The 2008 NBA All-Star game is scheduled to be in New Orleans. After what happened in Las Vegas last weekend they may want to bring in the National Guard to prepare.
These tidibits were taken from Bill Simmons and Jason Whitlock columns:
Remember those parties in college when a drunk guy inadvertently kicked over the host's bong and spilled bong water onto the rug, only he never cleaned up the resulting mess, so the skunky water festered while the host of the party was passed out? And then, the following morning, the host awakened to a room that smelled like a cross between a stale bong and the seventh circle of hell?
That's what downtown Las Vegas smelled like on Sunday night. After four nights of what will eventually be remembered as the Hip-Hop Woodstock....The stifling gridlock made it impossible to hit multiple events in one night unless you could afford a limo or helicopter (or were robbing someone who could afford a limo or helicopter). So many gangbangers and troublemakers flooded the Strip that late-night gamblers willingly chose 75-minute cab lines over a 15-minute walk to their next casino. So many wild stories floated around about shootings, robberies and everything else that we never knew what to believe; still, every tale seemed reasonable because there were no cops to be seen. On Saturday night, one of my friends even joked that the city might have to declare martial law, only none of us laughed because we didn't realize he was joking.
The NBA All-Star weekend wrapped up with a lot of excitement and a lot of arrests. Metro police spent the past year preparing for the weekend and the crowds. Nearly all of the police force was on duty.
Between 12 p.m. Thursday and early Monday morning, 362 people were booked into the Clark County Detention Center. That number doesn't include 400 or so routine arrests police make in a 48-hour period.
The arrests ranged from offenses like criminal-trespassing and battery to burglary and disorderly conduct.
More than 140 people were also arrested on fugitive warrants in the days leading up to All-Star weekend. Some of those arrests came from a number of fights and shootings. Some of those arrests were made Monday morning in post-All-Star game partying.
The weekend violence started off with a bang, literally. Late Friday night, a woman decided to fire a gun in the air several times on the Strip near the Bellagio, which set the stage for a weekend of weapons and a barrage of bullets.
On Saturday night, shots rang out on a crowded Las Vegas Strip, near the old Stardust. A man was shot several times in the stomach. Seven suspects were arrested. Then on Sunday night, after the game ended and the partying began, the crowds got out of control.
James Avery, a guest at the MGM Grand said, "It was real rough. The traffic, traffic jam, police everywhere."
The MGM Grand parking garage became a crime scene around 4 a.m. Monday. A man was shot in the hip. He will be okay, but the gunman got away. The night of violence didn't stop there.
Things really got out of hand at the Minxx gentlemen's club Monday morning. Carl Kountze, who works near club, said, "No one knew what was going on. Just everybody was running for their lives basically."
One dancer called it pure pandemonium. "It was awful. I walked out and saw blood everywhere," said Estrella, a Minxx dancer.
"A famous rapper, Nelly, came in. He spent so much money that people and customers were just going crazy," said Estrella, an eyewitness.
Eyewitnesses said chaos erupted when thousands of dollars were thrown on stage, which sent crowds scrambling for the money. Before the mayhem was all over, three people were shot outside.
A fight inside the Tryst nightclub at the Wynn resort on the Strip was carried outside, creating commotion, police stated.
No one threw any punches at the NBA All-Star game, but off the court and outside the arena, there was plenty of foul play.
In summary, Metro says two men were shot at the Minxx strip club -- both club employees -- and they are in critical condition. A woman patron was grazed by a bullet received non-life threatening injuries. No one has been arrested.
In the shooting at the MGM Grand, the victim did not want to press charges so police at this point aren't looking for that shooter.
Metro says officers were already on duty at the Wynn and MGM Grand when those incidents occurred Monday morning, which helped police get everything under control quickly.
"It was filled with an element of violence," Teresa Frey, general manager for Coco's restaurant, told klastv.com. "They don't want to pay their bills. They don't want to respect us or each other."
Things got so bad that she closed the 24-hour restaurant from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.
"I have been spit on. I have had food thrown at me," she said. "I have lost two servers out of fear. I have locked my door out of the fear of violence."
And the police might want to talk to NFL player Pacman Jones about a nasty shooting spree at a Vegas strip club. Jones and the rapper Nelly were allegedly at Minxx Gentlemen's Club Monday morning shortly before (or during) the shooting.
Two victims, male employees of the club, were listed in critical condition at the hospital; a third, a female patron, sustained non-life threatening injuries after being grazed by a bullet.
There were so many fights and so many gangbangers and one parking-lot shootout at the MGM Grand that people literally fled the hotel in fear for their safety. I talked with a woman who moved from the MGM to the Luxor because "I couldn't take it. I'll never come back to another All-Star Game."
There are reports of a brawl between rappers and police at the Wynn Hotel.
Vegas police were simply overwhelmed along The Strip. They were there solely for decoration and to discourage major crimes. Beyond that, they minded their own business.
Walking The Strip this weekend must be what it feels like to walk the yard at a maximum security prison. You couldn't relax. You avoided eye contact. The heavy police presence only reminded you of the danger.
