Vegas All-Star Weekend Roll Call

[bav]

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I actually think this last weekend was a wakeup call for Vegas and might be a blessing in disguise.

The bottom line is that Vegas is not ready for an influx of people for a major sporting event(s)...traffic, security, police, violence.

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Methinks you're dreaming. Find any public figure who is saying this weekend was anything except a raving success. They all sound downright giddy at how well this turned out.

[surfinillini]

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I actually think this last weekend was a wakeup call for Vegas and might be a blessing in disguise.

The bottom line is that Vegas is not ready for an influx of people for a major sporting event(s)...traffic, security, police, violence...the usual vibe in Vegas is I flew in from XXX on a quick break from work and I have XXX money to burn and I'm gonna have a great fun/jovial time doing it.

Obviously, that vibe was not present this weekend.

Vegas should stick to being a tourist driven location; its what its good at.

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Totally! They should be sure to keep out sports with violent tendencies in particular. For instance: boxing, ultimate fighting, rodeos, etc... ???


I don't understand how 'i came for the weekend' is any different than 'i came to see Tyson chew someones ear off for the weekend.'

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so you basically took one word out my statement and created an entire agrument around it?

ur insance

DUCY?

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I actually think this last weekend was a wakeup call for Vegas and might be a blessing in disguise.

The bottom line is that Vegas is not ready for an influx of people for a major sporting event(s)...traffic, security, police, violence.

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Methinks you're dreaming. Find any public figure who is saying this weekend was anything except a raving success. They all sound downright giddy at how well this turned out.

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I don't disagree with your point Bav, however I think its just a case of denial and positive pr spin.

[*TT*]

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Too many souvenirs to fit in carry on luggage, I guess. Or maybe it was because you can't take your Glock back in carry on luggage.

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Interesting side note, at the point when the arrests totaled at 300 on Monday morning, 87 of them were locals which really surprised me. The arrest total was also 100 people more than on New Years Eve, which was only a 15 hour or so period of debauchery vs a 4 day period. Its safe to assume the glocks were owned by locals or people who drove here from the west coast - and have probably brought their guns to Vegas on previous trips as well.

A few notes -

1) Las Vegas is the best and the worst city to choose for any major sports event. Best because it is the most centralized major city if you want to keep the feeling of community, far more so than NYC which is the common choice. Worst because the city center is so small that 200,000 people coming to party can shut down the city streets where as 200,000 revelers in NYC is hardly a blip on the radar. Vegas really needs to reconsider it's future plans for events that will draw that many people for a common goal, the infrastructure isn't here yet to solve the logistical problems such as travel, police & emergency services, etc when there are that many people involved.

2) NBA All Star Weekend shouldn't have any affect on the city's desire for an NBA franchise.

3) Vegas is the most centrally located of all major cities in the nation. Criminals who had no intention of going to Vegas for the NBA All Star Weekend can watch TV and see how huge an event is on Friday, drive out on Saturday, and get involved in 3- way crossfire on Sunday. Vegas shines, it attracts impulse travelers who want to be associated with the peripheral parties even though they cannot attend the game itself creating a tremendous amount of business but also the logistical nightmares previously discussed. I actually think we would have seen the same kind of problems if for example Woodstock was held at RedRock (I know this isnt a realistic example, but its just to make a point). Masses of like minded people create mob-like mentalities.

In short - is the NBA All Star weekend the cause, or just the symptom of a bigger problem brewing in Vegas?

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[bav]

An interesting perspective. Almost calls the lack of reporting in the paper and on the TV news a coverup. http://sports.aol.com/whitlock/_a/ma...20103009990001

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All weekend, people, especially cab drivers, gossiped about brawls and shootings. You didn't know what to believe because the local newspaper was filled with stories about what a raging success All-Star Weekend was. The city is desperately trying to attract an NBA franchise, and, I guess, there was no reason to let a few bloody bodies get in the way of a cozy relationship with Stern.
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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.

I was there. 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.


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[pig4bill]

A couple notes about that piece. Supposedly the author is black. I also heard the paper he works for refused to print that piece as it appears on AOL.

[bav]

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...k/16730767.htm

Certainly a very toned down version of the AOL story.

[beset]

I'm sorry but a lot of this is racist crap. I know TT said no soap boxing but I can't resist.

I walked down in the strip Saturday night at 2am from Bellagio all the way to the Wynn and caught nothing but good vibes... Young people drinking, dancing, flirting with each other and having a good time. How many people get capped in Vegas each year? How many fights happen during big UFC events or MMA conferences or fraternity conferences? The only difference I could see was that it was more crowded and there was more black faces. Same crap goes on here in Seattle with hip-hop clubs. Any time someones gets blasted at one of them it's a huge deal while the murder at the local honky-tonk is back page news.

Vegas may not be suited for major sporting events for structural public-health and safety type concerns--I just dont think that the danger of too many black people in one place making whitey uncomfortable rises to that level.

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I was there. 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.

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BS. I don't actually believe this guy walked the strip at night last weekend. Maybe he looked at it from his hotel window.

[pig4bill]

Where did he say he was walking at night? Saturday afternoon at 2 pm, it was exactly as he described.

[sternroolz]

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I'm sorry but a lot of this is racist crap. I know TT said no soap boxing but I can't resist.

I walked down in the strip Saturday night at 2am from Bellagio all the way to the Wynn and caught nothing but good vibes... Young people drinking, dancing, flirting with each other and having a good time. How many people get capped in Vegas each year? How many fights happen during big UFC events or MMA conferences or fraternity conferences? The only difference I could see was that it was more crowded and there was more black faces. Same crap goes on here in Seattle with hip-hop clubs. Any time someones gets blasted at one of them it's a huge deal while the murder at the local honky-tonk is back page news.

Vegas may not be suited for major sporting events for structural public-health and safety type concerns--I just dont think that the danger of too many black people in one place making whitey uncomfortable rises to that level.


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Delete troll pls.

[*TT*]

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I'm sorry but a lot of this is racist crap. I know TT said no soap boxing but I can't resist.

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considering the very unique situation of this past weekend and what we have learned about it after the fact, soap boxing mode is now enabled for this thread [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

We are still going to edit out anything racist, trollish, or and posts baiting others to respond with racist/trollish remarks (standard suspension rules still apply), save us some time but not posting that crap [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

PS: I agree with beset... allot of the complaints in the news now have really just been racist crap, people who don't understand other cultures. The complaints about overcrowding are very valid of course... it was a bit too much for the city to handle.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]