Print edition for November 21, 2000

Holiday shopping season promises to be rewarding: Jennifer Prosser; Flying Santas, cacti covered with holiday lights - the Christmas season has arrived in Vegas! Malls are dressed up in their holiday finest and have posted holiday shopping hours. Ring in the season with style by registering for shopping sprees, merchandise giveaways and other free goodies available throughout the valley.

Chap. 11 filing by Regent imminent: David Strow; The parent company of the Regent Las Vegas hotel-casino is drafting bankruptcy documents and a bankruptcy filing is imminent, several knowledgeable sources say.

Casino seeks new financing, may become Holiday Inn: Grace Leong; Vacation Village hotel-casino executives commented Monday for the first time on the property's financial troubles, saying the property filed for bankruptcy protection to avoid being foreclosed on by creditors trying to "get it on the cheap."

District Court changes to start Jan. 1: CARSON CITY -- Starting Jan. 1, District Court judges in Clark County will have to speed up their decisions and a new court will be created to exclusively handle business disputes.

Thanksgiving travel to set record: Lisa Snedeker; The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is anticipating 273,000 visitors - a nearly 5 percent increase over last year, said Erika Brandvik, visitors authority spokeswoman.

Kenny challenged to take polygraph: Adrienne Packer; Angry that he is being labeled a liar, a former Clark County employee who lodged an ethics complaint against Commissioner Erin Kenny is challenging the board member to take a polygraph.

Scientists will study how to reverse Yucca plan if need be: An independent scientific panel is reviewing a process that would allow federal officials to pull the plug on a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain at any time they feel the project is not safe.

Judge may allow computer files in Soria trial: Gamble also ruled that the 17-page text file found during the search was authentic and authored by the 39-year-old murder suspect.

Feds OK Sierra's Portland General takeover: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today approved Sierra Pacific Resources Inc.'s $3.1 billion acquisition of Portland General Electric Co. from Houston-based Enron Corp.

Local news briefs for November 21, 2000: A 5-month-old baby died Monday afternoon when a car drove onto a sidewalk and hit the child's mother and the stroller the baby was in.

Fire in the sky: Adrienne Packer; Forget Sin City. Call it spin city.

Slot player continues legal battle over disputed jackpot: Three years of legal disputes later, the Las Vegas butcher is still fighting for his jackpot and he's taking his battle to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Extra cabs allowed for New Year's: But regulators also agreed not to allow any additional cabs for the 10 days the National Finals Rodeo is in town.

Aladdin tries to reassure its bond investors: David Strow; Despite a rocky start, Aladdin officials tried to reassure analysts Monday that results are improving at the two-month-old resort.

Nation awaits court's ruling: David Espo; Two unforgettable weeks after Election Day George W. Bush and Al Gore sweated out a ruling from the Florida Supreme Court and manual recounts in three Democratic counties today as they waited to learn who will sit in the White House.

World's largest Ferris wheel planned for Strip: Outland Development LLC has contracted with Premier Rides of Millersville, Md., to build the $40 million, 518-foot ride. Outland executives hope to open the attraction in mid-2002.

Guinn ready to announce hiring of Batjer as chief of staff: CARSON CITY -- Gov. Kenny Guinn is close to making an announcement of a top-level switch in his staff, hiring a former Las Vegas casino executive as his chief of staff to succeed Scott Scherer, who is moving to the state Gaming Control Board.

Lottery to be proposed again: NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Supporters of a state lottery say the new state Senate may look more favorably at lottery legislation when the 102nd General Assembly convenes in January.

Metro narcotics officer put on leave: "Allegations were made, and we are currently looking into it to see if there are any criminal charges," Lt. Marc Joseph, a department spokesman, said. "There has been not a determination if a criminal act took place."

School Board decides to cut panels: Terry Webster; Cutting committees

Fiesta sale gets approval: David Strow; The Nevada Gaming Commission endorsed Station Casinos Inc.'s acquisition of the Fiesta hotel-casino Monday, clearing the way for the locals casino giant to pick up its sixth property in the Las Vegas Valley.

Nevada high court overturns ruling against North Las Vegas: CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court Monday ruled that North Las Vegas did not abuse its discretion when it limited the development sought by Saxton Inc., near the North Las Vegas Air Terminal.

America West waves Las Vegas stopover fee: The Phoenix-based airline, which uses McCarran International Airport as a hub for its operations, is offering the promotion on flights between 21 eastern cities and 15 western cities on flights that stop in Las Vegas.

Mississippi casino revenue rises in October: The 18 casinos along the Mississippi River won $125.7 for the month compared to $120 million in October 1999, the Tax Commission said. The state does not release figures for individual casinos.

