'Dropicana': Stretch of I-15 in Vegas closing for weekend
A key stretch of the main vehicle travel route between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City will be closed all weekend as part of a project to reshape a busy interchange serving the Las Vegas Strip. Nevada Department of Transportation officials say Interstate 15 will be shut down to let crews demolish a big overpass at Tropicana Avenue.
news.yahoo.comLawsuit: Vegas Strip resorts used vendor to fix hotel rates
A federal lawsuit in Nevada is seeking class-action damages for countless hotel patrons who booked rooms in Las Vegas since 2019, alleging that most hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip have used a third-party vendor to illegally fix prices. The complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas alleges that casino giants MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment, along with Treasure Island and Wynn Resorts, share information with a company that used pricing algorithms to “maximize market-wide prices.” It accuses the resorts and Rainmaker Group Unlimited, a revenue management company owned by Cendyn Group, of “algorithmic-driven price-fixing … at the expense of consumers and in violation of antitrust laws.”
news.yahoo.comMGM Resorts sells land that was site of Las Vegas massacre
MGM Resorts International has closed on the sale of land on the Las Vegas Strip that was the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, the company announced Friday. CEO and President Bill Hornbuckle disclosed the news to his staff in a letter Friday. The 15-acre Village property was purchased by the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation based in central North Dakota.
news.yahoo.comF1 in Vegas: Race will be most expensive on 2023 schedule
Formula One took its globe-hoping extravaganza to the Las Vegas Strip on Saturday for an official “launch party” on what it believes will be one of the biggest sporting events in the world. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told The Associated Press the Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the most expensive fan experience on next year's 24-race calendar, particularly from a VIP experience.
news.yahoo.comVegas showgirls describe shock of stabbings that left 2 dead
Victims of a quick series of stabbings on the Las Vegas Strip described the shock and horror of the unexpected attack on a group of showgirls and others outside a casino that left two people dead and six injured. Police arrested Yoni Barrios, 32, after a short chase blocks from where they say he attacked four showgirls and ended up stabbing eight people on Thursday. An arrest report released Friday said Barrios told police some of the victims had laughed at him and he “let the anger out.”
news.yahoo.comPolice arrest convicted Vegas bombmaker who escaped prison
Police have arrested a convicted bombmaker who escaped from a Nevada prison where he was serving a life sentence for a deadly 2007 explosion outside a Las Vegas Strip, authorities said. Las Vegas police said they received information Wednesday night that a person matching the description of Porfirio Duarte-Herrera was in the area. Officers took the man into custody, confirmed he was Duarte-Herrera and arrested him, the department said in a statement.
news.yahoo.comInmate serving life for fatal Vegas bombing escapes prison
A 42-year-old convicted bombmaker serving life in prison for a deadly 2007 explosion outside a Las Vegas Strip resort has escaped from a Nevada state prison, officials said Tuesday. Officials realized Porfirio Duarte-Herrera was missing during a morning head count at Southern Desert Correctional Center near Las Vegas, and a state Department of Corrections statement said search teams were looking for him. Records show his co-defendant, Omar Rueda-Denvers, remained in custody Tuesday.
news.yahoo.comIllegal Las Vegas brothel allegedly run by an Asian woman saw nearly 200 visitors in 2 weeks
Two individuals have been arrested for allegedly running an illegal brothel near the Las Vegas Strip. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police first received a tip about “possible illegal activities” at a house near Flamingo Road and Decatur Boulevard on June 30.
news.yahoo.comMan held in killing at Vegas Strip resort has prison history
A man arrested early Friday in the killing of one person and wounding of two others during a family argument in a Las Vegas Strip hotel room has a criminal history including felony convictions dating to 1987 and served several years in Nevada state prisons, records show. Billy Deray Hemsley, 54, was jailed on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in the 8:30 p.m. Thursday shooting that killed a man and left two women wounded at The Mirage resort, Las Vegas police said. A department statement said Hemsley was apprehended before dawn in a southeast Las Vegas neighborhood and he was booked into the Clark County Detention Center to await an initial court appearance scheduled for Saturday.
