The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Las Vegas

  • Netherlands-based Omidiji eyes call up to Super Falcons

    Netherlands-based Omidiji eyes call up to Super Falcons

    Sophia Omidiji, a Netherlands-based soccer player, says her dream is to play for Nigeria’s senior female team, the Super Falcons.

    Omidiji said this on Thursday in Abuja that she was optimistic that her abilities would earn her a place in the national team.

    20-year-old Omijidi was born in Las Vegas. United States and was adopted as an infant by a Nigerian father, who hails from Ogun.

    The player was earlier invited to the camp of Nigeria’s U-20 side Falconets ahead of a 2016 World Cup qualifier against Democratic Republic of Congo.

    She plays for Dutch’s topflight side S. B. V Excelsior in Rotterdam.

    The forward had earlier played for KAA Gent in the Belgium Division I, where she scored 18 goals with 12 assists in 20 games.

    According to her, it is always a privilege and honour to represent one’s fatherland.

    “It has always been my dream to be able to contribute my quota and bring joy to our people in the form of lifting the World Cup with the Super Falcons. Then I will be fulfilled.

    “I also think my abilities will give me a good chance in the team and playing for Excelsior is an opportunity to learn from great coaches in Eredivisie league, the highest league in the Netherlands,” she said.

    The player said she was currently studying as well as playing football.

    “In January, I will be obtaining an Associate degree. This is to show others that you can be a professional and get a degree.

    “I believe in myself, trust my abilities and know that by God’s Grace I will accomplish my goals.

    “I have a strong team behind me; my family and my managers Temple Management Company (TMC), so I just focus on developing myself,” she added.

    TMC is a full-service creative talent and event management company incorporated in Nigeria and operating in the Entertainment, Sports, Media and Art sectors.

    NAN

  • Las Vegas Update: Death toll rises to 58

    Las Vegas Update: Death toll rises to 58

    The police in Las Vegas has confirmed that the shooting in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is the deadliest in American history.

    Las Vegas shooting

    Read: 20 killed, 100 injured in Las Vegas shooting — Police

    Death toll has risen to 58 people and 515 are injured after a gunman, Stephen Paddocks started firing at festival goers at the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

    Stephen Paddock

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Here are some of the things we have information at the moment:

    • The event was the Route 91 Harvest Festival, a three-day country music event.
    •  The Festival was held at the Las Vegas Village and Festival Grounds, run by MGM Resorts.
    • It happened at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
    • The gunman fired from a Las Vegas hotel.
    • Country singer Jason Aldean was performing, when the shooting started.
    • He has reacted to the shooting, asking that “People should pray for Las Vegas”
    • Several SWAT teams were sent to the hotel immediately after the first reports of the shooting at 10:08 p.m.
    • One off-duty officer has been reported to died in the wake of the shooting.
    • Shortly before midnight the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reported that “one suspect is down,”.
    • He was neutralised in a hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
    • Police believes he killed himself prior to their entry.
    • Police found a cache of weapons, including 10 rifles.
    • The gunman was identified as Stephen Paddock, 64 from Nevada.
    • The gunman’s brother, Eric Paddock, said he was stunned to learn Stephen was responsible for the mass shooting
    • More than 50 victims died, and at least 200 others were wounded.
    • It is one of the deadliest mass shootings in United States modern history.
    • Marilou Danley has been contacted, no longer sought by the police.
    • There is no group claiming responsbility for the attack.
  • Las Vegas shooting: Death toll rises above 50

    Las Vegas shooting: Death toll rises above 50

    Stephen Paddock
    Stephen Paddock Courtesy: DAILY MIRRIOR

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • The event was the Route 91 Harvest Festival, a three-day country music event.
    •  The Festival was held at the Las Vegas Village and Festival Grounds, run by MGM Resorts.
    • It happened at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
    • The gunman fired from a Las Vegas hotel.
    • Country singer Jason Aldean was performing, when the shooting started.
    • Several SWAT teams were sent to the hotel immediately after the first reports of the shooting at 10:08 p.m
    • Shortly before midnight the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reported that “one suspect is down,”.
    • He was neutralised in a hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
    •  Numerous weapons had been found in the room.
    •  A search was also due to take place shortly at his home address.
    •  Thereafter the police said they did not believe there were any more active gunmen.
    • The gunman was identified as Stephen Paddock, 64 from Nevada.
    • More than 50 victims died, and at least 200 others were wounded.
    • It is one of the deadliest mass shootings in United States history.
    •  The police were seeking “a companion” named Marilou Danley, a woman he described as Asian and 4-foot-11
    Marilou Danley
    Marilou Danley courtesy: WWW.HEAVY.COM

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • 20 killed, 100 injured in Las Vegas shooting — Police

    20 killed, 100 injured in Las Vegas shooting — Police

    More than 20 people are dead and more than 100 others injured after a shooting near the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay hotel, police said Monday during a press conference.

