Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Inside the Justice Department Investigation into Ryan Zinke and MGM

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According to Polipace.com, Ryan Zinke has been fired by Donald Trump as Secretary of Interior. Zinke’s departure comes after a tumultuous two years at the department, marked by mounting allegations of misconduct in office — including a deal he backed that helped MGM.  He also faced the prospect of congressional probes after newly-elected Democrats take majority control of the House.

The feds are looking  whether Zinke illegally blocked a proposal from two Connecticut Native American tribes to expand a casino because of political pressure and possible lobbying (aka donations) from MGM resorts.

A referral to the Justice Department means prosecutors will explore whether a criminal investigation is warranted. While an agency’s inspector general regularly issues reports on the findings of its inquiries, it refers cases to the Justice Department only when it has determined that there could be criminal violations.

Interior career staffers had recommended approving the tribes’ application to jointly run the casino, which would have competed with an MGM Resorts International casino across the border, in Massachusetts. But MGM and two Nevada senators lobbied against the permit, and in the end, Zinke did not grant it.

Representatives of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes also have filed a lawsuit alleging that Mr. Zinke’s decision “was the product of improper political influence.”

 

Is Nobu is Finished with Nobu?

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Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa owner of the sushi chain Nobu revealed that he’s revamping all his restaurant including his Las Vegas signature restaurant, and getting rid of the signature style of fusion cooking that has made him famous, according to the LA Times.

So basically, Nobu is no longer Nobu – but will become more a “traditional” sushi place with “old school sushi preparations” according to executive chef Christopher Shane Chan Yai Ching.

Gone is all the cool preparations and fancy presentations that made Nobu famous, and in will be more “accessible” dishes that are both easier to make, and cheaper for the restaurant to prepare – and thus a bigger profit for the restaurant chain.

This is not unexpected as Nobu went from a few restaurants to a chain of almost two dozen restaurants in the world – that can’t have afford to have the Chef monitoring the quality of the dishes at all restaurants. An insider told us that Nobuyuki Matsuhisa is planning to open many more restaurants — and a simpler style will conform to the least common denominator he will be trying to attract.

Bah-Humbug: LVMPD Cracks Down on Giving to Homeless During Holiday Season

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Violent Crime in Las Vegas is at an all-time high, but LVMPD brass have decided the real issue is “giving to the homeless” during the Holiday Season.

According to the law, there is nothing illegal about giving to homeless, but LVMPD has decided to be “creative” by ticking drivers who give to the homeless.

According to Metro Deputy Chief Chris Jones, on Fox5 Las Vegas, the reason for the crack down is that “we see it often where people will stop in the middle of an intersection, to give money or for…And this is very dangerous.”

However, there is no record, nor can LVMPD provide any evidence that any accidents, or anything bad has happened by stopping to help the homeless.

In fact, I spoke briefly to a LVMPD officer downtown off the record, and she told me that she would NEVER ticket anyone for giving to homeless. “It’s Christmas, why would I want to be a scrooge?”

Almira Sanders, a local who works down town on Fremont Street told us that she “regularly gives to the homeless” and this “crack down” will not stop her. “If I get a ticket from LVMPD for doing a good deal, so what?”

According to Metro, they’ve only issued less than two dozen “parking violations” for giving to homeless.

Attempted Murder of Gay Couple in Las Vegas is Hate Crime

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Fox5 in Las Vegas is reporting that a gay couple in Las Vegas has been brutally attacked in an incident that sent them both to the hospital with life-threatening injuries:

Charles was hit in the head. He was released Friday morning. On the phone, Vincent told FOX5 he was released from University Medical Center on Friday night. But he is still in a lot of pain. He has two broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Thursday night, Charles picked up Vincent from work at Walmart. Little did they know two people were following them home.

When they got out of the car in front of their apartment, “I was about to unlock the door, the next thing I hear, he’s calling my name,” Charles said. “I come back, I see my boyfriend fighting with the guy.”

