3 replies to this topic

[Rogerdodger]

It's funny that I find the increased gang activity in Vegas distasteful, especially strange since this past July I stayed in the Flamingo, originally built by the most notorious gangster "Bugsy" Siegel.
I always felt very "safe and secure" in Vegas, especially in the casinos which have more security than Fort Knox.

We were there for the last Grateful Dead concert which was 1995, I believe.
The crowd on the strip was a bit trashier than usual but the only violence I saw was a drunk looking for a night's sleep in jail after threatening suicide with a 2x4! LOL!
We were there when TuPac was gunned down 1996 after the Tyson fight.
I thought it was an isolated act of violence which could happen anywhere.
A few years ago, A woman from Hawii was shot and killed as she played a slot machine at Harrah's.
We have stayed at Harrah's many times since the employees there are the best.
It was a fluke deal where a guy waving a gun at security just happened to shoot her in the back.
That could happen anywhere

Then early last year I saw the video of a gang of kids downtown beat a security guard after stealing his radio.
I thought, "Well, that could happen anywhere."
A few weeks later I saw the video of a guy getting killed by a gang member in a smaller casion North of the strip. That can happen anywhere.

Last year, I thought it strange that the LVPD had their riot bus parked in the McDonalds parking lot near Slots-O-Fun right on the strip. I had never seen a riot bus before, anywhere.
But when I took my grandkids next door into Circus-Circus I saw the type of people in that place and understood the need for a riot bus nearby.

Then last night in Vegas was the NBA All-Star game:

Violence marred post-NBA All-Star Game partying as shootings left three people in critical condition and stamped an ugly footnote on what should have been a time of celebration. Police arrested 362 people during theAll-Star Game weekend as scattered fights broke out along the main casino strip early Monday even though police had braced themselves for the post-celebratory mayhem.

Police also had extra officers to control rowdy crowds at the airport where thousands of weary NBA fans missed their flights Monday.
Montoya said four people were shot in two separate shootings and a manhunt was on for one of the gunmen who shot three people outside the Minxx nightclub.
Another man was shot in the hip at 4 a.m. in the front entrance of the luxury MGM Grand Hotel and Casino early Monday. It was followed by a brawl less than half an hour later in a club at the Wynn hotel.

I don't believe "the mob" would have put up with this kind of stuff and would have "taken care" of the problem.
But I don't think the new crew can or will deal with it.

Additionally, the "Manhattanization" of Vegas is running into trouble.
Nearly 100,000 condo units were in the pipeline to be built but many have been cancelled and money is being returned to the buyers.
Now only 19% of that number will be completed in the next 4 years.
That can happen anywhere.

On my next vacation, I guess I could go...anywhere.
And get shot.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 20 February 2007 - 12:51 AM.

[Russ]

When have we seen people behave like this before?:

http://www.financial.../2006/1016.html

[xe2dy]

When have we seen people behave like this before?:

http://www.financial.../2006/1016.html

http://www.alternet.org/story/47998/

[Rogerdodger]

Mayhem Main Event at NBA All-Star Weekend
'Police Were Simply Overwhelmed' in Sin City
By JASON WHITLOCK AOL
LAS VEGAS -- NBA All-Star Weekend in Vegas was an unmitigated failure.
Word of all the criminal activity that transpired during All-Star Weekend has been slowly leaking out on Las Vegas radio shows and TV newscasts and on Internet blogs the past 24 hours.

"It was filled with an element of violence," Teresa Frey, general manager for Coco's restaurant, told klastv.com. "They don't want to pay their bills. They don't want to respect us or each other."
Things got so bad that she closed the 24-hour restaurant from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.
"I have been spit on. I have had food thrown at me," she said. "I have lost two servers out of fear. I have locked my door out of the fear of violence."

All weekend, people, especially cab drivers, gossiped about brawls and shootings. You didn't know what to believe because the local newspaper was filled with stories about what a raging success All-Star Weekend was. The city is desperately trying to attract an NBA franchise, and, I guess, there was no reason to let a few bloody bodies get in the way of a cozy relationship with Stern.
There were so many fights and so many gangbangers and one parking-lot shootout at the MGM Grand that people literally fled the hotel in fear for their safety. I talked with a woman who moved from the MGM to the Luxor because "I couldn't take it. I'll never come back to another All-Star Game."

There are reports of a brawl between rappers and police at the Wynn Hotel.
Vegas police were simply overwhelmed along The Strip. They were there solely for decoration and to discourage major crimes. Beyond that, they minded their own business.
I was there. Walking The Strip this weekend must be what it feels like to walk the yard at a maximum security prison. You couldn't relax. You avoided eye contact. The heavy police presence only reminded you of the danger.

Edited by Rogerdodger, 21 February 2007 - 11:16 PM.