Let’s start with a bet.

Will the NBA return to Las Vegas, this time on a permanent basis, after the Feb. 18 All-Star game?

“Absolutely, not even close,” Mayor Oscar Goodman said.

If only it were that simple.

Sending a team to Las Vegas would require NBA commissioner David Stern to change his stance on gambling. He was quite clear on the subject last year: “We are not going to go there while they have betting on NBA games.”

A year later, Stern seemed to leave room for hope in an interview with the Associated Press, saying the decision isn’t solely his to make.

“I guess all I’d say is that we’ve been having these discussions now for somewhere over 20 years,” he said. “But on the other hand, our owners are the ones that ultimately call the shots, and so I wouldn’t … there’s no sense in laying down at the bridge. But right now our policy has been very consistent and has been acted upon for the last two decades.”

But in a league where teams from Seattle to New Orleans face uncertain futures in their cities, how long can Stern expect his owners to back that policy if there’s money to be made in a market that longs for a team?

Gavin Maloof, whose family owns the Sacramento Kings and the Palms, where the players will stay next week, said he supported Stern but believed the policy was antiquated. He said he expects the NBA will announce Las Vegas is getting a team in the next five years.

“Every owner that I’ve ever spoken to loves Vegas,” he said. “I can’t speak for them, but I know that this All-Star game was a big hit.”

Goodman desperately wants a pro sports franchise for his city. Getting All-Star weekend to the Strip was fairly simple. With the Maloofs acting as a go-between, NBA officials let Goodman know the city had a chance to host if the casinos wouldn’t take bets on the exhibition.

Now all he has to do is get wagering removed for real NBA games, and he could move closer to his goal.

Don’t bet on it.

Goodman said he would not consider eliminating gambling on the NBA, nor does he think he needs to. He seems to believe he can persuade Stern to change his mind.

“I believe that when the two of us sit down quietly, we’re going to be able to resolve any issues that are outstanding,” Goodman told the AP. “And I believe that Las Vegas is a city that will become home to the world’s team. As Dallas was America’s team in football, the Las Vegas Oscars will be the world team.”

Las Vegas already has a passionate basketball fan base. The city showed how much it loved hoops when UNLV was the greatest show in college basketball in the early 1990s. During an exhibition game against Puerto Rico last summer at the Thomas & Mack Center, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski was greeted with a number of boos during pregame introductions – 15 years after his Duke team ended the Runnin’ Rebels undefeated season with an upset in the Final Four.

“Vegas is a very special place. I had a blast there,” said Phoenix All-Star Shawn Marion, who played for the Rebels. “The fans are unbelievable, and the difference between UNLV fans and most college fans is UNLV fans are more like NBA fans because they’re older.

“It’s crazy because they love basketball just as much as everybody else around the country. They’re going to show it, too.”

So far, it looks as if UNLV would welcome the NBA. The Rebels have been accommodating, making sure they’ll be on the road for All-Star weekend. The school will make some money for the use of its facilities, but athletic director Mike Hamrick said he most valued the exposure for the university and the city.