The award-winning Lion King production is coming to Mandalay Bay in early summer. This is the first time a Disney theatrical production has been launched in Las Vegas.

The show will start on May 2, 2008. It will join six other productions of The Lion King taking place around the world.

“We're incredibly pleased to bring The Lion King to the audiences of Las Vegas,” said Thomas Schumacher, producer of The Lion King.

The Lion King is replacing the long-running Mamma Mia which premiered in 2003.

Ticket prices and sale dates have yet to be announced.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A major heist took place at a Las Vegas casino early riday morning. Sources say the suspects may have got away with hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Metro police confirm that two suspects robbed the sports book just after 6 a.m. They are still at large. Police also believe a third person may have been involved as a getaway driver.

Lt. Clint Nichols tells Eyewitness News that the suspects used handguns and the whole ordeal was well planned and took less than one minute.

“It's going to be a pretty substantial amount of money to spend, so you should notice as far as someone shows up with a brand new car. We're asking if anybody knows to give us a call,” said Lt. Clint Nicols.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 385-5555.

Fire officials say sprinklers doused a mattress fire that left one person hurt and several others complaining of smoke inhalation at the Bellagio resort casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

Clark County Fire Chief Steve Smith said Monday the fire was contained to one guest room, but smoke and water damaged the 26th floor.

Fire spokesman Scott Allison says one man suffered burns on his arm, and was taken to a hospital. He says several other people were treated for smoke inhalation and released at the scene. Fire and hotel officials say they're still checking details of the 5:50 a.m. fire at the MGM Mirage property. No firefighters were hurt.

The fire chief says just the 26th floor was evacuated at the 3,000-room resort. He says it's going to take some time for crews to clean up smoke and water damage.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Las Vegas is known throughout Mexico for its yearly celebration of 16 De Septiembre, Mexico's Independence Day. An estimated 400,000 Mexican nationals are expected to be in Las Vegas through Tuesday for the massive celebration.

Guadalupe Dorado is visiting from Juarez, Mexico with some family and friends.

“We feel like we are in Mexico. It's so welcoming. Everywhere you turn there is something announcing our holiday. It's a big deal for us…we enjoy being here,” Dorado said.

More and more hotels on the strip are catering to Mexican nationals by hosting Hispanic acts like Luis Miguel and Enrique Iglesias this weekend, or the Casamoyer/Marquez fight last weekend at the MGM Grand. The Las Vegas Hilton in particular pulls out all the stops for Hispanic holiday visitors.

“We usually have a Hispanic headliner in our theatre. We have Mexican food specials. We do a whole buffet menu in our coffee shop,” Ira Sternberg of the Hilton said. He also explained that the strip sees a big boost in tourism from the 16 De Septiembre visitors.

“You are going to see a lot of money spent during Mexico Independence Day in Las Vegas. Not only in terms of entertainment, but on the gaming side as well. A lot of casinos, including ours, will (hold) tournaments and that is a big element of it,” Sternberg said.

Dorado agrees and said that spending money is a big part of the fun.

“We spend a lot here. But it's worth it. We know before we get here that there are a lot of things to spend on… the shows, the food, and all the shopping.”

A missing 8-year-old autistic boy is back home, thanks to an alert citizen. The woman had just seen the boy's missing person flier at a bus stop when she got onboard and noticed the missing boy sitting right next to her.

It took just a about three hours to find the boy. But those three hours were a journey for him. Metro officers say he wanted to go shopping. His babysitter told him no. So he ventured out on is own.

He got on a bus, took it across town and back. Luckily, someone realized he was a missing child, told the bus driver and they flagged down the police.

They pulled the boy off the bus, put him in the police car and took him to his mother.

The bus driver said the 8-year-old autistic boy got on at Bonanza and Pecos and rode the bus all the way to Tropicana and Pecos before anyone noticed who he was.

“I just saw the little boy. I was sitting next to him actually, and I thought he was with someone. I didn't think anything, and she finally figured it out,” said Tenika McCree, an eyewitness.

“We just happen to pass a bus stop that had his flier up saying he was missing, and I briefly noticed it, got off the bus, told the bus driver — let me run all the way down there and get that picture and he is home,” said Tinika Witherspoon. 

“Our community does care when you put a flier out there of a child. People take notice and look and it's nice to have that,” said Thomas Wagner of Metro.

Metro officers took him home to his mother, then tried talking to him to find out what happened. They are also interviewing the CAT bus driver and looking at video on the bus as well.

Everyone was questioning how could an 8-year-old get on a city bus alone with no adults and go unnoticed. Eyewitness News called RTC officials to find out their policy, but they have not gotten back to us yet.

But a happy ending thanks to a person who paid attention to a missing person flier.

Email your comments to Reporter Travell Eiland.

MGM Mirage unveiled new plans for its volcano on Wednesday.

