Sin City Seethes Over 2nd Obama Diss

Money will go to the five states hardest hit by the bust

(AP) - President Obama will unveil $1.5 billion in housing help today during a visit to Las Vegas, the city with the worst foreclosure crisis in the nation. The money will go to the five hardest-hit states to fund programs to help jobless homeowners and those with underwater mortgages. Agencies in Nevada, Arizona, California, Florida, and Michigan will get the aid. More»

(NEWSER) - Casinos are making big bank off the tiniest—and oft-most derided—denomination, USA Today reports. Gambling outfits have added penny slots at an amazing rate—in the last 2 years, Nevada has removed 12,000 more costly machines to make room for 7,000 penny slots—and the move has paid off. In Missouri, for example, penny bets make up 42% of the total and a whopping 63% of casino profits. More»

Empty homes are easy target for marijuana growers

(NEWSER) - With Nevada and Las Vegas among the hardest-hit housing markets in the nation, weed dealers are increasingly turning to the region's empty houses to set up marijuana farms, reports the New York Daily News . Cops have busted 130 indoor pot farms so far this year, up by nearly two dozen from last year. With so many houses abandoned all over Las Vegas, and a single home capable of holding up to 200 plants worth $3,000 each, experts say it's not a problem that is going to go away any time soon. “With this market, it’s almost a free-for-all right now,” grumbled a local police officer. More»

Facing re-election challenge, he breaks with Obama

(NEWSER) - Harry Reid broke with President Obama Monday to voice his opposition to the mosque and Islamic cultural center planned a few blocks from Ground Zero. A spokesman for the Senate majority leader, who faces a tough re-election bid in Nevada, said Reid respects freedom of religion "but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else," Politico reports. More»

Ties to casinos bring in the campaign cash for Senate majority leader

(AP) - Harry Reid's poll numbers make him look like an easy mark, but casino owners who have a history of disregarding party and going with the winner in Nevada politics are putting their money on the majority leader's reelection. Reid is counting on decades of close ties with the gambling industry and the nearly one in every three jobs it supports in the state to win over disapproving voters. And they are some of his top donors. More»