Without a full-scale military occupation, New Orleans will not survive All-Star Weekend 2008.
These tidibits were taken from Bill Simmons and Jason Whitlock columns:
Remember those parties in college when a drunk guy inadvertently kicked over the host's bong and spilled bong water onto the rug, only he never cleaned up the resulting mess, so the skunky water festered while the host of the party was passed out? And then, the following morning, the host awakened to a room that smelled like a cross between a stale bong and the seventh circle of hell?
That's what downtown Las Vegas smelled like on Sunday night. After four nights of what will eventually be remembered as the Hip-Hop Woodstock....The stifling gridlock made it impossible to hit multiple events in one night unless you could afford a limo or helicopter (or were robbing someone who could afford a limo or helicopter). So many gangbangers and troublemakers flooded the Strip that late-night gamblers willingly chose 75-minute cab lines over a 15-minute walk to their next casino. So many wild stories floated around about shootings, robberies and everything else that we never knew what to believe; still, every tale seemed reasonable because there were no cops to be seen. On Saturday night, one of my friends even joked that the city might have to declare martial law, only none of us laughed because we didn't realize he was joking.
The NBA All-Star weekend wrapped up with a lot of excitement and a lot of arrests. Metro police spent the past year preparing for the weekend and the crowds. Nearly all of the police force was on duty.
Between 12 p.m. Thursday and early Monday morning, 362 people were booked into the Clark County Detention Center. That number doesn't include 400 or so routine arrests police make in a 48-hour period.
The arrests ranged from offenses like criminal-trespassing and battery to burglary and disorderly conduct.
More than 140 people were also arrested on fugitive warrants in the days leading up to All-Star weekend. Some of those arrests came from a number of fights and shootings. Some of those arrests were made Monday morning in post-All-Star game partying.
The weekend violence started off with a bang, literally. Late Friday night, a woman decided to fire a gun in the air several times on the Strip near the Bellagio, which set the stage for a weekend of weapons and a barrage of bullets.
On Saturday night, shots rang out on a crowded Las Vegas Strip, near the old Stardust. A man was shot several times in the stomach. Seven suspects were arrested. Then on Sunday night, after the game ended and the partying began, the crowds got out of control.
James Avery, a guest at the MGM Grand said, "It was real rough. The traffic, traffic jam, police everywhere."
The MGM Grand parking garage became a crime scene around 4 a.m. Monday. A man was shot in the hip. He will be okay, but the gunman got away. The night of violence didn't stop there.
Things really got out of hand at the Minxx gentlemen's club Monday morning. Carl Kountze, who works near club, said, "No one knew what was going on. Just everybody was running for their lives basically."
One dancer called it pure pandemonium. "It was awful. I walked out and saw blood everywhere," said Estrella, a Minxx dancer.
"A famous rapper, Nelly, came in. He spent so much money that people and customers were just going crazy," said Estrella, an eyewitness.
Eyewitnesses said chaos erupted when thousands of dollars were thrown on stage, which sent crowds scrambling for the money. Before the mayhem was all over, three people were shot outside.
A fight inside the Tryst nightclub at the Wynn resort on the Strip was carried outside, creating commotion, police stated.
No one threw any punches at the NBA All-Star game, but off the court and outside the arena, there was plenty of foul play.
In summary, Metro says two men were shot at the Minxx strip club -- both club employees -- and they are in critical condition. A woman patron was grazed by a bullet received non-life threatening injuries. No one has been arrested.
In the shooting at the MGM Grand, the victim did not want to press charges so police at this point aren't looking for that shooter.
Metro says officers were already on duty at the Wynn and MGM Grand when those incidents occurred Monday morning, which helped police get everything under control quickly.
"It was filled with an element of violence," Teresa Frey, general manager for Coco's restaurant, told klastv.com. "They don't want to pay their bills. They don't want to respect us or each other."
Things got so bad that she closed the 24-hour restaurant from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.
"I have been spit on. I have had food thrown at me," she said. "I have lost two servers out of fear. I have locked my door out of the fear of violence."
And the police might want to talk to NFL player Pacman Jones about a nasty shooting spree at a Vegas strip club. Jones and the rapper Nelly were allegedly at Minxx Gentlemen's Club Monday morning shortly before (or during) the shooting.
Two victims, male employees of the club, were listed in critical condition at the hospital; a third, a female patron, sustained non-life threatening injuries after being grazed by a bullet.
There were so many fights and so many gangbangers and one parking-lot shootout at the MGM Grand that people literally fled the hotel in fear for their safety. I talked with a woman who moved from the MGM to the Luxor because "I couldn't take it. I'll never come back to another All-Star Game."
There are reports of a brawl between rappers and police at the Wynn Hotel.
Vegas police were simply overwhelmed along The Strip. They were there solely for decoration and to discourage major crimes. Beyond that, they minded their own business.
Walking The Strip this weekend must be what it feels like to walk the yard at a maximum security prison. You couldn't relax. You avoided eye contact. The heavy police presence only reminded you of the danger.
Without a full-scale military occupation, New Orleans will not survive All-Star Weekend 2008.
