Print edition for August 11, 2006

Jeff Haney isn't buying the hype from Maskaev's manager: Rappaport says that although an old management team mishandled Maskaev, he's now on the fast track toward a world heavyweight championship. Rappaport believes Maskaev will buck the odds and defeat Hasim Rahman to win the WBC title Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

UNLV already preparing to break wishbone: UNLV opens its second season under head coach Mike Sanford in three weeks, and the preparations for its first opponent, Idaho State, are well under way.

The final table at the main event of the World Series of Poker: AP; BIG NEWS: Former Hollywood talent agent Jamie Gold single-handedly eliminated seven of eight other final table finishers early Friday, to go on to win the main event of the World Series of Poker for the $12 million top prize. In second was Paul Wasicka, a 25-year-old Internet player from Westminster, Col., who went home with $6.1 million. "I was just lucky sometimes and sometimes I outplayed people," said Gold, a 36-year-old Malibu, Calif., resident. "I just feel really fortunate. I was playing some great poker. The best poker of my life."

Traveler's lament: I gave up my water, why do you still have your lip gloss?: I'm flying at 26,000 feet, and I'm annoyed. On this day of hyper homeland security, when airline passengers are being told to give up their liquids, their gels - even lipstick - I'm dying for the bottle of water I left back at the terminal.

State probes $500,000 grant to troubled institute at UNLV: Nevada emergency management officials are investigating the circumstances under which the Institute for Security Studies obtained a $500,000 grant to study the state's vulnerability to terrorism.

The death of an arts scene?: By Kristen Peterson; For almost two years, the naked woman sat placidly before a silhouette of the Las Vegas Strip - a flower between her legs, wings extending from her back and the words "The Birth of An Arts Scene" painted below her.

John Katsilometes tells the story of a good Samaritan who came to the rescue of a California family: "We were on the north side of Las Vegas, and we called every cab company we could think of. Nobody could respond," said Mary Stratton, a resident of Bakersfield, Calif., who visited Las Vegas with her husband, Bob, and 9-year-old grandson Alexander Maese on the weekend of July 15-16. "We begged and pleaded, but no one could come out and get us. I was being told it was a big fight weekend." (Shane Mosley knocked out Fernando Vargas at the MGM Grand that night.)

Editorial: Don't trash Nevada: According to the Associated Press, the Coalition of Northeastern Governors has written a letter protesting the Senate spending bill that calls for regional storage of spent nuclear fuel in states that generate commercial nuclear power.

Letter: The sooner we get out of Iraq, the better: This attempt at colonialism has no more chance than the numerous attempts we've seen fail in Africa over the decades.

Editorial: Ongoing security problems: Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada called for the resignation upon the news that a desktop computer containing data on 38,000 veterans had been stolen from Unysis Corp., a VA subcontractor.

Thursday at the main event of the World Series of Poker: AP; BIG NEWS: Former Hollywood talent agent Jamie Gold eliminated three final table finishers early Thursday, extending his dominant lead with 51.2 million in chips. Five players remained. The nearest competitor was Paul Wasicka, a 25-year-old Internet player from Westminster, Colo., with 14.6 million. Four-time World Series bracelet winner Allen Cunningham, 29, slipped to third with 13.7 million. "I'm feeling great. I couldn't be playing any better," said Gold, 36. Play would continue Thursday and perhaps into Friday until there's a winner.

Editorial: Terror plot recalls 9/11: Airport authorities, responding to Homeland Security Department directives, increased security at all checkpoints. For flights arriving from the United Kingdom, security was at red alert - the highest - for the first time since the 2001 attacks.