone last night before Trump’s private plane took off from New York City to Las Vegas.

The call, sources say, was to inform Romney of Thursday’s endorsement, which will take place at a 12:30 p.m. event at the Trump International Hotel on the Las Vegas strip.

A contracting company used by the Romney campaign has been setting up for the event since Wednesday night.

Sources familiar with Trump’s thinking said that earlier reports by several news organizations of a Gingrich endorsement were inaccurate.

“I have no idea what the Donald is going to do,” Gingrich told reporters on Wednesday, adding that he had not spoken to Trump in weeks.

Ever since Trump decided not to run as a Republican candidate last spring, members of his team indicated that if Trump was going to endorse, he wanted to pick a winner. Evidently, the real estate and reality television mogul, has settled on Romney as that candidate.

In an interview on “Good Morning America” earlier this week, Trump told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that he was still deciding between Romney and Gingrich.

“I’m friendly with both. I respect both,” he said. “I like both. They both want my endorsement.  We’ll see what happens but, in a very short time I’ll be making an endorsement.”

Trump’s endorsement of Romney comes on the heels of multiple discussions between members of Romney’s team and Trump’s office over the past few months. These conversations took place at the highest levels of the Romney campaign apparatus, including campaign manager Matt Rhoades.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal credited the former Massachusetts governor for his business experience, arguing his “greatest strength is his command of economic issues and his understanding of what the private sector needs to create jobs.”

Big-time gamblers, primarily from Asia, are flocking to Las Vegas to play baccarat and providing a big lift to the overall bottom line of the city’s casinos.

Baccarat has easily surpassed blackjack in terms of casino revenue in Las Vegas and now represents nearly 60 percent of the MGM Grand’s table games revenue over the past year. It’s especially popular this week with tens of thousands of tourists from Asia in town to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

“For us to make money in gaming today without baccarat is almost impossible,” said Debra Nutton, senior vice president of casino operations at the MGM Grand hotel-casino. “We need the big whales to make money.”

In Las Vegas parlance, a “whale” is a big-time gambler who easily wagers more in one night at the tables than most American families make in a year. Casinos cater to them with plush, secluded gambling salons inside the top casinos — with baccarat games that often start out at a minimum $10,000 per hand.

The whales typically favor baccarat — a game romanticized in James Bond flicks and highly popular in Macau and Singapore.

The game is built on a simple premise: Who will end up with a better hand, the player or the banker? Gamblers are dealt two cards and predict whether they will beat the banker, typically a position that rotates among the players at the table. Smaller tables, known as midi-baccarat, start at $100 limits and look more like large blackjack tables, skipping the rotating banker and leaving that role to the dealer. Even smaller-limit tables are called mini-baccarat.

Nevada figures show that during the 12 months ending Nov. 30, casinos statewide won $1.27 billion from baccarat players, with the game offered at 258 total tables in 24 casinos. Blackjack, meanwhile, pulled in just $1.03 billion — even though it was offered across 2,810 tables in 151 casinos.

While casinos hope to pocket 12 percent of the money wagered on baccarat, the large amounts played in fewer bets mean big swings in revenue quarter to quarter, depending on how lucky the gamblers are.

Slots are still the most popular and lucrative form of gambling in Nevada, with nearly 165,000 machines over 330 locations including supermarket, gas stations and airports.

Baccarat has been the most lucrative table game since 2009, and has been increasing its share since then, according to an analysis of gambling revenues by Dave Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

That’s even though the game isn’t widely offered, he said.

In odds posted Sunday night by Cantor Gaming, the Patriots opened as three-point favorites over the New York Giants after New York beat San Francisco 20-17 in overtime in the NFC championship game, Race and Sports Director Mike Colbert said.

Police arrested the 55-year-old after a resident in a community southwest of the Las Vegas Strip complained about cars blocking his driveway and people in a neighboring house wearing medical scrubs.

“Continued modest employment growth, combined with relatively stable labor force, paved the way for the decline in the rate,” said Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR).

However, in Las Vegas, the unemployment rate increased from 12.4 percent in November to 12.7 percent in December.

