By Jon Ralston

Sun, Nov 16, 2008 (2:01 a.m.)

“The winning streak is coming to an end after three decades.” That was the headline in The Times of London, and it was a reference not to MGM Mirage Chairman Terry Lanni’s resignation or Gondolier Numero Uno Sheldon Adelson’s financial implosion or even Harrah’s Entertainment’s massive losses. The headline referred to all of those and more, “the malaise afflicting what for three decades was America’s boomtown,” as the paper put it. And this: “But given the unremitting flow of bad news from the gambling capital of the world in recent months, this week’s announcement (by Lanni) is little more than the latest reverse in a rather nasty losing streak.” A nasty losing streak for the folks who usually profit from them.