WEEK IN REVIEW: Top news
October 28, 2012 - 1:00 am
In a sweep that rocked the sports betting world, Cantor Gaming sports book director Mike Colbert and seven others were arrested Wednesday in Las Vegas by state gaming agents.
Colbert, 32, was booked into the Clark County jail and released on bail. He faces eight counts of conspiracy, money laundering and enterprise corruption in New York.
Jerry Markling, chief of enforcement for the Gaming Control Board, said Thursday that the state's probe into illegal bookmaking and money laundering includes Cantor itself, focusing on possible regulatory violations.
Markling said investigators in Nevada have been working with the New York City Police Department's Organized Crime Investigation Division for the past 15 months to unravel what he called a "large-scale bookmaking operation."
Monday
Balloting begins
Early voting got off to a record start, with Democrats outpacing Republicans to give President Barack Obama an edge over Mitt Romney heading to Election Day.
Statewide, about 81,130 people voted early, and more than 24,640 absentee ballots were counted, for a total first-weekend turnout of nearly 106,000, or 8 percent of the electorate.
Democrats racked up about 51,120 voters statewide compared with about 37,800 for Republicans. Almost 17,000 third-party or nonpartisan voters also cast ballots.
Tuesday
UMC mystery deepens
In the 12 hours after a car crash in the south valley, Jason King Forrester was twice treated and released from University Medical Center before he died just outside a hospital employee entrance.
While Las Vegas police have said there were no signs of a crime, Forrester left behind a mystery that local authorities are working to unravel.
UMC spokeswoman Danita Cohen said an internal investigation was ongoing to ensure that hospital employees did everything "appropriately" while the 43-year-old man from Irvine, Calif., was in their care.
Wednesday
Battleground Nevada
In a late-night rally in Las Vegas, President Barack Obama urged about 13,000 supporters to vote early as he and his GOP challenger, Mitt Romney, competed for votes at dueling campaign stops in Nevada and across the nation.
Romney was in Reno earlier in the day and in Henderson on Tuesday.
Obama's 20-minute appearance at Doolittle Park included an unusual opening act: pop star Katy Perry, who performed in a skin-tight dress made to look like a ballot marked for Obama and running mate Joe Biden.
Thursday
Inquests struck down
The Nevada Supreme Court ruling to strike down the revised coroner's inquest was cheered as a victory by both proponents and opponents of the fact-finding process.
The state high court said the county ordinance was unconstitutional because of a legal technicality. However, it affirmed that the inquest did not violate the due process rights of law enforcement officers.
County officials indicated that with minor changes to the ordinance, the inquest process can resume.
Friday
Reid in car wreck
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was treated and released from University Medical Center after a traffic accident.
The Nevada Highway Patrol said his caravan was involved in a multicar accident about 1:10 p.m. on northbound Interstate 15 at Sahara Avenue. Four of the cars involved were with Reid's caravan.
Reid, 72, was wearing his seatbelt but sustained rib and hip contusions. Some of his staff and security detail also had minor injuries.
NUMBERS
33,182
The number of people who cast their ballots in Clark County on Oct. 20, the first day of early voting. That broke the record of 25,105 voters set in 2008.
6-foot-4
The height of Herman, a steer that lives in front of Jim Marsh's hotel-casino in Amargosa Valley. Marsh thinks Herman might be the tallest steer alive.
$1.6 million
Amount in chips stolen from The Venetian on Oct. 10. Last week, police identified Akingide Cole, 31, of Palmdale, Calif., as the suspect in the heist.
$10 million
How much Venetian owner Sheldon Adelson and his wife donated earlier this month to pro-Mitt Romney "super PAC" Restore Our Future, according to finance reports.
QUOTES
"If you're not going to sleep, you might as well be in Vegas."
Barack Obama, at a late-night rally in Las Vegas Wednesday during a cross-country campaign blitz that took him from coast to coast.
"You hate to see a pet steer end up on your dinner table."
Jim Marsh, explaining why he paid $600 to keep a steer named Herman from winding up on the barbecue. Herman now lives in front of Marsh's Longstreet Inn and Casino in Amargosa Valley, where he weighs in at almost 3,000 pounds.
"Somebody suggested we do a weigh-in with the bulls, and since Las Vegas is the fight capital of the world, it made sense."
Jim Haworth, chairman and CEO of the Professional Bull Riders association, talking about the bull "weigh-in" held downtown last week in advance of the world Finals at the Thomas & Mack.
MULTIMEDIA
lvrj.com/multimedia
SLIDE SHOW: First lady Michelle Obama visits Las Vegas
SLIDE SHOW: Round 2 of the PBR World Finals at the Thomas & Mack Center
VIDEO and SLIDE SHOW: President Barack Obama rallies in Las Vegas
SLIDE SHOW: Neon Museum opening
VIDEO and slideshow: GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan speak in Henderson
VIDEO: What's hot this weekend
SLIDE SHOW: Nevada PEP Run, Walk, Roll Against Bullying