Based upon preliminary information, the unemployment situation improved in 2011 compared to the previous year.  Statewide, the jobless rate averaged 13.1 percent in 2011, down nearly two full percentage points from the 2010 average of 14.9 percent.  In Las Vegas, the unemployment rate declined nearly two percentage points – down from 15.2 percent in 2010 to 13.3 percent in 2011.

On the jobs front, December employment readings came in 3,500 higher than a year ago, the fourth consecutive gain.  For the entire year, Nevada added about 2,100 jobs (preliminary estimate), the first such gain since 2007.

The Year of the Dragon fills people with energy, vitality, and unbridled enthusiasm,” said Cathy Tull, senior vice president of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).

There will be events spread throughout Downtown and The Strip.

• Wynn Las Vegas will present a Dragon and Lion dance ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 27. The ceremony will begin at the South Valet entrance at Wynn.
• The Palazzo will display a 128-foot fire (pictured above) breathing dragon that will be perched amidst the ground fountain and breathe fire from Jan. 23 through Feb. 5 at 1 and 5 p.m. (2 p.m. on Chinese New Year Day following the dragon dance.) At 1 p.m. Monday, a ceremonial dragon dance, complete with firecrackers and eye-painting ceremony, will begin at The Venetian porte cochere, making its way through The Palazzo.
• The Gold Coast kicks off its Chinese New Year celebration Monday as well. The public is invited to watch an elaborate Lion Dance parade through the casino Feb. 1 at 7:30 and 10 p.m.
• Caesars Entertainment’s Las Vegas resorts will welcome the Year of the Dragon with a concert by Chinese Mandopop star Wakin Chau at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on Jan. 28 and 29 at 8 p.m. Tickets for Wakin Chau are on sale now and may be purchased in person at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace box office.
• Also, Caesars Entertainment’s Lion Dances will take place January 27 at 5 p.m. at Harrah’s Las Vegas, 6:15 p.m. at Imperial Palace Las Vegas, 7 p.m. at Flamingo Las Vegas and 10 p.m. at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. On January 28, ceremonies will be at noon at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, 1 p.m. at Paris Las Vegas, 2 p.m. at Bally’s Las Vegas and 5 p.m. at Caesars Palace.
• Each year the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens puts on a display to celebrate the Chinese New Year that is guided by the Chinese Zodiac. This year, for the first time and custom-made for Bellagio, two 25-foot dragons will appear to be wrapped around a cylinder of water. The dragons will be placed on what appears to be an island of tropical botanicals. The display will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week through March 3.
• In Downtown, the Fremont Street Experience will welcome in the Chinese New Year with a five-day festival dubbed “Chinese New Year – Dragon in the Desert.” Opening ceremonies will take place on at 6 p.m. Tuesday with a live authentic dragon dance that includes virtual firecrackers on Viva Vision. The live dragon dance will return for closing ceremonies at 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28. Beginning at 6 p.m. each night, the festival will feature a lion dance, a vendor village (with Chinese food, and arts and crafts), and cultural presentations on the 3rd Street Stage and traditional entertainment on the 1st Street Stage.

Monsignor Kevin McAuliffe, 59, stood straight and offered no reaction as U.S. District Judge James Mahan credited him for accepting responsibility for looting parish votive candle, prayer and gift shop funds for eight years, but faulted him for “hedging his bet” by blaming it on a gambling addiction.

More than 140,000 people are expected to visit the annual Las Vegas event. The show has drawn more than 3,100 exhibitors — a record. The show runs until Friday.

On Thursday, Robert Kyncl, vice president of global content partnerships at Google Inc.’s YouTube, is scheduled to present a keynote speech.

Originally focused on living-room electronics, the show has become the big annual U.S. event for all consumer technology after the demise of big computer-focused shows such as Comdex.

However, the show’s cachet has diminished, and Microsoft says this will be the last year in which it has a booth or a CEO delivering the customary kick-off speech. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave the kickoff speech Monday evening.

Still, the record number of exhibitors demonstrates the show’s enduring relevance for smaller exhibitors. The show usually has just over 2,700 exhibitors, but dipped to 2,500 in 2010.

CES, run by the Consumer Electronics Association, is only open to those in the consumer-electronics industry. A business card or other business ID is required as proof. It is held at the Las Vegas Convention and World Trade Center and nearby hotels.