PGA Las Vegas tournament in danger of flopping

This week's event could be the last one in the Nevada desert.
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- The Las Vegas Invitational has had its share of memorable moments.
Tiger Woods won his first professional title here in 1996. The inaugural event in 1983 marked the tour's first million-dollar purse. Chip Beck shot a 59 at Sunrise Country Club in 1991.
Memories might have to serve when the event winds up Sunday.
In the city where money flows freely, the marathon tournament -- 90 holes, five days -- is in danger of going belly up.
"It's a crap shoot," tournament chairman Gary Frey said Wednesday of the possibility this might be the tournament's last year.
The tournament lost its title sponsor when Invensys, an England-based conglomerate of companies, pulled out when its contract ended last year. The Las Vegas Founders, the nonprofit organization that runs the event, hasn't been able to find a replacement.
No replacement
Frey said the organization negotiated with two companies earlier this year, but failed to reach an agreement.
"We were in the process of dotting the I's, crossing the T's and designing logos," Frey said.
Frey said the tournament has been hurt by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the United States' invasion of Iraq and the North Korean nuclear weapons crisis.
"Our tournament was the second tournament after 9-11 and their [Invensys'] stock, like many other companies, plummeted after that," Frey said. "They had a major reorganization and went on cost-cutting ventures. One of the first things they did was get rid of sports underwriting promotions."
Where the Las Vegas tournament falls in the tour's calendar doesn't help either.
It's too cold in February, too hot in the summer and by this time of the year, golf is a tough sell, with or without Tiger Woods in the field.
Woods won his fifth tournament of the year last week by beating the best players in the world in the American Express Championship in Woodstock, Ga., but the galleries were sparse.
"For a big event, it's probably the smallest crowd I've ever seen," U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk said. "There's so much going on right now, the baseball playoffs, NFL football, college football."