Descent Into Las Vegas

Air Force One touched down in Las Vegas at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday as President Bush prepared to spend today at events here.

The group greeting him on the tarmac included Gov. Jim Gibbons and his wife, Dawn, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and state Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas. A limousine stood between the bottom of the airplane stairs and the media, and the president could not be seen or photographed with those greeting him.

Sources said the president was to spend Wednesday night at The Venetian.

Bush is scheduled to give a speech on national security to the Nevada Policy Research Institute this morning. The event, which is not open to the public, will be at the Emerald at Queensridge, on Rampart Boulevard near Alta Drive in Summerlin.

After the speech, Bush and his entourage will attend a private Republican Party fundraiser at a residence owned by Sands Corp. Chairman Sheldon Adelson in the Tournament Hills development, north of Summerlin Parkway, near Rampart.

A presidential visit usually means traffic delays, and drivers should expect no different this morning.

Officials gave no routes for the president's travels. But motorists could encounter traffic disruptions on Rampart at Alta; on Rampart and Hills Center Drive, north of the Summerlin Parkway; and on the Summerlin Parkway in that area.

After the fundraiser, Bush will return to McCarran International Airport, where he is scheduled to depart about 12:25 p.m. Motorists should expect delays on routes into the airport.