A tourism nightmare for Vegas

This is the story of the day. A shoot-'em-up chase on the early morning hours on the Las Vegas Strip, ending with a crash into a taxi. The taxi explodes (propane?)  and two people in the taxi were killed. The driver in one of the cars involved was also killed — by gunshot.

I don't want to get ahead of this developing story. You can find periodic updates from the Las Vegas Review-Journal's stellar crime reporting staff here.

But based on what we know now — a shootout on the Strip, a crash into a taxi with two in the taxi dead — is nothing short of a community and a tourism nightmare for Las Vegas.

This story is going to be far more than a crime story. Trust me.

Mayhem like this, which anecdotally seems on the rise, threatens to diminish Las Vegas' mojo. To the extent that these episodes start, or evolve, inside licensed casinos, the Gaming Control Board is going to have to bring greater pressure to bear.