Slot machine manufacturing is outlawed in state: COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Making a video gambling machine in South Carolina is illegal, even if the software to run the machine is installed elsewhere, a judge has ruled.

LV airport traffic increased in October: America West Airlines, the No. 2 carrier in Las Vegas, posted a strong increase by serving 574,000 people, up 22.8 percent. No. 1 Southwest Airlines was up 4.8 percent to 887,000 people.

Judge spells out Wynn's duties to dissident D-I homeowners: Grace Leong; Steve Wynn will be able to take over the Desert Inn homeowners' association and continue developing a new casino megaresort at the historic site on the Las Vegas Strip under a court ruling issued Monday.

High court can't help exiled media: Griffin would not let media representatives attend an April 14 hearing at which he discussed whether the men gave voluntary statements to police.

Overheating car sends Busch to 36th-place NAPA 500 finish: Kurt Busch's seven-race NASCAR Winston Cup Series trial run came to a close Monday with a 36th-place finish in the season-ending NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Snagged in referees' roundup, Rebels are called for 28 fouls: Steve Addy; LAHAINA, Hawaii -- The Big Ten is noted for roughhouse basketball, but Illinois got hip to the referees' crackdown faster than UNLV on Monday night.

Editorial: Museum perfect fit for Vegas: But not all Americans are able to travel to the nation's capital. Even those who visit the Smithsonian will see less than 2 million of the 141 million artifacts in the institute's collection. The museum simply does not have the space to display all of its holdings.

Obituaries for November 21, 2000: Victor J. Ault, 77, of Las Vegas died Saturday in a local hospice. He was born Nov. 6, 1923, in Los Angeles. A resident for 11 years, he was a county government court clerk and a World War II Coast Guard veteran.

Raggio has heart surgery: During a routine physical examination last week, Raggio's doctors recommended he undergo the preventative surgery as a precautionary step for a healthy cardio-vascular system.

Santa Clara agrees to let city review project: City and pueblo leaders have wrangled for months over the 46,000-square-foot casino and bowling center, with the pueblo arguing the city has no authority over the venture.

Regent hotel-casino files for bankruptcy protection: David Strow; The Chapter 11 filing was made at noon by Resort at Summerlin L.P. in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas. The company listed assets of $296.4 million and liabilities of $365.8 million. The largest creditor listed was John Hancock Financial Services Inc., which is owed slightly more than $30 million.

Columnist Susan Snyder: This duo can really rock out: Patrick Putnam and Jed Botsford work with their fannies in a sling, but their bosses planned it that way.

Senate leader recovering from bypass: He underwent the surgery at Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center after last week's physical. His attending physician, Kosta Arger, said the typical recovery period for the operation is six to eight weeks and Raggio should be back to normal by New Year's Day.

Casino employees suspended over advance pay: Brian Witte; Tex Hall said the casino allows employees to receive advanced pay up to three times a year. But he says some employees had done so more than 15 times.

Letter: Toys-for-Tots is best charity: I donate to Toys-for-Tots. Every donation counts. Toys-for-Tots was founded by the late Marine Major Bill Hendricks in Los Angeles in 1947. The spokeswomen include former first ladies Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan. This is a worldwide charity. The Marines distribute a lot of toys for the kids.

Columnist Dean Juipe: Rebels let upset win slip away: Dean Juipe; Everyone seems to have taken a conciliatory tone toward UNLV's Monday night loss in Maui, including one of the TV announcers who was working the game.

Letter: Christianity bred hatred: How can we forget the famous Spanish Inquisition from 1478 to 1834? Again, Christians (Catholics, this time) drove out and killed thousands of Jews, Protestants, and other non-Catholic believers, justified this time by claiming they were not Catholic.

Ralph Siraco's selections for Wednesday's races at Hollywood Park: 1st Race -- Danceswiththewind - Hustling Pedroza aboard Robertson trainee, draws outside post for the sprint opener, lasix and nasal strip. Brimfield Bound - Pincay coaxed a big run in last, horse has habbit of hanging, but, Laffit could make the difference as he stays aboard. Value Play -- I'monfireforyou

UNLV-Louisville Box Score: UNLV (1-2)

Lady Rebels win opener: About the only good sign UNLV women's basketball coach Regina Miller saw in the Lady Rebels' season opener Monday night was her players' reaction to their 57-41 victory over Texas-San Antonio at the Thomas & Mack.

Narrow loss is no consolation: Steve Addy; LAHAINA, Hawaii -- Technically speaking, the Rebels have fallen into the consolation bracket of the Maui Invitational, but they failed to find any consolation in a tough loss Monday night.

