Free Republic

President Obama left Tuesday for a two-day fundraising tour in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The Democratic National Committee is expected to pick up part of the cost, but if history is any gauge, taxpayers will pick up most of the tab.

Feud with Obama continues By CAROL E. LEE Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons continued his fight with the White House Wednesday, telling a local television station the invitation ... to greet Obama at the airport was “nonsense” and blaming President Obama for costing Las Vegas $100 million. “It is a grip-and-grin — Hi, how are you, goodbye — and then he goes on to the next person,” Gibbons, a Republican, said in a telephone interview with the local ABC station. “That’s nonsense. That’s not a meeting.” “I want a sit-down meeting,” Gibbons said, continuing to criticize the president for invoking Las...

LAS VEGAS – In a Western trip devoted mainly to raising political money, President Barack Obama is highlighting two favorite issues: clean energy and his economic stimulus plan. The president was scheduled to tour the "photovoltaic array" at Nellis Air Force Base, near Las Vegas, on Wednesday. The solar-powered cells provide a quarter of the base's power needs, White House officials said. Obama also was expected to discuss the progress of his $787 billion stimulus package, .. Obama sandwiched the midday event between two political fundraisers:

Political activists launch anti-Reid campaign Updated: May 26, 2009 04:03 PM PDT Jerry Brown reportingPresident Obama isn't the only out-of-state visitor vying for the attention of Nevada voters. A California-based political action committee called "Our Country Deserves Better" is running an anti-Senator Harry Reid advertisement on Silver State airwaves. At a Las Vegas press conference, the PAC's leaders offered scathing criticism of Nevada's senior senator. At one point, they even accused the majority leader of treason. "Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi were plucking pennies off the eyelids of the dead and using American casualties to ratchet more money out of the working...

Protests against President Barack Obama and Nevada Senator Harry Reid were held outside of Caesars Palace for most of Tuesday afternoon. Nationwide political groups are aiming to keep Reid from winning re-election and they are using the fundraising event as a backdrop. The conservative group called "Our Country Deserves Better" started the all day protest by announcing a new media blitz campaign to unseat Reid. Former State Assemblywoman Sharron Angle joined the cause. She is currently considering running against Reid. She is asking for donations now but has yet to formally announce she's going to run. "I think it will...

When a high roller, known as a whale, arrives in Las Vegas, the town opens up like the Red Sea. On Tuesday, Las Vegas will greet the biggest whale of them all: President Barack Obama. However, the president's trip -- tied to a fund-raiser for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada -- isn't skimping on Vegas-style glitz. The Tuesday fund-raiser at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace will feature Sheryl Crow, Bette Midler and comedian Rita Rudner. Tickets will go for $50 to $250, with $2,400 buying access to a backstage reception with the president.

Click here to watch the videoTalk on Nevada host Andy Matthews interviews Geoffrey Lawrence, NPRI's fiscal policy analyst, on Nevada's budget situation. Geoffrey is the author of Nevada's Freedom Budget: 2009-2011, which would fund priorities, eliminate waste and save Nevada over $1.7 billion compared to the legislature's budget. Andy and Geoffrey also talk about legislature's proposed job-killing, record-setting, billion dollar tax increase,

Note: The following text is a quote: Former Bank of China Managers and Their Wives Sentenced for Stealing More Than $485 Million, Laundering Money Through Las Vegas Casinos Two former managers of the Bank of China and their wives were sentenced today after their convictions on Aug. 29, 2008, by a federal jury in Las Vegas on charges of racketeering, money laundering, international transportation of stolen property as well as passport and visa fraud. U.S. District Judge Philip M. Pro sentenced Xu Chaofan aka Hui Yat Fai to 25 years in prison, Xu Guojun aka Hui Kit Shun to 22...

Las Vegas firefighters are responding to a fire at the historic Moulin Rouge hotel and casino in western Las Vegas. Firefighters said the fire was contained to one building in the complex. City spokesman Jace Radke said he didn't think there were any injuries. He also said the cause of the blaze has not been determined. The complex, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, has been shuttered for decades. On May 29, 2003, a fire ripped through the buildings, almost entirely gutting the complex.

Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans, an impressionist who sold more tickets on the Strip than the Rat Pack or Elvis Presley, died early Friday, his manager said. He was 52. Gans, best known for his touching impersonation of entertainer George Burns, began a five-year headline gig at tycoon Steve Wynn's Wynn Las Vegas hotel in February. Prior to that, he spent 11 years at the Mirage. Gans earned Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year honors 11 years in a row in the reader poll conducted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal but was not well known beyond Las Vegas. The cause...

A New York banker with roots in Ely is exploring a run against U.S. Sen. Harry Reid. John Chachas, a managing director of Lazard Ltd., has been talking to Republican Party bigwigs in Nevada and Washington who are anxious to find a credible challenger to the Senate majority leader, sources said this week. Chachas declined to comment Thursday on the speculation about his potential candidacy. Chachas' interest in the race is said to be active but preliminary: He feels strongly that Reid could be felled by a strong opponent and would be willing to step into that role if no...

Word on the street for quite some time has been that newly-single Lindsay Lohan is strapped for cash and unemployed, but it looks as though the 22-year-old may have finally found her forte: starring in a topless show in Sin City. Lohan flew from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on Saturday on the private plane of the producer of Mel B. and Kelly Monaco's "Peepshow" to attend the grand opening of the sexy striptease production, but made the trip more importantly because she had a meeting scheduled with director and Broadway big-wig, Jerry Mitchell. "Peepshow" is designed to have rotating...

A chill moved across Las Vegas late Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing lower temperatures and strong winds to the valley. Five inches of snow fell Tuesday night on Mount Charleston, and trace amounts of rain were recorded at McCarran International Airport. The National Weather Service said Wednesday's high was 59 degrees, which fell short of the record low high of 56 degrees set in 1998. "This is definitely not your typical April day," said Barry Pierce, weather service meteorologist. Flurries were spotted in parts of Summerlin and Henderson, while in other parts of Las Vegas, high winds took shingles off homes....

Thousands of people rallied in Nevada to call for more responsible government. Check out the video of the rally.

LAS VEGAS (Legal Newsline)-Two proposed initiatives pushed by one of Las Vegas's most powerful unions suffered a setback Wednesday when the state Supreme Court refused to put measures on the city's June 2 ballot.

6 Apr 2009 MGM hires bank to sell casino assets: Source NEW YORK: MGM Mirage to advise on selling a number of its casinos, and is talking to potential buyers about the assets, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday. The No. 2 casino operator, controlled by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, is grappling with weak consumer demand and reduced access to credit. The casino firm is hoping to raise money to meet debt payments and also to fund a troubled project it jointly owns with Dubai World called CityCenter, the source said. MGM Mirage, which said in March that...

FORT WORTH, Texas -- NASCAR is trading the Christmas lights of New York for the neon of Las Vegas. The Sprint Cup postseason awards banquet, a fixture in Manhattan since in 1981, will be moved to Las Vegas for this season, sources have confirmed to NASCAR.COM. Although the venue is yet to be determined, the change has already been approved by NASCAR and is awaiting only final approval from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, a taxpayer-funded entity that has championed the move west.

A California man is in custody in Las Vegas, accused of faking his own death. John Sung Park was arrested at the MGM Grand. Park is facing several charges, including accusations that he was cheating at a Las Vegas poker game. Back in September, Park disappeared while diving with friends off the coast of Laguna Beach. Rescuers searched the area but found no trace of him. When Park is returned to California he may have to pay for the search and rescue efforts. Police started to suspect that Park had faked his death after several odd facts about his disappearance...

What's the one thing Las Vegas needs more of? Light, according to Carlos Santana, who figures he's just the guy to bring it during a Sin City residency he'll begin May 27 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Santana, the man and the band, will play about three shows a week through 2010 at the Hard Rock's expanded and refurbished concert theater, the Joint, which another classic rocker, Paul McCartney, will inaugurate April 19. "Santana is going to bring a lot of joy, light, peace and happiness into a place that is basically based on illusion," the multiple Grammy-winning...

Reid seeks to clarify stimulus rule on casinos March 20, 2009. LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Nevada Sen. Harry Reid has sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking for clarification to a provision that restricts casinos from using federal stimulus funds. The Democratic majority leader says in a letter sent Friday that the provision is "overly broad" and is discouraging nonprofit groups from applying for stimulus money. Reid argues that casinos are often the only suitable space for conferences and workshops held by community organizations. He also cites a women's group that often uses casino hotel rooms as transitional housing...