The fight spilled over onto their front porch, where they knocked over a glass table.

“There was a lot of glass on the floor so the guy came around,” Charles said. “He picked up the glass. I was like, ‘Don’t do that.’ And he started stabbing my boyfriend in the back. The guy was kicking him in his ribs.”

According to him, an employee of Walmart that he works with, followed him and his boyfriend back home.

“It was all about gay bashing,” Charles told Fox5. “The guy came up to my boyfriend’s job, calling him an abomination, calling him fag.”

The Crazy Case of Triggs Elementary School in Las Vegas

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This week several angry parents of students at Vincent L Triggs Elementary reached out to me to complain and make a few accusations about incidents that they felt weren’t only unethical, questionable, but in some cases very much illegal. It started with one parent texting me that there were serious problems with the school, including according to her, a currently unfounded claim of embezzlement of funds by Parent Teacher Organization President.

She gave me several phone numbers, and also shared my phone number with other parents and teachers who wanted to speak to me. They all had stories that they felt were “emergencies” that consisted from one member of the Parent’s Teacher Organization (PTSO) saying that she had evidence the current President was using funds and the Tax ID # illegally, and another claiming that the Principal of the School (name removed) was punishing her kid because she complained about a teacher.

They all were really upset and all wanted to talk to me immediately because they said it was only getting worse. I honestly not sure I ever want to even consider writing another blog post about CCSD after hearing all the complaints, some not even relevant to the story.

Another parent told me of an incident where she learned of a gun and knife was taken to school on multiple incidents, and then the police weren’t involved at all – and it was covered up by both the teacher and principal because the parent was “connected” somehow with the school.

I soon got text messages forwarded to me from other parents about the incident, and how they claim their concerns were ignored by the administration.

It goes on: Yet another parent claimed that another teacher was being targeted because the PTSO President wanted “everyone in the school to be Hispanic and speak Spanish, with no white people.” Worse, she main claims the PTO President, was breaking the law and is a “wanted felon with a warrant” and hasn’t passed background checks. She also claimed the PTSO President, was illegally going to school and doesn’t even live in the district.

It was very, very clear there were a lot of angry parents who wanted to tell me their stories.

I called the school – wanting to speak to the administration, and even emailed them. There was no response from anyone about the questions, despite promises to return my calls. Emails to CCSD were not replied to, and not a single voice mail was returned.

Joanna Mendez, the PTSO President did speak to me briefly, did confirm that she does not live in the school zone, but she has special permission to go there. This was confirmed by another source, a teacher, who said “Joanna is a very talented artist and works super hard at that school — is she out of zone I would definitely think they would try to keep her also because her kid’s special needs.” She told me the school would contact me and answer my questions (which they didn’t, again).

However, five minutes after my phone call, a told me they confronted a parent in the school, and accused HER of being the person speaking to me, and according to the witnesses, “escorted her off the property.” She wasn’t actually the person that spoke to me, but confirmed that the school was in some sort of “emergency lockdown” to control what was coming out.

Again, neither the Clark County School District, or the principal of the School have returned my calls to talk about this – and even went as far as one employee hanging up at me at the school after saying “we’ve been ordered to not talk about this with you.” It’s very difficult to get the “other side” of the story when Administrators are purposely refusing to answer questions to the press or parents. In this case, they seem to be attempting not only hide what is going on, but to take action to prevent parents from speaking to me.

One teacher who knows the principal did go “off the record” to tell me that Cooper is an “amazing principal” and does everything in her power to make parents happy.  She said the principal goes “above and beyond” most administrators. Strangely, she did mention that are “lots of cronyism” but nothing sinister. She did agree there was a “culture of non-transparency” that upsets a lot of parents.

Yes, it gets even more strange: another random parent did contact me, after I sent out a tweet asking people to contact me about an incident with, claiming that I was “harassing her” and her son, because she believed the tweet was referring to her.  Despite numerous responses telling it had nothing to do with her, not was anyone named in the tweet – she went as far to create new social media accounts to attack both myself and others in media.

This ended in me having to get my attorney involved to contact law enforcement if necessary. I even went as far to try speak to her, to try to explain this had nothing to do with her whatsoever, that I had no idea who she was – and she really needed to calm down and understand that continuing to contact me was illegal.

She claimed that her son had a “toy gun” and went to defend her son and herself— saying that the school had actually CONTACTED her about me calling asking questions and “warned her.” This seems like  another incident perhaps of the administration taking punitive actions based on perceived hostility. None of this this isn’t normal, nor how a school district should be handling press and complaints from parents, and makes me wonder what is really going on over there.

Is there something sinister going on here, are the accusations made by parents valid? I have no idea — I wasn’t even sure I was going to write a story about this, until it turned into this crazy 24 hours of angry phone calls and conversations with parents. I’m pretty sure this might be my last CCSD story, just because it was such a monumental pain in the ass.

I can’t tell if the allegations are actually true and not making any claim whatsoever — and it would require a lot more investigative work. From an outsider with decades of experience in investigation, journalism and media, when people start acting this way – even if they aren’t hiding something, it makes them seem like something nefarious is going on. The lack of transparency to both journalists, and the parents, coupled with the complete failure of CCSD to address questions should concern everyone.

UPDATE 20:15: The parents are obviously angry: I have more messages and more complaints from parents who feel their concerns aren’t being met, but if they actually file complaints against the administration, their kids will be hurt. There’s really no way for me to know if this is true or not, and I’m not attempting to make any claims. I’m more concerned that there is something WRONG if parents feel their voices are ignored. I’m a full-time single parent, and I’m autistic: I get how you can be passionate about your child. It wasn’t easy raising a kid by myself.  

Casino Air Expert Claims Vegas Casinos Are Killing Customers with Toxic Air

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Denny Barringer has been fighting dirty air in casinos for so long that he remembers when all of them were floor to ceiling smoke so thick that you could barely see anything. When smoking stopped being “cool” for most Americans and many people started complaining about the smell, he got a lot of his business, creating systems that make sure the air is breathable, safe and smells clean.

He may be very well considered one of the leading expert in air filtration systems for Casinos, and has redone dozens of casinos around the US, and even the entire Treasure Island recently. However, now he has another fight: exposing what he claims is poison being pumped into casinos by companies.

In my discussions with Barriger two years ago, he told me that there is an enormous coverup going on by many of the Casinos to hide the fact that they are pumping in toxic air via perfume systems. According to Barringer, this all started back in 1991 when casinos left and right were installing these systems in order to cover up the scent of the smoke.

The first such systems in Las Vegas were installed at the Mirage in  Mark Peltier, president of a company called AromaSys. That Barringer claims is the worst offender, “spraying poisons in the air” Since then, the systems have spread up and down the Strip by AromaSys and competitors – including, what he says is the most dangerous casino company: MGM.

Instead of cleaning the air  Barringer claims that the systems were pumping in chemicals that are banned by the FDA, and causing serious health issues.

“I don’t think that most Vegas Casinos are doing the right thing. They all know what they do,” Barringer told us over the phone. “They only care about profits, not health issues. They don’t care if their employees are gagging or diseased (from the perfume systems)”

He goes as far to claim that the air is not just toxic, but can cause cancer. He points to the testimony of Ken Valentino in front of the Nevada State Assembly:

“I was not aware of the problems caused by air fresheners until recently. We have lost quite a few people in the last five to six years to cancer, and many of them had thyroid cancer. Some people complain every day, because as soon as they step inside the property their noses are running or they are having problems breathing. We always talked about what we believed was causing everyone to feel bad here. I know I got cancer from it, and I have lost many of my co-workers to cancer.”

Yvette Monet, a former spokesperson for MGM said she was familiar with Mr.Barringer’s claims, but dismissed it as “fake news” by someone trying to sell a product.