news.yahoo.comInjured Copperfield trick participant loses lawsuit appeal
The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld a jury’s findings that illusionist David Copperfield and the MGM Grand hotel-casino were not financially responsible for a British tourist’s injuries during a signature vanishing act at a Las Vegas Strip show in 2013. Gavin Cox and his wife, Minh-Hahn Cox, alleged that the multimillionaire magician, the hotel, two Copperfield business entities and a construction firm that was renovating the hotel caused permanent brain injuries for Cox when he fell while taking part in the trick as a randomly picked audience member. In a complex verdict reached in May 2018 after several weeks of testimony, the jury found Copperfield, the hotel and Copperfield’s company, Backstage Disappearing Inc., negligent but not civilly liable for Cox’s fall.
news.yahoo.comCourt date reset for 2 NFL players, 2 others in Vegas case
A judge in Las Vegas postponed until next month a hearing in an assault case involving two NFL players and two other men accused of severely beating a man at a Las Vegas Strip nightclub the weekend of the Pro Bowl. New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Chris Lammons and two other defendants — Darrin Young and Percy Harris — did not have to appear in court in person Tuesday while a prosecutor acknowledged that video evidence and witness statements are still being provided to their attorneys.
news.yahoo.comMan shoots and kills 5, himself in UK's first mass shooting in decade
A young man who killed five people, including his mother, and then took his own life in Britain’s first mass shooting in over a decade had complained online about difficulties meeting women and being “beaten down” by life.
news.yahoo.comCasino giant MGM Resorts selling land to New York-based firm
A New York-based real estate investment firm will emerge as the largest landholder on the Las Vegas Strip under a $17.2 billion property deal between landholding affiliates of casino giants Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International.
Las Vegas is bouncing back, but the virus is on the rise too
Fifteen months after the pandemic transformed Las Vegas from flamboyant spectacle to ghost town, Sin City is back. Tourists are streaming in again, gambling revenue has hit an all-time high, the Las Vegas Strip has its first new casino in a decade, and big concerts are starting at a gleaming new stadium. Vice President Kamala Harris was set to visit Saturday for what the White House is calling the “America’s Back Together” tour celebrating progress against the virus.
news.yahoo.comResorts World Las Vegas gets regulatory OK to open June 24
The Malaysia-based owner of one of the biggest casino projects ever on the Las Vegas Strip won regulatory approval Thursday to deal cards, roll dice and welcome gamblers when Resorts World Las Vegas opens on June 24. With praise for the $4.3 billion development and the boost it could provide in a pandemic-battered economy, the Nevada Gaming Commission granted licenses to Genting Group, based in Kuala Lumpur, and its publicly traded subsidiary, Genting Malaysia Berhad. “We look forward to seeing it open and running,” Commission Chairman John Moran Jr. said after the unanimous vote.
news.yahoo.comRestrictions easing in US and Europe amid disaster in India
Pandemic-weary travelers are returning to the skies and casinos in the United States and eating out again in Greece as the vaccine rollout is sending news cases and deaths tumbling in more affluent countries, contrasting with a worsening disaster in India.
With sale of the Venetian, Las Vegas Sands exits the Strip
FILE - This Aug. 2, 2005 file photo shows the Venetian Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Las Vegas Sands is selling the real estate and operations of its Venetian casino resort and Sands Expo and Convention Center to VICI Properties and Apollo Global Management in a deal worth $6.25 billion. Under Adelson, the company's focus turned to Asia years ago, where revenue eventually outpaced even the operations on the Las Vegas Strip. AdThe global pandemic broadsided Las Vegas, shuttering the Strip where Las Vegas Sands has been the biggest operator for years. The Venetian, located on the Las Vegas Strip, has three luxury hotel towers with gaming, entertainment, shopping and dining.
US unemployment claims fall to 779,000 but job cuts grind on
Nevada's troubled unemployment benefits program has been overhauled, and a "tsunami" of claims spurred by pandemic layoffs have largely been sorted. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)WASHINGTON – The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits declined to 779,000 last week, a still-historically high total that shows that a sizable number of people keep losing jobs to the viral pandemic. AdAll told, 17.8 million people were receiving unemployment benefits in the week that ended Jan. 16, the latest period for which data are available. One is Alfrieda Hylton, who has struggled for months to regain her unemployment aid, which ran out in September. Just 40 states were issuing checks under a separate jobless aid program for freelancers and the self-employed.
The Latest: Mexico ramps vaccination effort after new supply
California has lifted some stay-at-home orders in northern counties, while many orders remain in place where coronavirus cases are surging. The 270 million doses are being secured independent of the global COVAX facility aimed at distributing vaccines to lower-income countries. The state Health Department announced Wednesday that a man in his 60s who traveled to the UK in December has the variant. Spain has used just over half of the 1.1 million doses delivered to the country. Portugal has witnessed a record-breaking surge in coronavirus cases since it eased restrictions for the Christmas holiday.
