Fireworks opens Las Vegas’ new year, centennial

Stephen Curran

Saturday, Jan. 1, 2005 | 8:41 a.m.

Nature appeared to agree New Year's Eve with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's pledge that wind would not cancel what was billed as the nation's largest fireworks show.

Las Vegas brought in 2005 Saturday morning with an eight-minute fireworks and laser show over 10 Strip casinos. The city also opened the celebration of its centennial year.

And thousands of people brought in the New Year in Las Vegas. Strip hotels were nearly fully booked with an estimated 300,000 visitors in town.

The number of revelers actually on the Strip for the New Year's celebration was unclear. Metro Police said initial estimates ranged from 150,000 to 300,000. Police said 12,000 to 15,000 people were downtown.

Event officials were concerned that the $500,000 fireworks show, complete with the song "LV" written for the event by Harrah's headliner Clint Holmes and Pat Caddick, would go off. High winds forecast for Friday night threatened to cancel the show. Because of safety concerns, fireworks aren't allowed to be fired into winds greater than 10 mph.

Goodman, who was being called the "emperor of the wind" Friday night, pledged this week that there would be fireworks, despite the forecast.

Just before midnight Goodman was asked if his prediction would hold.

"Whoever is responsible for the winds will listen to me or else he'll feel my wrath," Goodman told KLAS-TV Channel 8, breaking into a smile.

The wind held off and the evening was relatively calm all around.

As of midnight 23 people had been arrested on the Strip and another four were in custody downtown, police said. Most of those were arrested in alcohol-related incidents, police said.

"The crowd was pretty well behaved," Metro Deputy Chief Mike Ault said. "We had some pockets (of incidents), but it was successful. The weather cooperated and Mother Nature cooperated, so it was another successful New Year's."

The most serious incident reported was a stabbing outside of Caesars Place at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard South and Tropicana. Three people were in serious condition at UMC's trauma center after they were stabbed. The stabbings, which took place about 10:50 p.m., came during a fight between several men, Metro Police spokesman Chris Jones said.

Police early this morning were still looking for a suspect in the stabbings.

Despite the stabbing, New Year's Eve was relatively tame given incidents and tensions that had marked previous events. Since 9/11 there have been worries that Las Vegas, the second most-popular New Year's destination in the country behind New York, would be targeted by terrorists.

Sheriff Bill Young said early Friday evening that there were no credible threats. The heightened terror alert that hung over last year's celebration appeared to soften.

The previously unheard of security precautions put in place last year -- including armed U.S. Customs agents in Blackhawk helicopters flying over the Strip and crews with nuclear-weapon detecting devices on the ground -- were still at the ready this year, police and FBI officials said.

The initial arrest total was down this year, closer to two years ago. About 140 people were arrested on the Strip and downtown last year, a sharp increase from the 23 arrested the year before.

Last year also saw a few stabbings and a shooting that left one person dead outside the SRO nightclub on East Flamingo Road, east of the Strip.

Like last year, Metro Police on Friday closed the Strip from Russell Road to Sahara Avenue about 7 p.m. and 138 specially assigned Clark County Fire Department personnel were positioned at several facilities throughout the county.

Metro spokespeople would not comment on how many officers were on the Strip and Fremont Street Experience, citing security reasons, but said most of the department's 2,100 officers were on duty in some capacity.

Las Vegas' centennial, marking the year a land auction created the city, will run through the year with a number of events. Among the first is the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority float in the annual Rose Parade Saturday in Pasadena.