<aside class="ds-coll" style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px 28px 5px 0px; border: 0px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; vertical-align: baseline; float: left; width: 160px; position: relative; z-index: 10; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Las Vegas police say one person is dead after a shooting Monday morning at Bally’s on the Las Vegas Strip.
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</aside>By MIKE BLASKY
LAS VEGAS ***************
A casino patron was killed and two security guards were wounded Monday morning after a gunman opened fire inside Bally’s on the Strip.
Benjamin Frazier, 41, of Las Vegas, opened fire about 5:45 a.m. in the casino at 3645 Las Vegas Boulevard South, near Flamingo Road, after an argument at the entrance to Drai’s After Hours nightclub.
Frazier asked club security if he could go inside and preview the crowd before paying a cover charge. Police said he decided to pay the cover and went inside, but came out shortly afterward demanding a refund because the club wasn’t full.
He pulled a gun on the security manager during the argument and began firing as several people attempted to wrest the gun from him.
The security manager was shot in the arm, and another Bally’s guard was also shot. A third man was exiting the nightclub and tried to help, but was killed by the gunfire, police said.
“Typical good Samaritan killed while trying to help,” Sgt. John Sheahan said.
It’s unclear how many shots were fired.
Other patrons and guards then jumped on Frazier and held him until authorities arrived. Frazier, who had a head injury, will be booked in absentia on charges of murder and attempted murder. He will be booked into the Clark County jail after he’s released from the hospital.
The three victims and the suspect were taken to University Medical Center, where the club patron died.
Frazier has a criminal history in Las Vegas.
He was arrested on an attempted murder charge for a June 30, 1996, incident. Police sources said the shooting happened at a topless strip club.
But Frazier, then represented by longtime defense lawyer John Momot, cut a deal with prosecutors and plead guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to perform community service and take impulse control counseling.
Most recently, Frazier was charged with three counts of misdemeanor battery for a fight on Feb. 29, 2012, when he punched a man and kicked another. He pleaded guilty in November 2012 to one count of battery and was sentenced to six months probation.
Police taped off the entrance to Drai’s as homicide detectives investigated Monday morning. Bally’s employees stood guard and told patrons to put their phones away and not take pictures.
The shooting was the second deadly shooting on the Strip this year stemming from a nightclub altercation.
Ammar Harris, a pimp who bragged about his criminal life in Las Vegas, was arrested after a February shooting and crash on the Strip that resulted in the deaths of three people. Police said the incident started after Harris and another man argued in Aria’s Haze nightclub.
And last year, three people were wounded after a gang shootout in a parking garage at the Rio. That incident started in Rio’s Crown Theater nightclub.
Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett said he spoke with Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie following Monday’s shooting.
Burnett, who has co-authored memos to casino operators with the sheriff concerning nightclub operations, said his understanding was the Bally’s security force “did what they were supposed to do” before the suspect pulled a gun.
“We’re going to intensify our efforts and our outreach,” Burnett said. “This (incidents surrounding night clubs) has to stop.”
Drai’s was moved temporarily to Bally’s earlier this year after Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall was closed to be converted into the Gansevoort Las Vegas, a 188-room luxury hotel-casino.
The club operated at Bill’s, which was formerly known as the Barbary Coast, as Drai’s After Hours, a late-night, early morning club and restaurant a level below the casino.
That Gansevoort deal fell apart over the weekend, but Caesars Entertainment still plans to finish the project, which is expected to open next year. Drai’s After Hours is expected to return to its former location.
In addition, nightclub operator Victor Drai is developing a 65,000-square-foot rooftop pool area with a day club and nightclub facility. The project is under construction and will add three levels to the current building.
Reporters Howard Stutz, Francis McCabe and Brian Haynes contributed to this report. Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Follow @blasky on Twitter.
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</aside>By MIKE BLASKY
LAS VEGAS ***************
A casino patron was killed and two security guards were wounded Monday morning after a gunman opened fire inside Bally’s on the Strip.
Benjamin Frazier, 41, of Las Vegas, opened fire about 5:45 a.m. in the casino at 3645 Las Vegas Boulevard South, near Flamingo Road, after an argument at the entrance to Drai’s After Hours nightclub.
Frazier asked club security if he could go inside and preview the crowd before paying a cover charge. Police said he decided to pay the cover and went inside, but came out shortly afterward demanding a refund because the club wasn’t full.
He pulled a gun on the security manager during the argument and began firing as several people attempted to wrest the gun from him.
The security manager was shot in the arm, and another Bally’s guard was also shot. A third man was exiting the nightclub and tried to help, but was killed by the gunfire, police said.
“Typical good Samaritan killed while trying to help,” Sgt. John Sheahan said.
It’s unclear how many shots were fired.
Other patrons and guards then jumped on Frazier and held him until authorities arrived. Frazier, who had a head injury, will be booked in absentia on charges of murder and attempted murder. He will be booked into the Clark County jail after he’s released from the hospital.
The three victims and the suspect were taken to University Medical Center, where the club patron died.
Frazier has a criminal history in Las Vegas.
He was arrested on an attempted murder charge for a June 30, 1996, incident. Police sources said the shooting happened at a topless strip club.
But Frazier, then represented by longtime defense lawyer John Momot, cut a deal with prosecutors and plead guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to perform community service and take impulse control counseling.
Most recently, Frazier was charged with three counts of misdemeanor battery for a fight on Feb. 29, 2012, when he punched a man and kicked another. He pleaded guilty in November 2012 to one count of battery and was sentenced to six months probation.
Police taped off the entrance to Drai’s as homicide detectives investigated Monday morning. Bally’s employees stood guard and told patrons to put their phones away and not take pictures.
The shooting was the second deadly shooting on the Strip this year stemming from a nightclub altercation.
Ammar Harris, a pimp who bragged about his criminal life in Las Vegas, was arrested after a February shooting and crash on the Strip that resulted in the deaths of three people. Police said the incident started after Harris and another man argued in Aria’s Haze nightclub.
And last year, three people were wounded after a gang shootout in a parking garage at the Rio. That incident started in Rio’s Crown Theater nightclub.
Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett said he spoke with Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie following Monday’s shooting.
Burnett, who has co-authored memos to casino operators with the sheriff concerning nightclub operations, said his understanding was the Bally’s security force “did what they were supposed to do” before the suspect pulled a gun.
“We’re going to intensify our efforts and our outreach,” Burnett said. “This (incidents surrounding night clubs) has to stop.”
Drai’s was moved temporarily to Bally’s earlier this year after Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall was closed to be converted into the Gansevoort Las Vegas, a 188-room luxury hotel-casino.
The club operated at Bill’s, which was formerly known as the Barbary Coast, as Drai’s After Hours, a late-night, early morning club and restaurant a level below the casino.
That Gansevoort deal fell apart over the weekend, but Caesars Entertainment still plans to finish the project, which is expected to open next year. Drai’s After Hours is expected to return to its former location.
In addition, nightclub operator Victor Drai is developing a 65,000-square-foot rooftop pool area with a day club and nightclub facility. The project is under construction and will add three levels to the current building.
Reporters Howard Stutz, Francis McCabe and Brian Haynes contributed to this report. Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Follow @blasky on Twitter.
