There have been anecdotal accounts of how dangerous Vegas was this past weekend, and the latest Pacman Jones incident certainly made you wonder. Now, the official numbers are out, and one thing's for sure: Vegas is indeed a tricky place for the NBA to visit. KLAS-TV reports 403 arrests, and a climate of "general rudeness." Jason Whitlock and Bill Simmons both had inklings that it was even worse, but this official line is still pretty startling. Of course, the city is trying its best to spin this:
Sheriff Doug Gillespie says his officers performed as they should have and prevented total chaos at the NBA events. He calls the weekend a success from a police standpoint.Uh, okay. I guess "preventing total chaos" is respectable goal for a star-studded, multi-zillion dollar event. Supposedly, "more than half" of the arrests were prostitution-related. And yet one local business owner described the Las Vegas as "filled with an element of violence."
"The presence of police officers were very instrumental, I believe, in keeping this event as safe as it was," Sheriff Gillespie said.
For what it's worth, Gillespie is all for an encore.
Comments (Page 1 of 3)
I thought they had legalized prostitution there.
Clark County legal---City of Las vegas---no
If I was an official in Vegas, I would ban the NBA from ever comming back....I for one will run the other way, if I see those 3 letters anywhere in Vegas.
and I'm sure many millions of others will do the same.
Shame on the Vegas PD for NOT doing what they get paid for, and the government officials who are NOT speaking out about this.
Is anyone surprised by this "revalation". The NBA has become synonomous with thuggery, gangs, violence,"street cred", as a lifetime sports fan of all the major sports I find it to be unwatchable. As someone who has to be mindful of where I spend my entertainment dollars with my children, the NBA is probably number 50 on the list. David Stern needs to recognize that not everyone identifies with what his league has become, which is a league of overpaid, guys who are very interested in keeping a certain cool hip hop image at any expense.
It's legalized, but you have to be "registered" on file with the Las Vegas government, and police, have a "free and clear of diseases" medical report on file. I'm willing to bet most of these prostitutes arrested were from out of state. Prostitutes have been known to travel anywhere there is a big sporting event, a political rally, other whatnots.
I work here in Vegas and the NBA fans are animals. They were spitting and throwing food at the food servers, walking out on there tabs, running out of cabs and limos not paying the fair, starting 40 and 50 persons brawls in the night clubs, many and i mean Many shootings. Dont let are Mayor fool you it looked like a war zone over here. Many employes walked off there jobs called in used sick time ect so they would not have to deal with these thugs. Nobody wants these thugs back not even the casinos.
Prostitution is not legal in Clark County or Las Vegas. Local talk radio is buzzing with the bad side of what happened in Las Vegas during NBA All Star weekend. Locals at resorts say this is the worst weekend for tips and treatment ever. The hip hop crowd needs to learn how to tip and treat people. Not a major surprise if your eyes are open.
The NBA all-star weekend in Las Vegas was a success in my opinion. This was the first of many that Vegas will most likely hold. As stated in this article more then half of the arrests were for prostitution. Those who have been to Vegas know this is a daily happening in the city. I have not heard any news of NBA players involved in any illegal activity in Vegas. Believe me it would have been all over the news if anything did happen. The NBA and its players are not associated with gangs, violence etc as Donny had commented here.
In my opinion if you want to see violence buy a ticket to a hockey game. You will see at least two to three fights per game and the only thing that happens to these players is a few minutes in the penalty box???? And fighting is urged on by the fans??
If a NBA player vents his frustration by yelling at a player or ref he will be fined the majority of the time? Now tell me why this is?
The NBA is by far one of the sports where you will rarely see any violence.
I can guarentee, that if they ever try to bring that event down here, I'll be screaming at my city commisioners. No town needs to knowingly invite that crowd into it.
What is going on? Maybe we should look at who is running the NBA. As a sports fan with three boys we have spent many hours in front of the tv watching b-ball. It is getting so ridicules I cant even watch it anymore. Dont these people know that in thier position millions of kids want to be like them, good or bad.I think it is the responsibility of the nba to teach these players how to act and to enforce a code of ethics. With the stupid money they get paid and with a strict penalty"like getting thrown out of the league" my money sayes that these players would straiten up and fly right. Whether they like it or not these players are role models.
Please know that most of the "thugs" and undesireables being mentioned cared nothing about basektball or the NBA. They took part in none of what the NBA was even offering. The crowd was well over 250,000 strong and I know that less than 5% of those that I encountered on my 4 day trip even fit the thug category. Please, scared, white people SHUT UP!
They should have BOB and the UNI bomber run the NBA. Better yet they should run the country. Sounds like BOB knows everything.
WOW!! Are you suprized at this behavior? This is common for this crew. You can find examples all over the country where these savages carry on in this manner. Virginia Beach/spring break, Myrtle Beach bike week, their own neighborhoods, etc. No comments from Rainbow Bros, Jesse Jackson, Big Mouth Al Sharpton or the NAACP. They will be their next week to sue the business owners for closing their businesses to protect them from the thugs.
Boy the rascism is just dripping from these post. Whys is it that they say there was crime, and everybody acts likes it were the players? You people are retarded!
BOB is an IDIOT!!!! AND A RACIST!!!!! BITCH!!!
Are u people serious? I live in Las Vegas, race has nothing to do with all the problems in Sin City. The motto says it all. In a city were people believe anything goes, many do over step the lines. Would we even be discussing this if the NBA is majority white or another race, anything but black? Its ashamed that the only thing people find wrong with the NBA, is that there are to many black people in the league.
Re: Violent Weekend In Las Vegas
Gee, I wonder what the common denominator was for the increased violence?
I wonder.
Bob:
I completely agree with you.
DHC
All Star Weekend was sucessful in terms of casinos and hotels making their money, but service industry people worked twice as hard and made half as much. "Those people" just don't tip well. You fill in what is meant by "those people". We all know it, but in the age of political correctness, we can't say it. Even if it is the truth. Those people are also responsible for most of the arrests and violence. If they don't want to be stereotyped as violent, rude, etc. then they should police themselves to not act that way, especially when the world's eye is on them.
This illustrates what is wrong with the NBA. The hip hop culture and criminality has ruined the game. Remember when Jordan and Magic were playing? The NBA All-Star game was a huge event. These days it cannot even generate enough interest to warrant a spot on Network TV.
It will be interesting to see the contrast in crime and atmosphere when Nascar comes to town next month. This is the main reason Nascar is crushing the NBA these days as a spectator sport. Who do you think a father would rather see on a poster on his son's wall? Dale Earnhardt Jr. or one of these Allen Iverson types who look like they stepped out of a rap video or the yard in San Quentin and on to the basketball court?
I used to be a big NBA fan. Lebron kind of sparked my interest again, but stories like this ruin my appreciation for the game. The NBA has been on a steady decline while MLB and Nascar continue to flourish. If you want real family entertainment and a good, same time, trade in your NBA season tickets and catch the next Nextel Cup Race in your area.