Some casinos have already taken steps to remove these systems from their air. Sands, composed of the Venetian and Palazzo stopped using these systems almost two years ago, and of course, Treasure Island had a new system installed by Barringer’s company.

Barringer has put together this information sheet, Entitled Toxic Casinos that explains some of the science behind the danger, according to him, including chemicals which are clearly labeled as illegal for human use.

Nevada mulls over accepting wagers from outside the state

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As Nevada increasingly experiences more competition from states offering legalized sports betting, (a consequence of lifting the federal ban this summer), the state is weighing up the prospect of allowing the acceptance of wagers placed by customers based outside its borders.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board convened in October to discuss the idea. Competition from at least five states that now offer legalised sports wagers has resulted in the Board proposing to upgrade regulations of Nevada’s industry, providing the federal government and other state governments allow it.

Ten representatives from Nevada’s gaming industry provided testimony towards a string of proposed amendments to gaming regulations within the state, including Regulation 22, which outlines the management of sports pools and race books. The changes already mooted include amending existing regulation that restricts sportsbooks and race books accepting bets from those outside of Nevada’s border. The amendment would include the statement: “unless such wagers are legal in the jurisdiction from which they originate and federal law allows such wagers…”. Put simply, the amendments would enable Nevada-based sportsbooks and race books to accept wagers from those based in New Jersey, Delaware, Mississippi and West Virginia, as well as Nevada. New Mexico recently became the sixth U.S. state to legalize sports wagers at one of its tribal casinos in the Albuquerque region.

The proposed changes would also scrap the need for a player registering for a new iGaming account to provide their Social Security details. Instead, new registrants would be asked to submit only the final four digits of their number. Discussions have also taken place about the inclusion of a new requirement that enforces sportsbooks to honor winning betting tickets for 12 months after a live event, as opposed to the existing 30-day rule.

It would appear that most of these stipulations would not be applicable under the existing Interstate Wire Act (1961), which prohibits the transmission of betting on sports across state borders. Nevada could be prepared to propose amendments to create a broader, more contemporary Wire Act which would pertain only to states where mobile sports betting is permitted.

Almost all iGaming operators now have mobile platforms available, allowing players to enjoy their favorite games and place sports wagers on the go. In New Jersey’s regulated iGaming market, players are permitted to set up iGaming accounts without having to be physically present at a land-based casino. This boon has resulted in NJ’s remote sports wagering revenues overtaking those placed in bricks-and-mortar sportsbooks and casinos.

Despite the improved regulated betting landscape in New Jersey and the legalization of wagering in New Mexico, Las Vegas still appears to be thriving, according to recent figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. September 2018 recorded an all-time high sports pool win of $56.3 million, with total volume of $571 million recorded. The Board revealed that $389 million of this total volume was placed on NFL and college football. How long Nevada’s betting volumes will remain at such high levels remains to be seen; particularly with other U.S. states beginning to legalize wagering in their state lines.

Rhode Island, New York and Pennsylvania have all legalized sports betting but, as yet, these states have not yet passed regulations to permit their own sportsbooks to accept wagers. Momentum is also gathering pace for legalized sports wagering in Colorado, the District of Columbia and Indiana. Lawmakers in Indiana appear ready to not only embrace sports wagering, but online and mobile wagering too. The addition of permitted mobile wagering could result in an increase of $250 million in annual revenues for Indiana, according to gambling industry research specialists, Eilers and Krejcik.

Although a string of mid-Atlantic and north-eastern U.S. states have already forged ahead with legalization action, it seems the mid-west states could also be preparing to follow suit. In Ohio, state lawmakers have pencilled in a new bill for its 2019 session. Given Indiana’s desire to get in on the action, its neighboring Kentucky state also seems keen to do so. Its lawmakers have already filed a sports betting bill for 2019’s session, too. It’s certainly an exciting time for the regulated U.S. gambling industry, and those in Vegas will be watching with interest as to whether Nevada can sustain its position as the number-one state for revenues; particularly as it has come under fire from Macau in the Far East, on a global scale.

