Couple stabbed at Las Vegas casino

Friday, July 30, 1999 | 3:05 a.m.

A 64-year-old man remained in critical condition Friday after he and his wife were stabbed during a robbery in the parking lot at the Circus Circus hotel-casino.

The incident occurred as their two children watched.

The names of the victims have not been released by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police.

The man was stabbed several times in the abdomen and his 60-year-old wife was slashed in the face as they tried to fend off their attacker shortly before 10:30 p.m. The woman was listed in fair condition at University Medical Center.

Police are searching for the assailant.

Police say the victims, accompanied by two children, were getting out of their car in the parking lot when they were attacked by a knife-wielding man.

"It appears to be a robbery at this time," Metro spokesman Steve Meriwether said. "He took some items from the victims."

He said the names would not be released out of concern someone might try to get to the victims.

After the attack, the man ran out of the parking lot and got into a waiting car that was last seen speeding away on Industrial Road, Meriwether said. No description of the getaway car was available.

Police found the couple just south of the casino's Grandslam Canyon Adventure Dome.

The children accompanying the couple were uninjured, and police took them into protective custody.

The suspect is described as a 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-7 Hispanic man with a shaved head. Police say he weighs about 140 pounds and was last seen wearing a blue V-neck T-shirt over a white or yellow shirt and blue knee-length shorts.

Meriwether said robbery detectives were investigating several leads.

An employee in Circus Circus' corporate communications office said the hotel-casino was reviewing the incident.