FREE REPUBLIC NASCAR THREAD Shelby 427 Welcome to the Sprint Cup Race #3 at (Click on the Pics, Graphics, & Links for related news & info.) Current Cup driver standings Shelby Automobiles to sponsor NASCAR Sprint Cup race at LVMSEvent extended by 18 laps and will be called 'Shelby 427' "Earnhardt & Elvis" car to debut Feb. 27 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Strip to host NASCAR Hauler Parade Feb 26 LVMS Weekend Track Schedule Shelby 427 Entry List Qualifying: Friday 2/27 4:40 pm/et Sprint Cup Qualifying ~ SPEEDRace: Sunday 3/1 4:30 pm/et SPRINT Cup Race ~...

Las Vegas's status as a convention hotspot is suffering as companies shun Sin City to avoid the appearance of holding decadent corporate junkets in the middle of a crippling recession. In the past month, more than 30,000 hotel room nights booked for conventions and business meetings were canceled, costing the city an estimated 20 million dollars in revenue, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. That hurts for a town that saw a 4.4-percent drop in visitor numbers in 2008 compared to 2007 and a decline of 5.8 percent in the number of conventions held here over the...

Veterans In Politics Talk Show Introduces Mike Wiley and Cynthia Leung LIVE on www.AllTalkRadio.net February 21: Mike Wiley with the Free States Alliance: Anthony Middleton I-Hop Manager for a Special Announcement: Cynthia S. Leung Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge Department 1: "Veterans In Politics" is a weekly radio show produced by the Veterans In Politics International and hosted by Steve Sanson and Co-Hosted by J. "Sage" Bocook. The "Veterans In Politics" show is live every Saturday 2:05 PM Pacific Time you can call in and speak to the guest or/and hosts at (702) 309-6690.

AP reports: In late-stage talks, Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pressed for $8 billion to construct high-speed rail lines, quadrupling the amount in the bill that passed the Senate on Tuesday. The Senate Conservatives Fund has more details: This of course exposes the little game the President is playing with the public. He tells everyone there are no earmarks in the bill but then turns around and either (a) gives the money to the states, which he knows will fund the earmarks, or (b) instructs his agencies to fund the earmarks directly. It's all very clever, if...

The Obama Presidency is more like a rock star on tour than the leader of the greatest Nation in the free world. People flock to see him and practically drool in his presence; I am waiting for him to lay hands on someone and heal them. Sure, that is an overstatement but everything about our newly elected President is an overstated publicity stunt; hardly befitting of the office he now holds. During the campaign for the Presidency many conservatives questioned his experience and ability to effectively govern the United States of America. His lack of seasoning and political savvy is...

LAS VEGAS - Sin City's mayor wants President Barack Obama to apologize for saying companies shouldn't visit Las Vegas on the taxpayer's dime. Oscar Goodman spoke after a regular scheduled meeting with tourism officials where he expressed concern that federal lawmakers might be discouraging travel to the city. "What's a better place, as I say, than for them to come here," Goodman told KLAS-TV. "And to change their mind and to go someplace else and to cancel _ and at the suggestion of the president of the United States _ that's outrageous."

Veterans In Politics Talk Show Introduces Stavros Anthony and Cedric Kerns LIVE on www.AllTalkRadio.net February 14: Stavros Anthony Nevada State Board of Regent District 12, Captain for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Candidate for Las Vegas City Council Ward 4: Cedric A. Kerns Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge Department 5: "Veterans In Politics" is a weekly radio show produced by the Veterans In Politics International and hosted by Steve Sanson and Co-Hosted by J. "Sage" Bocook. The "Veterans In Politics" show is live every Saturday 2:05 PM Pacific Time you can call in and speak to the guest...

With over 3500 registrants to date, we believe that ASF 2009 will once again be not only the largest, but the most valuable and productive, securitization industry event of the year. Notwithstanding--or perhaps because of--the very serious challenges we face, ASF 2009 once again promises to be an exceptional, "critical mass" event that will bring together a diverse range of industry participants from all sectors of the securitization market. Over 1700 investors and issuers, and more than 110 sponsoring organizations, highlight the industry-wide support the event is receiving.

