Las Vegas vows to shun 'exploiters of Prince Harry'

What happens in Vegas famously should stay in Vegas -- and Sin City lashed out Friday at those who it says betrayed both Prince Harry and this law of omerta by leaking pictures of him partying nude.

The Nevada gambling city ran a full-page ad in the USA Today newspaper with the headline "For Shame!" aimed at whoever took pictures of the fun-loving British royal in a Las Vegas hotel suite last week.

"TO THOSE WHO TRADED IN THEIR PLEDGE TO THEIR LAS VEGAS BRETHREN, WE DEPLORE YOU," it said. "We are calling on you, the defenders of what happens in Vegas staying in its rightful place -- in Vegas.

"We are asking for a shun on these exploiters of Prince Harry. We shall boycott partying of any kind with them. No bottle service. No bikini clad girls," the city warned.

"No Bucatini from Batali," it added, referring to celebrity chef Mario Batali and one of his signature dishes.

"In other words, we will not play with them anymore," added the ad by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which underlined the importance of the "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas" code and asked: "Who's with us?"

The grainy pictures of Harry, the third in line to the British throne, first emerged on celebrity news website TMZ, but were then published around the world -- although not initially by British media.

Rupert Murdoch's tabloid The Sun broke ranks with its counterparts Friday, publishing the pictures and saying it was "ludicrous" that British newspapers were not allowed to print photos already been seen by hundreds of millions.

Harry, 27, can be seen in one of the pictures cupping his genitals while standing in front of what appears to be a naked woman. In the other he is bear-hugging a woman from behind.

The pictures were taken after Harry, who already knew Vegas after he spent three nights partying ther last November in a break from a military training assignment in Arizona, had initiated a game of strip pool in his suite.

Cathy Tull, the Vegas visitor authority's senior vice president of marketing, said: "Las Vegas is a place to celebrate adult freedom, freedom that even celebrities and royals can enjoy.

"For everyone's sake, it's important that 'What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.' However, in moments of enthusiasm, actually keeping memories in Las Vegas takes commitment.

She said the newspaper ad "was a cheeky reminder to all our visitors that it's important to 'know the code', and most importantly, 'protect the code'."

Photo of Prince Harry with his clothes on extracted by Eduardo Mendes (Photo: Billpolo) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons