Suspended Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones paid $20,000 to a Las Vegas casino yesterday to settle a criminal bad check case.

"We filed a criminal complaint. Within 24 hours, Mr. Jones found a way to make restitution," said Clark County District Attorney David Roger. "Case closed."

Jones paid $20,000 to cover three casino markers he received Sept. 3 at Caesars Palace, said Bernie Zadrowski, chief of the district attorney's bad check unit. Jones also paid $1,675 in fees and penalties.

In Nevada, unpaid casino markers, or loans to gamblers, are treated as bad checks and are turned over to the district attorney for prosecution.

Zadrowski said another $3,000 penalty cited in court documents filed yesterday would have been added if a felony theft warrant had been issued. No such warrant was issued.

"It's unfortunate that a non-story became public," Jones' lawyer, Manny Arora, said after the money was paid.

Arora acknowledged Jones owed the debt to Caesars Palace, but said he had been quietly trying to arrange payment.

He accused Roger of filing the criminal complaint against Jones after a similar case involving retired NBA star Charles Barkley won widespread notoriety earlier in the week. Roger denied Arora's claim.

"In Mr. Jones' case, we were working with him since February to obtain restitution," Roger said. "We determined he was not acting in good faith, and we filed a criminal complaint."

Gary Thompson, a spokesman for Caesars Palace owner Harrah's Entertainment Inc., declined comment on Jones' case, which was first reported Friday by the Las Vegas Sun.

Jones' Labor Day 2007 visit to Caesars came while he was facing felony coercion charges for his role in a strip club triple shooting that left a man paralyzed in Las Vegas in February 2007.

Jones pleaded no contest Dec. 6 to conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct in a deal that reduced two felony charges of coercion stemming from the strip club shooting. The coercion charges each carried a possible sentence of one to six years in prison.

In return, Jones agreed to tell police what he knew about the gunman. Jones never acknowledged any role in the shooting.

The alleged gunman, Arvin Kenti Edwards, was arrested in April after Jones picked him from a police lineup, and remains jailed in Seattle pending an extradition hearing.

The NFL has no policy against players gambling in casinos, as long as they do not wager on NFL games. However, the league is closely watching Jones, who was indefinitely suspended last season by commissioner Roger Goodell and recently was traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Dallas Cowboys.

"We're aware of it and we are looking into it," league spokesman Greg Aiello said yesterday.

Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple said the club had no comment.

VIKINGS

VIKINGS CUT TIES WITH FORMER FIRST-ROUND PICK

The Vikings yesterday waived Erasmus James, the former first-round draft pick who had a series of knee injuries during his time with Minnesota.

The defensive end was one of the top-rated pass rushers in 2005 when Minnesota chose him out of Wisconsin with the 18th overall pick. But after notching four sacks in 15 games during his rookie season, James tore the ACL in his left knee in Week 2 of the 2006 season.

James returned last season and played sparingly in six games. He suffered a similar injury to the same knee in Week 13 against Detroit and again landed on injured reserve.

The Vikings waived him after he failed a physical.

After his second injury, coach Brad Childress said he expected James to make a full recovery. The 25-year-old James attended the four days of "organized team activities" this week and participated on a limited basis.