In case you were wondering, here's why Rod Stewart threw a hissy fit Friday night during his set at Borgata:

According to a very plugged-in operative, after Rod finished "Maggie May," he asked the mostly standing audience to settle back in their seats so he could bring things down a notch or two. In response, an apparently inebriated guy in the audience responded by yelling, "Boooooooring!" At which point Rod the Mod decided he'd call it a night.

Afterward, he was heard to complain that such behavior can be expected from a "comped" audience. In fairness to the star of the show, our source tells us that Stewart was all smiles during his Saturday night encore, when the (mostly paying) audience apparently showed him the respect he felt was due him.

By the way, Borgata/Water Club may be the most deluxe lodging AyCee has to offer, but it obviously didn't impress Stewart: After the truncated Friday show, he was whisked to a waiting jet which took him New York City, where he laid his feather-cut head that night.

CONGRATS: To everyone involved in Monday night's "Taste of the Quarter" charity bash at Tropicana. A reported 600 people paid $25 each to sample munchies from such Quarter outlets as The Palm, Carmine's Cuba Libre and The Tinderbox (where  I had a blast pouring wine samples for the revelers).

The proceeds are earmarked for theSouthern New Jersey/Shore chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.