Obama Arrives in Vegas for Start of World Series of Poker

They won't be able to Twitter at the poker tables but those players participating in the 2009 World Series of Poker, which gets underway this week, can still Twitter from Vegas...that is, if they can get there.

President Barack Obama decided to pay a visit to Vegas the same day most of the pros were arriving in.

As a result, flight delays were pretty extensive and we know this by reviewing the Twitters of a few players stuck on airplanes.

Tiffany Michelle:  "It's not everyday you get 2 watch Air Force One & Mr. President land at the Vegas airport. Guess it makes my delayed flight 2 LA suck less."

Maria Ho: "President Obama just landed in Air Force One at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas delaying our flight for an hour!

The fact that President Obama would even step foot in Vegas - especially with the WSOP about to kick off - makes for an intriguing tale.  He has come under fire by local politicians and even the city's colorful mayor, Oscar Goodman, for blasting companies who sent their employees on casino junkets.

"You can't get corporate jets, you can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer's dime," Obama said earlier this year following news that Wells Fargo had planned a lavish casino junket with taxpayer money.

Goodman and others have demanded an apology from the President.

"That's outrageous, and he owes us an apology," he said. "He owes us a retraction," Goodman said.

The state's Governor, Jim Gibbons, refuses to meet with President Obama.  He, too, is demanding an apology for the Vegas remarks.

"While I appreciate the offer (to meet with the President), I am not interested in a handshake and a hello from President Obama," Gibbons said in a statement. "I am interested in an apology and plan to undo the damage the president did."

So far, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reports, more than 400 conventions and meetings scheduled to take place in Las Vegas have been cancelled, costing the local economy over $100 million.

Obama is in Las Vegas to attend a fundraiser for Nevada Senator Harry Reid.