Las Vegas Nv

LAS VEGAS -- The NCAA is working here, seven members of its staff having been assigned to cover as much ground as possible this week among the approximately 900 teams competing in four prestigious basketball tournaments. No, they're not pulling suspected cheaters off the court and into a room for polygraph tests. "It isn't about what happens in this gym that concerns us," associate director of enforcement Richard A. Johanningmeier said. Said Sandra C.

LAS VEGAS -- Sitting in a chair under the basket of the Rancho High auxiliary gym was UCLA Coach Ben Howland. Four chairs away was Arizona State Coach Herb Sendek. Ten chairs down was USC assistant Bob Cantu. Their focus was Tyler Honeycutt, a 6-foot-8 senior forward from Sylmar High, as he played in the Adidas Super 64 tournament here Tuesday. Four months ago, when a high school season in which he averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds ended, Honeycutt had zero scholarship offers. Now?

Casino operator Boyd Gaming Corp. announced Friday that it would stop work for nine months to a year on a $4.8-billion mega-development in Las Vegas. The Echelon -- slated to include a 140,000-square-foot casino, nearly 5,000 guest rooms in five hotels, two theaters and about 750,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space on 87 acres -- joins several suspended projects serving as reminders of the troubles facing Sin City's gambling market.

Vegas wants you back -- again. A "flyback" from MGM makes it easy enough to hop on the big bird and get away from L.A. for adult Disneyland. Deal: Stay two nights at the MGM Grand and get a voucher for $300 (maximum) airfare credit for a return trip. The offer also includes $25 credit toward food or entertainment (restrictions apply), 15% off spa services and select retail outlets, and two free poolside cocktails.

The slumping economy has Nevada tourism officials reshaping the schedule for an $890-million renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board members were told that the project will be split into three phases, which could push the completion date beyond 2011. "What we are taking is a very fiscally responsible and conservative approach to make sure we don't overextend ourselves," authority spokesman Vince Alberta said.

When he's not on trial, O.J. Simpson wakes up at 5 a.m. and is driving to a golf course in Miami by 6:30. He takes an afternoon nap and goes to bed early. In between, the football great is beset by requests. Strangers want to take his picture. Fans want to buy him a drink. And, according to audio recordings played in his Las Vegas robbery-kidnap trial, men who call themselves his friends try to cash in on his infamy.

In sin city, Halloween is circled in red. The Circus of Horrors, Hillbilly Hell and Vampire's Blood Feast are among the many haunted houses that promise to terrify Vegas visitors. There's even a haunted casino for folks who don't find the real gambling halls scary. "The feel of fear, that's what you want to give them," says Jason Egan, the founder of Fright Dome, the largest Halloween attraction in town, at Circus Circus.

Six-year-old Cole Puffinburger was the subject of a desperate four-day search after police said he was kidnapped at gunpoint by Mexican drug dealers. But it was a bus driver who ultimately found him, healthy, unharmed and walking on an empty sidewalk here, authorities said Sunday. The driver spotted Cole walking near the Strip about 10:30 p.m. Saturday and pulled over to offer the boy a ride. When he realized who he was, the driver called police.

Matthew Nichols was shocked to discover the apartment across from his had a methamphetamine lab. The revelation led him and his wife to flee their neighborhood east of downtown seven years ago and buy a house where they could raise their three children safely. Last week, drugs again intruded into Nichols' life, this time on a quiet suburban street hard up against the mountains that separate the city's sprawl from Lake Mead.

Nathan Kaye doesn't need to check the weather forecast before getting dressed for work. Regardless of whether it's going to be 60 or 110 degrees, he pulls on ski boots, a winter parka and gloves. Even then, within minutes of starting his shift, his ears and his nose are bright red. "They're numb," Kaye says with a laugh as he pours ice-cold vodka into a glass made of ice and sets it atop the bar, which is also made of ice. A customer takes her drink to a nearby couch, also carved out of ice.