Vegas execs sue online travel firms, allege unpaid hotel tax
FILE - In this April 28, 2020, file photo, the sun sets behind casinos and hotels along the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas. Two prominent Las Vegas communications executives are suing more than 20 online travel companies for back taxes they say should have been paid to Nevada based on hotel room rates. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)LAS VEGAS – Two prominent Las Vegas communications executives have sued more than 20 online travel companies for back taxes that they say should have been paid to Nevada based on hotel room rates. “There’s no way the online travel companies did this mistakenly,” Rogich said in a statement. Tax cases aimed at similar practices in other states involving online travel companies, or OTCs, have met with mixed success.
Nevada facing double-bind of rising cases, limping economy
People dressed as showgirls stand along the Las Vegas Strip, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, in Las Vegas. But Democrat Steve Sisolak has also encouraged out-of-state visitors, the lifeblood of Nevada's limping economy, to come to his state and spend money in Las Vegas. But Democrat Steve Sisolak has also encouraged out-of-state visitors, the lifeblood of Nevada's limping economy, to come to his state and spend money in Las Vegas. On Thursday, Nevada reported 2,416 new confirmed COVID-19 cases — a record of daily new cases for the state. Visitor numbers and room occupancy rates in Las Vegas in September were roughly half what they were the same month in 2019.
Court OK's $800M settlement for MGM Resorts, Vegas victims
FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2018, file photo, survivors return to the scene of a mass shooting on the first anniversary in Las Vegas. A judge in Nevada has approved a total of $800 million in payouts from casino company MGM Resorts International and its insurers to more than 4,400 relatives and victims of the Las Vegas Strip shooting that was the deadliest in recent U.S. history. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)LAS VEGAS – A court on Wednesday approved a settlement totaling $800 million from casino company MGM Resorts International and its insurers to more than 4,400 relatives and victims of the Las Vegas Strip shooting that was the deadliest in recent U.S. history. In various lawsuits, victims and families accused MGM Resorts of failing to protect people at the concert venue or stop the shooter from amassing an arsenal of weapons and ammunition over several days before he opened fire. Las Vegas police and the FBI determined the 64-year-old retired accountant and high-stakes poker player meticulously planned the attack and acted alone.
MGM Resorts adopts smoke-free policy for Vegas Strip casino
LAS VEGAS – One of the last Las Vegas Strip resorts to reopen after coronavirus closures will be the first to be smoke-free, MGM Resorts International announced Monday. Moving to smoke-free is hardly a gamble, Nikodemus said: “We believe there is a high level of pent-up demand to have a non-smoking casino, especially here in Las Vegas." Nikodemus noted that smoking areas will be provided outside Park MGM, and tobacco smoking is still allowed at nearby MGM Resorts properties including New York-New York and Aria. He also pointed to MGM Resorts properties in other states where smoking is prohibited, including MGM Springfield in Massachusetts and MGM National Harbor in Maryland. Caesars Entertainment Inc. has yet to open its Cromwell and Planet Hollywood properties on the Las Vegas Strip, and the nearby Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino remains closed.
58 crosses back on Las Vegas Strip on shooting anniversary
A gunman fired 1,057 rounds into a crowd of outdoor concertgoers on the Las Vegas Strip, killing 58 people. It became the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. An Illinois man drove across the country to deliver his 58 homemade crosses in honor of the victims. Two years later, Greg Zanis returned to the Las Vegas Strip, placing 58 crosses once again, CNN affiliate KSNV reported. Authorities said the Las Vegas gunman's likely use of bump stocks allowed him to rapidly spray the crowd with hundreds of bullets to devastating effect.
Iconic Sahara name returns to Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - A Las Vegas Strip hotel-casino made an announcement with a blast from the past as the SLS renamed itself Sahara Las Vegas. Celebrity guests walked the red carpet of the event to show their support to Las Vegas. In 2013, SBE announced that it was changing the name of the hotel-casino to SLS Las Vegas. In 2015, the Starwood Hotels & Resorts bought the Sahara and announced that one of the hotel's towers would be rebranded W Las Vegas. In 2015, the Starwood Hotels & Resorts bought the Sahara and announced that one of the hotel's towers would be rebranded W Las Vegas.