In 1971, Hunter Thompson first published Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
in Rolling Stone. Forty years later, The Daily’s Zach Baron revisits the piece and the town in which it was born, chasing Thompson's ghost through crazy desert car races, a dying local economy and a massive and menacing hacker convention known as DEFCON. (previously)
posted by Trurl
on Oct 6, 2011 -
26 comments
Current TV
previously & previously, the media company founded by Al Gore after the 2000 election, has picked up the kinds of in depth long form journalism being rapidly dropped by major networks, but has been tantalizingly unavailable for those without cable; until now. They have been putting their Vanguard episodes up on their website and on YouTube.
[more inside]
posted by Blasdelb
on Apr 30, 2011 -
24 comments
After hearing of a recent heist in which a bandit wearing a
motorcycle helmet robbed the Bellagio of $1.5 million in chips (the 10th Vegas casino robbery this year), I remembered the scene from Ocean's 11 where
Reuben expounds upon why it is nigh impossible to steal from a Las Vegas casino. But that simply isn't true. Granted, no one has infiltrated a casino for a massive $160 million haul, but sizable losses have occurred over the years:
18 Casino Heists: The Strange, The Surgical, and The Stupid;
5 Most Famous Casino Heists in History,
Top 10: Epic Las Vegas Heists;
13 Real Heists from Around the World (there is duplication of mentioned events on these sites, as well as non-casino-related crimes).
Casino Security (Wiki) may be
high tech (Google .pdf quickview), but it's not
unbeatable (Casino insider tells (almost) all about security). Of course, there are
other ways to steal from a casino, but you might still
get caught. And it's hard to find much lore about successful robberies, mostly because casinos don't want that kind of publicity.
[more inside]
posted by bwg
on Dec 15, 2010 -
37 comments
Las Vegas is the final part of the Another Version of the Truth collection, and is exclusively community-created.
Filmed entirely by fans and co-ordinated by Alex Gamble, this release saw the community fly in from around the world, donate technology, skill, and even airfare (fans raised money to send chaonatic, a valued taper, to the concert) to document the final performance of Nine Inch Nails' stunning 2008 tour. Over 200GB of footage was collected, which was meticulously edited together by a team comprising of people from all over the world. [more inside]
posted by hippybear
on Mar 5, 2010 -
17 comments
It sounds like a George Lopez joke. “Times are so bad that I saw an Anglo day laborer standing outside Home Depot the other day.” Except it’s true.
posted by Joe Beese
on Nov 11, 2009 -
31 comments
When Everyone Else's Party is Your Job The 24-Hour Show is a documentary project and exhibit that offers a glimpse of Las Vegas through the eyes of the people who live and work in the city. It's based on interviews with a diverse cadré of casino and entertainment workers who have made Las Vegas home.
posted by Miko
on Jun 15, 2006 -
6 comments
A Chip and a Chair: The World Series of Poker's Main Event started today at the Rio in Las Vegas. That's a change from every other year, when Binion's Horseshoe hosted the event. With the rise of online poker and televised tournaments, it's no surprise this is the biggest year ever: 5,661 people registered for the $10,000 no-limit event. That's about $50 million in prize money, once the tournament and casino costs are taken care of. CardPlayer has
up-to-the-minute updates on the tournament. Things at the WSOP can get pretty crazy, as you've got thousands of gamblers ready for any sort of action. For instance, poker celeb Phil Gordon put together a
Roshambo tournament (paper rock scissors) together with a $10,000 first prize, just to kill time. The main event, by the way, is only one of 45 events,
started back in 1970 by a group of hard-core gamblers. Despite the record turnout, however, there's still plenty of people who didn't make it to the main event, including former Harper's reporter
James McManus, who placed 5th in the Main Event in 2000 and wrote a fascinating novel on the subject.
posted by Happydaz
on Jul 7, 2005 -
22 comments
The Chopper Show commercials are awesome! They're 30 minute (or longer) commercials for a dealership in Las Vegas. They're obnoxious, over the top, and mesmerizingly amusing. It boggles my mind that there are people who purchase cars based on these commercials, but I can understand why The Chopper is so popular in Las Vegas. If you can't speak spanish, I recommend El Chopper en Espanol - it's even funnier if you can't understand the sales pitch.
posted by Fantt
on Jan 24, 2005 -
26 comments
A Blivet. More nuclear waste than the planned repository at Yucca Mountain can hold will pile up at reactor sites as the government continues to approve license extensions for power plants, an environmental research organization claimed in a study to be released today.
