Vegas Killing Reminiscent of Mob Days

Police in Las Vegas are working with the FBI on the case. They say the 4:00 AM explosion was not a terrorist act, they say it is being investigated as a single murder.

Luxor Hotel Casino Photo courtesy: visitingdc.com

(LAS VEGAS, Nv.) - An apparent car bomb death at the Luxor Hotel Casino in Las Vegas sounds like a blast from the past for some residents in this Nevada gambling town, steeped in a history of mob "hits" and crime, greed and gambling.

The device was left on a car in the Luxor casino parking garage. It exploded early Monday killing a Luxor employee who police have not yet identified. Another person who was in the parking lot at the time received injuries in the blast.

The Las Vegas that draws millions of visitors each year was actually developed by active members of the Mafia, and for years the Mob ruled this desert city with an iron fist, with point men like the late murderer Tony Spilotro taking pride in devising new ways to inflict death and destruction upon those who challenged him.

In recent years this activity has waned, but today's car bomb explosion reminds all that Sin City is not out of the woods in terms of organized crime style "hits."

Police in Las Vegas are working with the FBI on the case. They say the 4:00 AM explosion was not a terrorist act, they say it is being investigated as a single murder.

Investigators say the man was moving the device from the top of the car when it exploded shortly after 4:00 AM. The car was parked on the second floor of a parking lot behind the Luxor hotel-casino.

Apparently it was first reported that the device was in a backpack, police now say that it was not in a backpack.

Aerial video from Las Vegas TV stations shows no apparent damage to the Luxor's parking structure. The AP reports that the entrances were blocked while police, firefighters and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents investigated.

Las Vegas Metro Police say they are investigating the case as aa homicide with an unusual weapon.

The Luxor is a pyramid-shaped hotel at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip which was completed in the late 1990's. The casino's design is a big draw for Vegas and the upper balcony has seen several full view suicides as people hurl themselves over the edge, straight to the casino floor.

The Luxor has 6,000 employees and more than 4,000 rooms.

This Salem-News.com article offers more background on Sin City's questionable past and present: The Battle for Las Vegas; The Law vs. The Mob Looks at Vegas Crime in the 70's and 80's