Vegas eyes Hatton windfall James Robson 30/ 4/2008 LAS Vegas is ready to make a mega-money offer to tempt Ricky Hatton away from Madison Square Garden when he returns to the States later this year. The Hitman has admitted that it is his dream to headline at New York's iconic stadium before he retires. And with his next opponent expected to be New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi, the Garden appeared to be leading the race to stage his first fight Stateside since losing to Floyd Mayweather last year. But Vegas is hoping to hijack the bout after seeing Hatton's remarkable pulling power for his three previous fights in the gambling hotbed. Fights against Juan Urango and Jose Luis Castillo have prompted masses of Brits to descend on Vegas, with as many as 50,000 believed to have travelled for the Mayweather clash in December. Not only was the MGM Grand a sell out for the fight but closed circuit screens were also sold out throughout the strip. As well as the massive revenue brought in by the tourism trade, among the more peculiar statistics is the claim that the call-girl trade has never been so high as for the weekend of the Mayweather bout. But it is likely to need a massive incentive to convince Hatton to walk away from a dream date in New York, with the Hyde-based IBO light-welterweight champion admitting he is looking to tick off his remaining ambitions before hanging up his gloves. Still, Vegas is ready to test his resolve with Hatton's father and manager Ray revealing that the head might have to rule the heart. "Vegas consider him one of the top six most exciting fighters in the world," said Ray. "They are putting massive numbers together to try to get him back there. "They wanted his fight with Juan Lazcano to be there but Ricky wanted to fight in Manchester." Wembley still wants Hatton, but after signing a three-fight deal with HBO, the 29-year-old will almost certainly have go back to the States following his match with Lazcano at the City of Manchester Stadium. Ray added: "There comes a point where you can't keep going with the heart. Ricky asked for this one to be in Manchester and we went with it. "This one was never about the money but you can't keep doing that."
