Casino

LAS VEGAS - Police on Saturday continued their search for a motive for a Friday night murder-suicide at a busy Strip casino in which a man shot and fatally wounded a woman and then killed himself as gamblers fled in terror. The incident unfolded about 8:30 p.m. near the front entrance of the Excalibur hotel-casino as a gunman shot the woman, who was a vendor at Excalibur's concierge desk. The man then turned the gun on himself and died at the scene. The woman was pronounced dead later at a local hospital, police said.

Los Angeles police detectives Tuesday arrested four people at a Las Vegas casino in connection with a quadruple homicide at a Northridge house over the weekend. The four people were taken into custody without incident at the Silverton Hotel and Casino, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck announced at a news conference. Beck declined to answer specific questions about the case, including any possible motive for the slayings. Photos: Four killed in Northridge shooting But law enforcement sources told The Times the killings appeared to stem from a dispute over personal property, although they would not say what kind of items were involved.

LAS VEGAS - The afternoon light is fading as Danielle Kelly walks the place known as the Neon Boneyard. Night will soon overtake this gambling town, a time when that original bling - the fanciful curves of electric neon - for decades beckoned and bewitched. Kelly reviews the metal remnants of cartoonish come-ons that once towered over the Moulin Rouge, Desert Inn, Golden Nugget and Stardust casinos, as well as wedding chapels, dry cleaners and motels. But time moves on, especially here.

Poker star Phil Ivey won $11.5 million in a London casino in August, but the gambling club is refusing to pay him. Ivey was playing a card game called Punto Banco, in which skill plays no role. The winner is determined strictly by luck of the draw. In August, Ivey, 35, and a female companion played at the London casino Crockfords. Over the course of two days, Ivey won $11.5 million. When it was time to cash in, officials at the casino said Ivey's winnings would be transferred to his bank account.

Hong Kong, Macau and Bangkok are linked in a 10-day trip from Gate1 Travel that allows time to explore each city without being on a formal tour schedule. The trip begins in Hong Kong, where participants have three days to shop or visit landmarks -- like Victoria Peak to catch views of the city and the bay. From there, it's a ferry ride to Macau, the Asian Las Vegas, which has pretty beaches and parks in addition to the flashy array of casino resorts and nightlife.

In an unusual move, a Las Vegas casino is offering refunds to gamblers who lost money on the Seahawks controversial 14-12 win over the Packers on Monday. Yes, you read that right, a casino is actually offering to return money to bettors. The owner of The D Las Vegas, Derek Steven, told the Associated Press that the events that transpired in the final moments of the game were unacceptable and that giving people back their money was the right thing to do. The Seahawks won after some of the league's replacement officials botched a call , giving the Seahawks a touchdown on the final play of a game.

WASHINGTON - At a July fundraiser in the elegant Mandarin Oriental hotel near Washington's Tidal Basin, President Obama met with some of his most steadfast supporters - two dozen political and business leaders eager to write sizable checks to help keep him in the White House. All were leaders of Native American tribes, who pressed their issues with a president they say is attuned to their needs. Bill John Baker, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, told Obama his Oklahoma tribe was owed $50 million for its costs of administering federal health services.

In 2010, "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis first accused casino mogul Steve Wynn of threatening to kill him and bury him in the desert. That accusation, which Francis repeated publicly at least twice more, could end up costing him $40 million. A Los Angeles jury this week awarded Wynn that amount in his slander suit against Francis, an outcome Wynn lauded as a strike against an "unbelievably reckless human being. " "Thank God for the justice system that finally sent a message: If you think you're taking a cheap shot, it may be a lot more expensive than you had imagined," Wynn said Tuesday in a statement.

A Los Angeles jury awarded casino mogul Steve Wynn $20 million Monday in his slander suit against "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis - a sum 10 times the gambling debt that sparked the dispute. The L.A. County Superior Court jury found that Francis knowingly made false statements when he told reporters and others that Wynn threatened to kill him and bury his body in the desert over a $2-million bill he ran up during a multi-day gambling spree in 2007. "He told lies. He used the media to get it out there," said Wynn's lead lawyer, Barry Langberg, in lauding the verdict.

Steve Wynn and Joe Francis provided a crash course this week in how rich men settle scores. The Las Vegas casino mogul and the "Girls Gone Wild" impresario have been publicly warring since 2008. Their feud began as many do: with one man, Wynn, claiming the other, Francis, owed him money. It escalated to name-calling. Then incendiary accusations involving prostitution and death threats. So Wynn and Francis did what men of their pocketbook size often do: They called their attorneys.