Temblors spur curiosity but not concern: Tom Gardner; So far, experts say the quake activity is nothing to cause worry.

Grant to aid medical professor's research: The grant comes out of Dr. Joseph Hume's 1989 discovery of protein in the human heart that conducts negatively charged electricity.

Columnist Ron Kantowski: Maui's tiny gym generates sloppy play: It's considered one of the top early season college basketball tournaments every year but here's a way to make the Maui Invitational even better.

Americans favored in opener vs. Belgium: Victoria Sun; Who: United States, Belgium, Czech Republic and Spain in Fed Cup semifinals

Letter: America has no business in foreign elections: I had heard of dead people voting and double voting in Chicago and Cook County, Ill., but West Palm Beach, Fla., has them topped. This is ludicrous.

Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Unnecessary problems: What has happened in Florida should be a warning for other election officials. Very simply, don't ever become actively involved in any election you may be called upon to oversee and arbitrate. In the case of Harris, immediately upon the rise of big problems she should have taken herself out of the role of chief arbiter. This she didn't do and went ahead to exacerbate an already bad situation.

Editorial: Neighborhoods need better taxi service: To be blunt, residential taxi service is poor. As reported by the Sun's Richard N. Velotta, service is so poor the Taxicab Authority of Nevada has even discussed the possible use of Global Positioning System satellites to keep track of taxis.

Financial channel strips the news bare: Viewers who tuned to a financial news channel over the Las Vegas-area cable television franchise Monday afternoon saw more than a stock-market ticket.

Thomas shows improvement in workouts: Steve Guiremand; After taking a long three-day weekend to celebrate the only bye on their schedule following a grueling 10-game stretch, the UNLV Rebels returned to the practice field on Monday afternoon.

Wednesday's horse racing entries: Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Burned man admits suicide attempt: Keith Paul; A 40-year-old man weaved a story of carjackers assaulting him and setting him on fire after he tried and failed to kill himself by setting himself on fire.

'Lightweight' Mangione plays the heavy at Blue Note: Steve Bornfeld; We got them Condescension Blues.

Foyt-Strogen engagement: The wedding will be in mid-winter.

Women's box: Texas-San Antonio-UNLV: TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO

Court briefs for November 21, 2000: One of two brothers accused of stabbing a North Las Vegas woman to death in April has made a deal with prosecutors.

IBL, ABA to announce merger: Dean Juipe; The International Basketball League, which includes the Las Vegas Bandits, is announcing later today that it is merging with the American Basketball Association to form a 14-team league.

Gone to the dogs: Former Las Vegan wrote song for 'Dalmations' sequel: Kirk Baird; There are many ways to describe "Digga Digga Dog," the opening and closing song to Disney's big holiday release, "102 Dalmatians," the sequel to the live-action "101 Dalmatians."

NLV, Henderson duel in food drive: Kris Hill; After Albertson's sent a tractor-trailer filled with 23,000 pounds of food donated by North Las Vegas residents Monday, the Salvation Army may not have room for the food donated by Henderson residents.

UNLV-Illinois Box Score: UNLV (1-1)

Columnist Kate Maddox: Russell's concept falls from grace: Kate Maddox; In the yet-to-be-released Vegas heist flick, "3,000 Miles to Graceland," Kevin Costner and Kurt Russell play dueling Elvis impersonators on screen, yet in a strange post-production twist, the two actors also went head-to-head behind the scenes.

Rebels' Katie Barto 74th in NCAA meet: Barto, a native of Henderson, became just the second athlete to represent UNLV at the cross country national finals. Despite freezing temperatures, she clocked 21:47.0 over the 6-kilometer course to claim 74th place, the best-ever finish by a Rebel at the championships.

Consultant: New Orleans casino can't pay $60 million tax for two years: Commissioner of Administration Mark Drennen, the top budget official to Gov. Mike Foster, said the state might be willing to accept $60 million to $70 million, if that sum was guaranteed for at least three years.

Community news briefs for November 21, 2000: A Home Health Care program will be held 1-2 p.m. Wednesday at Valley Hospital Medical Center, 620 Shadow Lane.

Acrobats audition for spot in Cirque du Soleil shows: Angie Wagner; Acrobats, divers, rope climbers and those with talents that seemed like they don't belong in any show auditioned Monday for a spot in one of Cirque du Soleil's seven shows.

UNLV, Ole Miss could reprise thriller Dec. 21: Steve Guiremand; Battle of the Rebels, Part II?

McCarran braces for half-million holiday travelers: One out of seven Nevadans will travel more than 100 miles from home between Wednesday and Sunday for the Thanksgiving holiday, AAA Nevada reports.