The new show will be set to brand new music co-composed by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and Indian musician Zakir Hussein. The musicians used instruments from all over the world to deliver what they promise will be a truly unique sound.

“To me it's a sonic wonder. It's one of those kinds of things that only exists in one place at one time and to have the chance to create a volcano was something that Zakir (Hussein) and I just couldn't pass up,” Hart said.

Hussein and Hart also teamed up with Wet, the group that choreographs the Bellagio fountains and the couple that provides the sound system for Cirque Du Soleil shows.

The new volcano is set to open later this year.

Nevada casinos had a bad July, reporting a 13 percent slump in money won from gamblers for a record seventh straight month of declines in growth rates, a state report showed Wednesday.

The resorts won just under $1 billion during the month, and had declines compared with the same month a year earlier in every major market except for the clubs on Lake Tahoe's south shore, the state Gaming Control Board report shows.

“This is a continuation of the story we've been talking about for the last six months: the economy, especially the May-June-July period when gas was over $4 a gallon,” said GCB analyst Frank Streshley.

“People lack confidence in the economy and aren't spending. We still have people coming into the state, but they're not spending near what they were a year ago,” he said.

State taxes based on the casino wins — a major revenue source — amounted to $58.3 million. That's 24 percent below the collections at the same point a year ago.

The $997.3 million win in July was the amount left in casino coffers after gamblers wagered $13.2 billion during the month, including $10.7 billion in slot machine bets and the balance on
table games.

The GCB report shows declines during July for all major markets in the Las Vegas area. The Las Vegas Strip was down 14.7 percent and Laughlin was down 7.5 percent, while downtown Las Vegas was down 16.4 percent, North Las Vegas was down 21.8 percent, Mesquite was down 32.4 percent and the Boulder Strip was down 18.9 percent. 

In northern Nevada, clubs in Reno were down 1.1 percent while resorts in Elko County, in northeastern Nevada, were down 11.1 percent.

Resorts on Lake Tahoe's south shore were up 10.9 percent, thanks mainly to an annual celebrity golf tournament that drew large crowds and some high-spending participants.

A statewide breakdown showed that slots were down 11 percent while table games were down 17.3 percent compared with the same month last year.

Slots accounted for $678.1 million of the total win. That included $303.6 million won by multidenomination slots, down 3.9 percent. Penny slots were second with a win of $152.8 million, up 1 percent.

Live games, including poker, accounted for the balance of the July total. That included $117.7 million won on blackjack tables, down 13.8 percent; $40.1 million on craps, down 16.4 percent; and $27.8 million on roulette, down 20.5 percent.

The win on baccarat was $53.9 million, down 26 percent; and the win on mini-baccarat was $10.3 million, down 14 percent.

Sports books lost nearly $2 million, for a decline of 161 percent. Poker games won $14.4 million, down 9.1 percent.

“Win” is a gross figure, with no operating costs or other expenses deducted. It represents casino revenue only, not hotel, restaurant or bar revenues.
   
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

A fight between two women turned deadly at Bally's Casino early Friday morning.

Metro says the two women got into an argument around 6 a.m. at the hotel's registration desk. One of the women was stabbed and died a short while later. The other woman fled the scene. Police say she is African-American, in her late 20's, and was dressed in black. 

If you have information, you are asked to call Crimestoppers at 385-5555.

The stress of daily living can be tiring. But imagine adding a diagnosis of cancer to the mix. While a number of facilities across the valley offer methods of relaxation, such a yoga to cancer patients, there's a new place in town that's trying to take the concept to a new worry-free level.

At The Caring Place, near Jones and Harmon — cancer patients and their families have the opportunity to put their minds at ease through various relaxation techniques. And what's even better, patients don't have to deal with insurance companies or credit cards. The services are free.

There's reflexology for example — a type of foot message that promotes healing and relieves stress in other parts of the body. Others find a quiet sitting area to read and relax.

Las Vegas resident, Peter Brunold comes here for Reiki — a form of deep physical and mental relaxation. It provides a much needed break from his year long battle with colorectal cancer.

“To have found a place that can alleviate some of the worry and anxiety, to find people who are in a similar position and instructors that are very understanding, I didn't find that at the hospital to this extent,” said Brunold.

Caring Place executive director J.D. Fripp understands the stress of uncertainty. A cancer survivor himself, Fripp has been through intensive chemotherapy and much more.

“Every three months, I still go back, for example. So I have to sit across the table from someone who tells me, you're good or things aren't going so well. So it keeps me grounded in terms of things we attempt to do here at The Caring Place,” said Fripp.

Drawing from his own experience, Fripp knows it's hard to relax in a medical setting. And that's why The Caring Place is anything but.

“It doesn't smell like a medical facility. It doesn't sound like a medical facility. And it doesn't obviously look like a medical facility. And those were some of the ground rules in terms of the starting up of The Caring Place,” said Fripp.

Relaxation techniques and exercise help reduce anxiety and depression and can improve a person's overall mood.