Veterans In Politics Talk Show Introduces Steve Ross and Joel Jarvis LIVE on www.AllTalkRadio.net February 7: Steve D. Ross Las Vegas City Councilman Ward 6: Joel Jarvis President of the Link Las Vegas: "Veterans In Politics" is a weekly radio show produced by the Veterans In Politics International and hosted by Steve Sanson and Co-Hosted by J. "Sage" Bocook. The "Veterans In Politics" show is live every Saturday 2:05 PM Pacific Time you can call in and speak to the guest or/and hosts at (702) 942-7371.

Hopey Change has reached an elementary school in Sin City: At least three of the five classrooms have an overhead projector and as the children stand to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, the teacher turns on the classroom overhead and a full body image of Obama, with six U.S. flags behind him, comes up about 4 feet away from the flag that hangs on the wall. The screen is apparently around five feet by six feet. In the image, President Obama appears to be staring straight out with no facial expression, just a serious look. All of the kids in...

A parent in the Clark County School District of Las Vegas, Henderson area reported today that his son, who is in 1st grade, came home yesterday saying that he didn't want to go back to school anymore. When asked why, the boy said that during the Pledge of Allegiance the teacher put up a large image of Obama next to the flag. Thinking that the boy might be exaggerating, the man asked his son if he was sure, and suggested that by "large" he might mean an 8x10 photo of the president. The boy apparently said "No, it is a...

He suggests prostitutes could be treated very well Mayor Oscar Goodman insists he’s not in favor of legalizing prostitution in downtown Las Vegas. He just wants there to be an open discussion of the topic. But his argument is clear as a July afternoon in the neon desert: Most everyone — even locals — seems to think prostitution is legal here, so why not formalize it and make hundreds of millions of dollars from the enterprise? That’s why Goodman floated the idea publicly in 2004, again to an appalled New York Times columnist in 2007, and, this month, to an...

Last year it was the “Bridge to Nowhere” that outraged America. This year it’s the “Mob Museum”. The Mayor of Las Vegas has a plan to save his city. Unfortunately, the rest of the country does not share his vision. In fact, Oscar Goodman’s proposal to use up to $55 million of federal stimulus funds to build a museum celebrating the Mafia’s influence over Sin City — part of it will presumably be dedicated to the Mayor himself who, in a previous career as a defence lawyer, represented many of the city’s most notorious gangsters — has become something of...

The Las Vegas Wranglers (14-14-3) revealed the jersey designs for their "Rod Blagojevich Prison Uniform Night" on Friday, Jan. 30 against the Bakersfield Condors. The Wranglers will wear jerseys with broad, horizontal black and white stripes with nameplates that read, "ILLGOV" followed by each player's number for the 7:30 p.m. contest. Bakersfield jerseys are bright orange Department of Corrections style uniforms while the ECHL referees can finally act as real police in the specially designed blue jerseys. "We envision goal judges in powdered wigs and black robes and bars on the penalty boxes," said Billy Johnson, the Wranglers' president and...

Sgt. Faron White accused of staging vanishing act to cover up $2,500 theftAn Alabama policeman whose disappearance last week triggered search parties has turned up alive and well but under arrest in Las Vegas.

As head of the bad check unit at the Clark County, Nev., district attorney's office, Zadrowski has seen a lot of deadbeat gamblers reported by the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip - at least 700 a month, a number that has climbed as the economy has soured. But a few of those names stick in his memory - and Ausaf Umar Siddiqui is one of them. Turns out the Clark County district attorney's office is one of a number of agencies that has been watching Palo Alto resident Siddiqui, 42, who was arrested Friday on a federal complaint of...

LAS VEGAS — A rare snowfall blanketed Las Vegas on Wednesday, canceling flights, snarling traffic and dusting palm trees and marquees along the Las Vegas Strip with accumulations that were expected to reach 3 inches overnight. Other locations were forecast to receive as much as 8 inches of snow in the second winter storm this week to drop snow on the desert city.

