Sorting Out Details Of Casino Chaos

Thousands of bikers rumbled out of town Sunday as investigators sorted out the details of a casino brawl between rival motorcycle gangs that left three people dead.

The annual Laughlin River Run, one of the nation's largest motorcycle festivals, came to an uneasy end as dozens of extra police patrolled the streets to guard against possible retaliation.

"It's just a mass exodus," said Sgt. Chuck Jones of the Las Vegas police department, which has jurisdiction in the Colorado River casino town 80 miles southeast of Las Vegas. "If you go on the highway right now, it's just motorcycle after motorcycle as far as you can see."

Gamblers ran for cover Saturday as 60 to 70 people fought inside Harrah's hotel-casino. Police said gunfire erupted when an argument between the rival Mongols and Hells Angels gangs escalated.

"Blow by blow, stab by stab, and shot by shot, we know exactly what happened in that casino," said Las Vegas police Lt. Vince Cannito after watching casino surveillance tapes.

Police also were trying to determine if the killing of another biker on the road to Laughlin was connected to the casino shooting.

"If there is any other event that precipitated what happened in there we may never know."

All three of the dead were gang members involved in the fight, police said.

Calvin Schaffer, 33, who is affiliated with the Hells Angels, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of murder, Cannito said. Police did not release his hometown.

After interviewing more than 500 people, police said they arrested three or four people on outstanding warrants, unconnected to the shooting. More arrests are possible.

Police said they arrived at the casino two minutes after the casino erupted in gunfire.

"There were shell casings landing right by us," said John Davidson, 39, who ducked beneath a blackjack table during the melee. "I had to pull the dealer down. She was screaming."

SWAT teams and law enforcement officers from Arizona, Nevada and California were called in, and authorities warned of the danger for further violence. More than 180 law officers were stationed in the town that is normally patrolled by five or six. Still others patrolled roads just across the state line.

Officers said the surveillance tapes clearly show two members of the Mongols gang surrounded by several members of the Hells Angels as a fist fight breaks out and quickly escalates.

The tape shows one of the Mongols being shot.

"One of the Hells Angels guys pulls out a gun and pops him in the head, and after that it's just pandemonium," Jones said.

It was not immediately known if that victim was among those killed.

Western Arizona Regional Medical Center in Bullhead City treated seven people. Three were in fair condition and one was in good condition. Three were released.

Spokeswoman Ruth Padilla said the man in good condition was kept overnight for observation because he was suffering from chest pains, but had not been injured in the fight. He was to be released Sunday.

The three men in fair condition remaining at the hospital, ages 29, 32 and 52, all had gunshot wounds.

University Medical Center in Las Vegas was treating five patients. A 47-year-old man was in critical condition. Three men, ages 31, 29 and 43, were serious. A 51-year-old man is in fair condition. All have gunshot and/or stab wounds.

"This is a war and it's been going on for years and years," said one law enforcement official who asked to remain anonymous. "They're gangs, it's what they do. You're not allowed to be a member if you're a nice guy."

Investigators also were doing ballistics tests on shell casings found near a motorcyclist's body along Interstate 40 near Ludlow and trying to determine if the killing was connected to the casino shooting.

Cannito said police believe the attack occurred about 1:30 a.m.

45 minutes before the Harrah's shooting.

Harrah's, which offered counseling to guests and employees who requested it and established information hotlines, reopened its casino for gambling Saturday.

Motorcycle enthusiasts, estimated at 80,000 for the weekend, spent the final night of the event cruising Laughlin's main strip, listening to live music and gambling at the town's nine casinos.

Police kept a close watch on the revelry.

About 30 people were arrested for mostly minor violations such as disorderly conduct and intoxication under a special emergency order issued by the county sheriff, Jones said.

Police also impounded about 100 motorcycles parked around Harrah's. Armed with warrants, they searched the bikes and confiscated weapons, including guns, knives and hammers, along with narcotics. Details were not released.

Officers saw almost nobody wearing gang insignias as gangs kept a low profile.

Bikers leaving the festival had mixed feeling about the shooting and its aftermath.

Peter Comerford, 43, a machinist from Boston, said the gang violence — and the heavy police presence that will follow it — will likely result in fewer people attending the River Run.

"It ruins the fun for everybody," said Comerford, who heard the shots from the pool area of a nearby casino. "Everything is going to be different because of that one little incident. The whole thing will be ruined."

Ron Preston, 55, a motorcyclist from Oregon who heads a medical services firm, was staying at Harrah's. He expects some people will be troubled enough by the incident to avoid returning.

"It was just an unfortunate tragedy," Preston said as he gassed up for the two-day journey home.