Gambling for Good, Not Evil

Sin City may never be the same. The new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas has installed--drum roll please--politically correct slot machines. (Its words are “the world’s first socially responsible and morally conscious” slot machines.)

Here’s how it works: The money you lose will be donated to the Natural Resources Defense Council, Conservation International and Sting’s Rainforest Foundation.

Of course, what you do with your winnings is still up to you.

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Mama’s Pearls: With only 154 shopping days left till Mother’s Day, we thought you should know about a one-of-a-kind gift: a handwritten letter from Bette Davis to her daughter, B.D. Hyman, on Hyman’s 21st birthday. The five-page dispatch, estimated to be worth between $200 and $400, will be on view along with other items from Hyman’s collection (including her mother’s christening dress) at Sotheby’s in Beverly Hills on Tuesday and Wednesday. The auction is Dec. 19 in New York.

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Financed Romance: Warren and Annette probably won’t be among the thrilled, but the Grill has put together quite the romantic New Year’s Eve-delivered dinner baskets for stay-at-home types. Included with the four-course meal and bottle of wine is a videotape for all lovey-dovey couch potatoes--”An Affair to Remember,” the 1957 classic that inspired the Beattys’ current, although not terribly successful, remake, “Love Affair.” The price tag: $150 for two.