After three-day blackout,
Las Vegas casino reopens
As reported by The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS - On April 14, 2004, The Bellagio hotel-casino partially reopened, more than three days after a crippling power outage forced a shutdown of the luxury resort that inconvenienced guests and gamblers, closed restaurants and canceled shows.

Just inside an arched shopping atrium at the Las Vegas Strip resort, Teresa Jankowiak learned that with electricity restored she wouldn't have to cash in $465 worth of tickets she held for the night's Cirque du Soleil show, "O."

Hotel guests checked in as gamblers headed toward the reopened casino after workers completed a day of testing the Bellagio's electrical systems.

Authorities have not said what caused the 2 a.m. Easter Sunday power outage, although hotel and Nevada Power Co. officials called it an internal problem.

Authorities found no evidence of sabotage, and no injuries or thefts were reported.

The overall financial effect of the outage had not been calculated, but Feldman said losses were likely to be more than $1 million a day. The property has insurance for business interruptions, he said.

State gambling officials supervised the casino's reopening.

$50,000 Up for Grabs in 1st Annual College Poker Championship

LAS VEGAS -- Colleges may not be offering full-ride poker scholarships, but pro poker player Lou Krieger, author of Poker for Dummies and Internet Poker, is offering the next best thing. As the host of the 1st Annual College Poker Championship(TM) (www.CollegePokerChampionship.com), Krieger is determined to find the best college Texas Hold 'em, No Limit poker player in the world. And with sponsorship funds from online poker giant Royal Vegas Poker, he's offering up $50,000 cash to the winner, along with a charitable donation of $10,000 to the organization of the winner's choice.

Although poker - online as well as in dorms, fraternities and sororities, and campus recreation areas - is quickly becoming the new college pastime of choice, the College Poker Championship is the first event to bring college poker players together from all over the world. But gambling this isn't: Krieger is focusing on the charitable giving and scholarship aspects of the tournament. And to prove it, he's made entry into the tournament entirely free, with no purchase ever required of participants.

Open to university and college students worldwide who are enrolled between January and June 2004, the College Poker Championship began January 25, 2004; qualifying rounds will be played at RoyalVegasPoker.com every Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EDT for 18 weeks. Each week, $500 will be won and 30 students will go through to the semifinal round. The top 200 will then compete in the Final Event, Sunday, June 6, 2004 at 4:00 p.m. EDT, for the grand prize of $50,000 in cash and $10,000 in charitable donations. Students can register online at www.CollegePokerChampionship.com.