PITTSBURGH Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger sure knows how to live it up. Spies at the Playboy Club in the Palms Casino in Las Vegas spotted the player last week “burning the midnight oil at a blackjack table.” Flanked by friends and bodyguards – not to mention a bevy of ladies – the gridiron hero “dropped $25,000 at the tables” last Sunday, and hit the tables again Wednesday night. “He was flirting with the Bunnies, smoking cigars and drinking vodka Red Bulls” before heading down to N9NE Steakhouse for dinner.

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I guess Michael Irvin’s sweet sideline kisses last week didn’t do the trick.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not start the season opener against Miami on Thursday night after having an emergency appendectomy on Sunday afternoon.

Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett confirmed the surgery and said that Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher has already announced that backup Charlie Batch will start. Roethlisberger, who could be discharged as early as today, is considered week-to-week.

Roethlisberger told the Steelers medical staff that he has been up all night vomiting and had stomach pain when he came to the training facility Sunday morning. The staff put him through a short examination and quickly sent him to the hospital.

A doctor who did not wish to be identified because he is unfamiliar with Roethlisberger’s condition said it generally takes two or three days before an average person is released from the hospital after an appendectomy.

The surgery rarely has any long-term side effects, meaning that Roethlisberger should be able to play relatively soon.

One concern is a patient losing weight and strength in the short-term. Roethlisberger had already lost approximately 20 pounds after a motorcycle accident he suffered June 12.

Roethlisberger was told he nearly died in the crash, but made a quick recovery despite several head injuries because he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

Roethlisberger recovered quickly enough after the accident that he was able to play in the exhibition opener for the Steelers.