MAF Announcing Honoring Heroes at the Holidays IIMove America Forward is thrilled to announce that we are bringing back Honoring Heroes at the Holidays to honor our troops again this Christmas and holiday season! Last year, MAF introduced Honoring Heroes at the Holidays and traveled to cities all over the country. We were so excited by the results that we had to do it again for 2008! Our troops deserve to know that we love and appreciate them! Starting December 13th, we’ll once again be hitting the road to take our message to the people of America who want to...

Freedom's Watch, a conservative political advocacy group bankrolled mainly by casino owner Sheldon Adelson that poured $30 million into this year's political races, is shutting down. Multiple sources said the board of directors, which includes former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer and former Ambassador to Italy Mel Sembler, has decided to close down rather than just scale down post-election. "There are no ifs or buts," said a Republican operative close to the situation. "The board has made the decision to shut the doors." The group had always planned a reduction after the election and up until the Thanksgiving holiday it...

Okay, I keep hearing from different media outlets that OJ will be in jail for 9 years, others 33 years or 19 years and he will be eligible for parole sometime in between. The #*!# dinosaur media can't seem to make up its mind!

Hands down the best videos of the week. Whiny murderer. No B.S. judge. Victorious Fred Goldman. More . . .

It would be easy to go a whole weekend on the Las Vegas Strip without spotting a sign of a crisis. Nevermind, that more than 14,000 people are living on the streets — and that Nevada ranks second in the nation in homeless population per capita. Seeing evidence of this is a matter of knowing — or perhaps choosing — where to look... But what if there were an elevator that went downward? Let's say that you could descend below the sunken lounges, past kitchens and utility closets, through layers of concrete. It is here that Las Vegas' truly gritty...

All you have to do is cast your vote for Obama and . . . poof!

This site says it will stream John McCain's Road To Victory Rally from Henderson NV. The rally is scheduled to begin at 6:45PM Pacific Time 9:45 Eastern http://www.lasvegasnow.com/global/story.asp?s=9267484

A Las Vegas newspaper plans to launch a lifestyle magazine for black locals and tourists in January. Co-publisher Kimberly Bailey-Tureaud says the monthly magazine will feature stories about entertainment, shopping, restaurants, local celebrities and businesses of interest. Publishers say future issues of the magazine will include stories about presidential candidate Barack Obama, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and basketball player Marcus Banks. The magazine will be inserted within the Las Vegas Review-Journal for subscribers who request it, and some news racks will also carry it.

LAS VEGAS There are 6 million empty homes in the United States. Or 6.2 million, to be slightly more precise. Empty houses are normal to some extent -- part of the usual friction of building, selling, renting. But ask the people who study the numbers, and who understand the "overhang" in housing inventory, and they'll tell you: This country has about a million homes too many. The solution, local executives say, will come not from Washington policymakers but from the market itself. When there are too many houses, builders stop building them. That has already happened, and many Vegas home...

After six days of early voting in Nevada (5 electoral votes), Democratic turnout exceeds Republican turnout 57 percent to 27 percent. When the early walk-in vote is combined with mail-in absentee vote, the Democratic advantage is 54 percent to 30 percent. The Democratic vote margin in early and absentee voting (after six days) is 39,000 votes. On Wednesday, the early vote breakdown was 12,475 Democratic ballots to 6,961 GOP ballots. In the state's most populous and Democratic county - Clark County - 20 percent of active (otherwise known as likely) voters and 16 percent of registered voters have cast ballots....

Barack Obama is going to make a campaign stop in Las Vegas this Saturday 10/25/08. Is anyone planning a protest?

Former Las Vegas casino executive and mob-connected sports handicapper Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal has died at his Florida home at age 79. Rosenthal had been living in Miami Beach and died of a heart attack Monday. No funeral services have been scheduled. A sports gambling pioneer, Rosenthal at one time ran the Stardust, Fremont and Hacienda hotel-casinos secretly......

Former President Bill Clinton says the next president's job will be to get the U.S. "out of the ditch." Clinton told a rally of Barack Obama supporters in Las Vegas Sunday that the Democratic presidential hopeful was the best candidate to free up the credit markets, revive the economy and restore the country's image abroad. Clinton says when he saw how Obama handled the economic crisis, "I said to myself, this guy can be president."