I see that Encore Games publishes a jewel-case version of "Rainbow Six Vegas". Amazon and Newegg carry it. But I noticed a post on Amazon.com that said it didn't include a CD Key, so it couldn't be played online using UbiSoft's servers. Anybody else know if this is true? Thanks!

Even if it has the CD key you won't be able to play online a lot of the time

IF it doesn't contain the key, you won't be able to play online!
I can't imagine Encore could sell a game without the key!

Try this if you must have the game:
Vegas 2 $19.90

But be forwarned that there are problems with the Vegas series!!

or you could download it off steam. i just got it over the holidays and it was on sale for 14.99 Canadian.

I went ahead and purchased a low-cost jewel-case version of "Rainbow Six Vegas", published by Encore. It DOES have a CD Key (RS5-xxx) and, after patching, allowed me to register the Key online and to use the Ubisoft Online servers.

Thanks all for your responses. We've been playing R.S. Vegas 2 (PC version) for a few days now and the online and LAN multi-player have been working pretty well. A friend likes the original Rainbow Six Vegas program and wanted to try that in multi-player mode, too.

Hay, i have the same problem to!
What patch did you use?