Wow. That Scott Gragson and Tim Morse are certainly some very smart, savvy businessmen.

That’s what we say nowadays when private enterprise takes advantage of hapless government to secure huge favors for themselves on the backs of taxpayers. It’s a phrase coined by leaders like Mayor Oscar Goodman and Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury for everybody’s favorite juice player, golf course developer Bill Walters.

He’s smart.

He’s savvy.

And his savvy smarts have enabled him to get literally millions worth of favors from the cities of Las Vegas and Henderson, not to mention Clark County, over the years.

But land-trader Gragson and appraiser Morse are no slouches, either. According to an audit scheduled to be discussed today at the Clark County Commission meeting, Gragson managed to snag 7.5 acres (valued at $654,489) for free in one of many land trades he did with McCarran International Airport. Whoops!

He’s sure smart, that Gragson. Not as smart as Walters, of course: The county is demanding Gragson repay taxpayers for the land by the end of the year, but so far, Smart Scott has stayed silent. Walters has never been asked to give back anything.

And Morse? He appraised 95 percent of the properties Gragson traded with the airport, and he apparently forgot to mention that he had an interest in one of them, and was business partners with a guy who stood to benefit from another one. Sometimes, that spells “motive to deflate prices so I and my business partners can get a better deal.”

But damn, isn’t he savvy? We haven’t seen savvy like that since developer Don Davidson allegedly bribed former Commission Erin Kenny to put a CVS Pharmacy next to homes at Buffalo Drive and Desert Inn Road! If he hadn’t gotten caught, that would have been the height of smart. And savvy.

And how about the deal that gave rise to this whole thing in the first place? Gragson agreed to buy some land for a couple million that had a deed restriction, limiting its use to a cemetery. But when Gragson signed the deed — presto! — the restriction was gone, and he flipped it for a handsome $5 million profit.

Now that’s smart and savvy. Not even Walters has been able to make his deed restriction disappear. Yet.

How does the county explain getting played like Elton John’s red piano? Aviation Director Randall Walker said in the Review-Journal that he agreed with the findings of the audit, that the employee who reviewed the appraisals has been subject to “personnel actions” and that the supervisor is no longer with the county. And that’s that.

Way to go down with the ship, captain, sir. That excuse — in a real organization — would hold for about as long as it took for the laughter to subside.

Walker is in charge of the airport, and thus responsible for everything that happens under his command. And that goes for the screwups of underlings, too. He can’t take credit for the good work his employees do while distancing himself from the bad. A proper response should read like this:

“It’s clear that a lack of oversight of land trades here at the airport has allowed private individuals to take advantage of taxpayers to the tune of millions of dollars. I take full and complete responsibility for this, as I was ultimately in charge of the airport when it happened. We have taken steps to ensure this never happens again and we will diligently pursue all legal options to recover as much taxpayer money as we possibly can. If, at the end of that process, the county commission believes it necessary, I will tender my resignation. Thank you and good night.”

Your chances of hearing that? About the same as savvy businessman Gragson getting suckered in a land trade with the county.