Las Vegas Sun

February 12, 2012

Currently: 50° | Complete forecast | Log in

Regulators expand probe at Hard Rock’s Rehab pool

By Mary Manning

Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009 | 12:45 p.m.

Rehab arrests

Nancy Nicole Veley Launch slideshow »

State gaming regulators are expanding their investigation at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino's Rehab pool after Metro Police arrested eight people Monday on drug and prostitution charges during an undercover operation.

The Nevada State Gaming Control Board will examine more aspects of the Hard Rock's pool operation, said Chief Enforcement Officer Jerry Markling.

The gaming investigators will look at patterns of behavior at the Rehab pool, Markling said. For example, he said, investigators will look at whether the alleged attempts to sell drugs and solicit a prostitute were isolated or whether it happens frequently.

Investigators also will review the Hard Rock's precautions and procedures for preventing people from bringing drugs into the pool area, Markling said.

"We're investigating any issues similar to this wherever they occur," Markling said, adding that similar investigations are ongoing at other Las Vegas Valley resorts.

The investigation is expected to take several months, he said. The control board is the enforcement arm of the Nevada Gaming Commission, which licenses casinos.

In a statement released Tuesday, Hard Rock officials said the resort has "a zero-tolerance policy regarding these alleged activities. Hard Rock has worked with Metro in the past to develop security procedures for our pool party and will continue to fully cooperate with Metro going forward."

Detectives from Metro's vice and narcotics bureau and the special investigations section arrested the eight people in an operation targeting narcotics and prostitution-related crimes, police said. Metro said the action was in response to increased incidents of illicit activities at resort pools throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

Discussion: comments so far…

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.

Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.

No trusted comments have been posted.

Post a comment

Commenting requires registration.

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy.

If you would like to submit your comment as a letter to the editor, you may submit it here.

Most Popular

  • Viewed
  • Discussed
  • E-mailed
  • Facebook