As they lounged poolside reading under a 50-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel & Casino here, the last thing Alice and Jerry Long wanted to do was gamble.

"You need to relax when you're eating and when you're at the pool," said Alice Long, 56, of Hickory, N.C. Her husband, Jerry, 60, was absorbed in a book. "Gambling is not relaxing," he said.

By the time the Longs return to Las Vegas next fall, it may be harder to relax. Others next to them at the pool might be playing blackjack, poker, roulette and even slots.

This summer, Nevada became the first state to allow the use of wireless, handheld gambling devices inside casinos.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board is holding public hearings before drafting regulations governing their use. Atlantic City, N.J., gambling operators are watching closely because Las Vegas sets the trend. What starts here doesn't stay here.