 

Is Google Moving to Las Vegas?

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Good news for the economy of the valley as Google announces that they will be building a huge data center in Henderson near Warm Springs Road and Boulder Highway.

According to to Google, the center will bring 50 jobs to the area and 3,000 temporary construction jobs.

Investigators Found Rep. Kihuen Harassed Women Including Unwanted Touching

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The US House Ethics Committee agreed with my assessment that retiring US Rep. Ruben Kihuen had a little issue with persistently going after women he worked with weird sexual advances. We had previously reported about it before the mainstream media in my blog, and didn’t make a lot of friends doing so – and sorta became persona non-grata in a few campaigns.

That being said, House investigators met with dozens of witnesses and found that Kihuen didn’t really known how to control himself and subjected ladies to “unwanted physical and verbal advances,” according to the report.

It didn’t stop at just harassing workers: a lobbyist described behavior that seems to be pretty close to sexual assault. She says his behavior including Kihuen “sliding his hand under her dress and onto her thigh, grabbing her buttocks” and sending her messages asking her to sit on his lap and “through the use of emojis, that they make a sex tape together.”

Best part? The report says he did it in front of other people – and there are witnesses. Dozens of them. It really does show that there’s this real belief amongst men in power they can get away with this behavior before this year.

Where to Get Free Food for Veterans in Las Vegas

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Numerous restaurants are offering free meals to veterans as the nation honors vets on Nov. 11. Most are big chain restaurants.

Most places require that you show proof of military service

  • Applebee’s is giving away full-size entrees to vets and active duty members. The choices include: Classic Bacon Cheeseburgers, 6 oz. Select Top Sirlon, Chicken Tenders Platter, Double Crunch Shrimp, Fiesta Lime Chicken, Oriental Grilled Chicken Salad, Oriental Chicken Salad and Three-Cheese Chicken Penne. You must dine-in. Only on Nov. 11.
  • Buffalo Wild Wings is offering vets and active duty members a free small order of traditional or boneless wings and a side of fries. Dine-in only on Nov. 11.
  • BJ’s Restaurant will give all service members a complimentary entree up to $12.95 plus a free Dr. Pepper on Nov. 11.
  • Chili’s is allowing vets and active duty to choose from seven different dishes on Nov. 11. Click here for a look at those entrees.
  • Cracker Barrel will offer a free slice of its Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake or a choice of one of its coffee drinks on Nov. 11.
  • Chipolte is offering a Buy One Get One Free on a burrito, bowl, salad or taco on Nov. 11 from open to close for all active military and spouses and vets.
  • Dunkin’ is offering any donut free on Nov. 11 to a vet or active duty military member. In-store only.
  • Famous Dave’s is offering a free two-meat combo on Nov. 11 and 12.
  • Hooters is offering all active military and vets a free meal from a select menu on Nov. 11.
  • Joe’s Crab Shack will give a 20-percent discount to vets on Nov. 11.
  • Little Caesars is giving away free Hot-N-Ready lunch combos from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 11. Just mention the deal if you’re a vet.
  • Lucille’s Smokehouse BBQ is giving away a complimentary dessert and a 20-percent discount with proof of service on Nov. 11 and 12.
  • Macaroni Grill is offering free a Mom’s Ricotta Meatballs and Spaghetti entree on Nov. 11 to all vets and active military.
  • Red Lobster will offer the choice of one free appetizer or dessert to vets and active duty members. The deal is good for Nov. 11 and 12.
  • Red Robin will give vets and active duty a free Double Burger with bottomless fries for dine-in customers on Nov. 11.
  • White Castle if offering vets and active duty a free breakfast basket combo or castle combo meal #1-6 on Nov. 11 and 12.
  • Wienerschnitzel if offering a free Chili Dog with a small fry and small Pepsi to vets and active duty military on Nov. 11.
  • Yard House will give active duty military and vets a free appetizer on Nov. 11 for dine-in only.