The lawyer representing Navy SEAL Nicholas Bickle addressed a Las Vegas jury today and accused federal agents of pursuing a criminal case against the war hero to generate publicity. Attorneys spent five hours presenting their closing arguments today, and jurors will begin deliberating Thursday.
A 20-year-old Bullhead City, Ariz., mother pleaded guilty today to second-degree murder in the death of her infant son. Staci Barbosa faces a 13-to-20-year prison term when sentenced in January for the June 2010 death of 5-week-old Matthew Vandergriff.
Opponents of the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s proposed pipeline have invoked California’s Owens Valley as a cautionary tale. Now, the water authority is drawing a link between the two projects. During a hearing in Carson City this week, the authority presented testimony from an ecologist who just wrapped up 10 years of work in Owens Valley for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Nevada Republicans on Wednesday evening set Jan. 14 for GOP presidential caucuses here, ensuring Nevada will hold the first 2012 vote in the West after the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary and before the Jan. 21 South Carolina primary.
Congressional pressure on China over its monetary policy could provoke a trade war that would hurt Nevada and its growing ties to the Far East, Sen. Dean Heller said Wednesday. Heller’s position contrasts with those of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., his opponent in the 2012 Senate election who is raising it as a campaign issue.
Owners of the bankrupt Hooters Hotel will have a chance to find a financial savior. A bankruptcy court judge Wednesday approved hiring Innovation Capital LLC to find investors willing to put tens of millions of dollars into the off-Strip property. The judge turned aside a legal maneuver by the largest creditor in the case that would have cleared the path to take over the hotel.
Firefighters evacuated four floors of the Rio about 3:30 p.m. today after a mattress caught fire on the hotel’s 38th floor.
The Nevada Supreme Court ordered Secretary of State Ross Miller and Republican and Democratic party lawyers to prepare legal briefs on whether justices should redistrict congressional and legislative districts. Justices noted it is the “mandatory duty” for the Legislature to draw new district boundaries and that some states’ courts have ordered legislatures into special sessions.
Las Vegas residents will enjoy new streetlights, improved sidewalks and a better-equipped Fire Department under a bond measure approved Wednesday by the City Council. The council unanimously approved a request to issue bonds to raise as much as $36.5 million for projects in the city.
The gunman who killed four people and then himself at a Carson City IHOP restaurant on Sept. 6 used a Chinese-made version of an AK-47 assault rifle altered into an illegal automatic weapon, Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said. Eduardo Sencion 32, of Carson City, fired 60 rounds inside and outside of the restaurant. Three of those people killed were Nevada National Guard members.
Patti Hart, chief executive officer of slot machine giant International Game Technology, had to endure a couple of body blows from fellow panelists Wednesday during a Global Gaming Expo roundtable discussion by female executives. The casino execs expressed reluctance to replace older slot machines with some of the newer games displayed in the G2E’s trade show.
Apple says the company’s co-founder Steve Jobs has died. He was 56. In a brief statement the company said Jobs died Wednesday. He had been battling pancreatic cancer.
While casinos evolve their marketing programs to include social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, technology and gaming companies have recognized the value of those networks for game distribution.
South Point casino launched a free play Internet poker website Wednesday, but owner Michael Gaughan hopes it’s just a beginning. The website will offer cash and noncash prizes to poker players, including trips to the 2,200-room hotel-casino on the south end of Las Vegas Boulevard to compete in live poker events.
The growth of gambling over the last 20 years has been remarkable, as the industry has transformed itself from a business of sin into a mainstream industry thanks largely to the growth of tribal casinos and state lotteries, panel participants at this week’s Global Gaming Expo said.