If a repository is built by 2010 in the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, its 77,000-ton capacity will be filled by existing spent fuel awaiting shipment. That's not counting another 9,900 tons that will have accumulated in the meantime from license extensions, according to the study by the Environmental Working Group.
posted by kablam
on Oct 23, 2004 -
10 comments
Illegal RNC trashing Democratic registrations in Vegas -- Employees of a private voter registration company allege that hundreds, perhaps thousands of voters who may think they are registered will be rudely surprised on election day. The company claims hundreds of registration forms were thrown in the trash.
...
The out-of-state firm has been in Las Vegas for the past few months, registering voters. It employed up to 300 part-time workers and collected hundreds of registrations per day, but former employees of the company say that Voters Outreach of America only wanted Republican registrations.
Two former workers say they personally witnessed company supervisors rip up and trash registration forms signed by Democrats.
...
The company has been largely, if not entirely funded, by the Republican National Committee. Similar complaints have been received in Reno where the registrar has asked the FBI to investigate.
posted by amberglow
on Oct 12, 2004 -
165 comments
Framed for defending herself. On August 28th, 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada a woman named
Kirstin Lobato was sentenced to life in prison. She was the victim of an attempted rape in May 2001, and had defended herself against her rapist. prosecutors used this "confession" of self defense to convict her of a murder that happened months later and in a town where
she didn't even live. How "innocent until proven guilty" can you be if prosecutors are willing to use known perjurers and refuse to allow expert testimony?
posted by dejah420
on Nov 26, 2003 -
17 comments
MOON: Because you've been everywhere else. [warning: sound and flash]"Moon Resort and Casino will be an escape into the future with hundreds of attractions including a giant lunar-themed aquatic center, exclusive shopping complex, terrestrial biosphere, moon buggy rides, and its own International Space Station. Nestled between the [10,000 room] hotel's dramatic wings will be the centerpiece of the resort, the Moon itself, towering over 350 feet and housing the world's largest casino." The creator is not without
controversy, but Robin Leach is
already on board.
posted by me3dia
on Nov 25, 2002 -
19 comments
"Moon opens for business" The first commercial trip to the moon has been approved by the US government, according to the BBC.
TransOrbital, Inc. received approval to launch its TrailBlazer satellite into lunar orbit in June of 2003; the satellite will
not touch down, but instead will orbit the moon and "provide stunning, high-definition (HDTV) video and maps of the lunar surface (at 1 meter resolution), as well as new images of earth-rises over lunar craters." [
press release] Another company,
Lunacorp, is hoping to send its own satellite up soon.
posted by me3dia
on Sep 10, 2002 -
29 comments
Harmik… a name synonymous with the legendary singer Tom Jones. Internationally recognized and praised as the #1 Tom Jones look and sound alike in the world. When Harmik met Tom in 1998, Tom amazed at the resemblance said to Harmik "you look more like me than I do."
posted by kirkaracha
on Jun 14, 2002 -
9 comments
Las Vegas obstetricians are turning away newly pregnant women, including existing patients who become pregnant, because they say they cannot afford to deliver more babies ... If newly pregnant women cannot find care in Las Vegas, their choices include moving elsewhere, traveling out of state for care or going without prenatal care and delivering in area emergency rooms or a casino?
posted by lola
on May 8, 2002 -
11 comments
This is unbelievable! Make sure you read about Mike and Craig's adventures at the Adult Expo in Las Vegas. Talk about taking medicine to the sick. Thought provoking, to say the least. (This link is work-safe.)
posted by ooklah
on Feb 12, 2002 -
13 comments
No, ummm, no Guns n' Roses reunion show, I guess. Ex-GnR guitarist and Hair Club for Men spokesman Slash was denied entry to the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe to see his old band perform New Year's Eve. GnR management were worried that Axl would be "freaked" if he know Slash was there. I bet the guys at
Buddyhead are pissed that GnR are never coming back.
posted by rev-
on Jan 8, 2002 -
17 comments
Only in Las Vegas... If you're considering an elopement to Las Vegas, but don't want the friends and family to miss out, the
Little White Chapel on the Strip now offers live streaming and on-demand replays of those touching moments when the Elvis impersonator goes into "Falling In Love With You". This is what the net was meant for.
posted by holgate
on May 14, 2001 -
3 comments
