The obligatory “explosion in Las Vegas” post
posted at 12:14 pm on May 7, 2007 by Allahpundit
I guess we should get something up about this. Early reports were of a man being killed when a device in his backpack went off in the Luxor parking lot; new reports claim that it wasn’t a backpack and that it wasn’t even his. Apparently it was left on top of his car, and when he and a fellow employee got off work shortly after 4 a.m. and investigated, boom.
Anyway:
Police say the blast was not a terrorist act, but an apparent slaying with an unusual murder weapon…
There’s not much damage around the vehicle — and the hotel and casino were not evacuated.
Figure a disgruntled gambler with a grudge against the casino or maybe mafia/bookie justice for a bad debt. The unusual hour, location, and low intensity of the explosion makes it an unlikely candidate for jihad unless it’s of the freelance variety, and even then, why wouldn’t the perpetrator have walked into the casino and set it off there to maximize casualties?
MM has excellent background on terrorist interest in Vegas, though.
Update: The cops suspect the victim was the intended target.
Blowback
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Sin City has to be a major target for terrorists … because of all the gambeling … just don’t ask ‘em about the “tabacco shops” in Saudi Arabia.
Tony737 on May 7, 2007 at 12:19 PM
Its a wonder The Sopranos wasn’t based partly in Las Vegas. Everyone knows how things work in Sin City. I guess since everyone can gain fairly substantially the fellas with the crooked noses keep to (and police) themselves.
Of course if you dare try to cheat in the casino, any casino, then the owners will take care of you, and then make sure every other casino has your face in their computer security systems so you can’t try and cheat anyone else.
Neo on May 7, 2007 at 12:30 PM
We need to call for a withdrawal from Las Vegas.Dhemmocrats?
spazzmomma on May 7, 2007 at 12:32 PM
I’m not pointing fingers,but what was the bombers hyphenated name? Just saying.
spazzmomma on May 7, 2007 at 12:33 PM
Unlikely it has anything to do with the mob, since dead…well…loan deadbeats never make payments. Much more efficient to snip off fingers and toes. Deadbeat can still work that way.
My first guess would be a disgruntled-employee plan gone bad. My secound, would be a terrorist realized it’s better to double down with the sinners than to fly apart … well … with the sinners.
doufree on May 7, 2007 at 12:37 PM
Spazzmomma: I agree. The war in Las Vegas is unwinnable.
nico on May 7, 2007 at 12:37 PM
“The cops suspect the victim was the intended target.”
His name wasn’t Mark Dice, was it? Darn.
Drum on May 7, 2007 at 12:41 PM
Dice/Vegas?
nico on May 7, 2007 at 12:49 PM
I’d have to side with the “not terrorism” (within the war on terror definition). While Jihadis do not operate under western war standards, they also tend to hit big targets simulatenously. 10 guys in 10 casinos on a long weekend would be a more logical way of carrying out such an operation.
The mob in Vegas isn’t as prominent as it used to be. If it were, then those jerks handing out the really bad porn would not be on the Strip, nor would the homeless. Binions would still exist with the fantastic breakfast deal. Actually, all the food would be cheap. Worst thing that ever happened to Vegas was the removal of the mob from the casinos.
Krydor on May 7, 2007 at 12:50 PM
No, the worst thing was getting rid of the money players for the nickel and dime ham and eggers who don’t know how to tip or just don’t want to while complaining about not getting enough free drinks and a buffet while they play for twenty minutes at $5 a hand….
ScottG on May 7, 2007 at 1:03 PM
Moral of the story: If you find a bag on top of your car … DON’T TOUCH IT! Call security, then get a taxi home.
Tony737 on May 7, 2007 at 1:09 PM
Sounds like a case for CSI, and not The Unit.
BohicaTwentyTwo on May 7, 2007 at 1:12 PM
My question would be: in this day and age of terrorism both international AND domestic, AND in such a high value target area as Vegas, HOW does a back-pack/whatever ~ sitting ATOP a car all by its lone-self in the wee hours of the morning ~ escape detection?
tree hugging sister on May 7, 2007 at 1:21 PM
Why do authorities rush to having these be the first words out of their mouths these days? They treat terrorism with the same skepticism formerly reserved for reports of UFO’s. Do local authorities automatically lose control to the feds if the “T-word” is invoked? Is that a good thing?
huckleberry on May 7, 2007 at 1:22 PM
Ace Rothstein?
Valiant on May 7, 2007 at 1:31 PM
The first thing they should find out is why it wasn’t under or inside the car. Maybe it fell out of a plane overhead . . . nm it’s 1:40pm and not 1:40am so I really can’t take that any futher. . . brain not fully wired yet.
- The Cat
MirCat on May 7, 2007 at 1:40 PM
Have you guys seen Casino? More specifically, the first 45 seconds of Casino?
Jim Treacher on May 7, 2007 at 2:42 PM
Best. Movie. Ever.
Nonfactor on May 7, 2007 at 3:18 PM
I’ve lived in Vegas since ’66. Casino is EXACTLY how things happened. A couple of name changes and that’s all in the movie.
It really sucks what happened to that poor guy. It does seem like more of a hit than a terrorist act. My prayers go out to the family/friends of the guy.
If it were terror related, he’d would have had to have been the stupidest terrorist on the planet. (Come to think of it they’re all pretty stupid.)
Mojave Mark on May 7, 2007 at 7:22 PM