The "Today" Show Scandal

OK, it's not really much of a scandal. That was just to get your attention. But still. Take a good look at the price tag to the upper left. Click on it to make it bigger if you must. That's one of the tags on each of the some 50 wedding dresses that the "Today" show gave away during a shoot on Tuesday morning at the Venetian as part of a promotion in which they'll choose one couple from around the United States to have a televised wedding this fall.

I was there at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. to interview Al Roker for possible use in my Las Vegas Weekly column and on this week's "The Strip," although I did neither because, well, Roker ducked all my tough questions. What hard-hitting questions could I have for a hokey weatherman, you might wonder. Well, on Don Imus, on ditching "Opie & Anthony," on his recent remarks about epileptics, on Katie Couric's CBS woes. And then after Al grumbled away from me, he goes out into St. Mark's Square announces to the viewing audience at home that some of these dresses were worth $5,000! Then he made a hoard of carefully screened (for their size, methinks - fatties need not apply) brides-to-be degrade themselves by climbing all over one another to grab whichever of these precious garments they wanted. What a way to pick out your garb for the most important set of pictures you'll ever take, huh?

But, anyhow, again, take a good look at that price tag. Every dress had the same one: $249. That's a bit lower than $5,000. But hey, it's a morning TV news show. Accuracy, schmaccuracy.

When Roker wasn't avoiding a predawn grilling by yours truly, he was yukking it up with his much-heavier Madame Tussaud's model, created before his stomach was stapled and enjoying his adoring crowd. Didn't much want to talk about that, either.

Meanwhile, Miles and his crew from KVBC were busy trying to get some reports off and had a lot of technical problems that vexed the entire enterprise. Nonetheless, he still looked terrific outside the Venetian as day broke, no?