    The main suspect started firing an automatic rifle from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel at 10:08 pm (0708 GMT) at a crowd of people watching an outdoor music festival during a performance by country singer Jason Aldean, Sherriff Joe Lombardo said.

    The shots continued for more than a minute, with hundreds of people taking cover and trying to escape the scene.

    The perpetrator, identified as a local resident, was shot and killed by police in the hotel room shortly afterwards, Lombardo added.

    Though US authorities believe the perpetrator was a “sole actor,” Lombardo said that police were also searching for Mari Lou Danley, identified as an Asian woman who was with the suspect at the time of the attack.

    A witness at the event told dpa she heard multiple gunshots before fleeing, and said she “crawled over dead people” as she tried to get away.

    Lombardo said that several off-duty police officers had been attending the country music festival and that at least two had been killed in the incident.

    He added that, despite the “confusion and hysteria” in the wake of the shooting, reports about multiple shootings cannot be confirmed.

    Earlier, at least two people were killed and 24 were hospitalized after a shooting at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip, a local hospital spokeswoman said.

    The police said one suspect was down.

    Witnesses on social media said the shooting broke out on the last night of the three-day Route 91 Harvest festival, a sold-out event attended by thousands and featuring top acts such as Eric Church, Sam Hunt and Jason Aldean.

    U.S. media, including Fox News, reported that Aldean was performing on Sunday night when the rampage began but that he had been bundled safely off stage at the event outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in the Nevada gambling mecca.

    The spokeswoman for the University Medical Centre hospital said 14 of the wounded were in a critical condition.

    “Confirming that one suspect is down. This is an active investigation. Again, please do not head down to the Strip at this time,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said on Twitter.

    It was not immediately clear whether the suspect was killed or injured. Police said on Twitter that at this time they did not believe there are any more shooters.

    Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping and entertainment.

    Video on the festival’s website showed stage set up outside the front of the Mandalay Bay.

    The hotel is near McCarran International Airport, which said on Twitter it had temporarily halted flights after the shooting.

    Later, the airport said that some flights had resumed.

    One Twitter user posted that the casino hotel was on lockdown, while another, citing police scanners, said two gunmen who had shot at a bodyguard and police were on the 32nd floor, although there was no confirmation from police.

    Video clips posted online showed what sounded like automatic weapons as panicked concertgoers fled or dropped to the ground screaming.

    Witnesses heard numerous gunshots at the hotel, where police tactical teams were searching for the attacker, according to reports on CNN and in the New York Times. (Reuters/NAN)

  • Mayweather: I May Be Too OLD to Beat McGregor

    Mayweather: I May Be Too OLD to Beat McGregor

    Floyd Mayweather has claimed he’s not the same fighter he was two years ago — and believes Conor McGregor has the advantage going into their showdown this month.

    Mayweather, an undefeated former five-weight world champion, takes on the Irish UFC star at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on August 26 in what is expected to be one of the richest fights in combat sports history.

    The pair traded insults and threats during a four-city publicity tour last month and the American 40-year-old also recently vowed to knock McGregor ‘the f*** out’.

     Floyd Mayweather believes Conor McGregor has the advantage going into their showdown
    However, Mayweather — whose last fight was a win over Andre Berto in September 2015 — has conceded that McGregor, 29, has age and height on his side.

    He told ESPN: ‘He’s a lot younger. When you look at myself and Conor McGregor on paper, he’s taller, has a longer reach, he’s a bigger man from top to bottom.

    ‘He’s a lot younger, so youth is on his side. I’ve been off a couple of years. And I’m in my 40s. So, if you

    ‘I’m older. I’m not the same fighter I was two years ago. I’m not the same fighter I was five years ago. I’ve lost a step.

    ‘A fighter like Andre Berto isn’t even supposed to go the distance with Floyd Mayweather, but remember, I was 38.

    ‘It’s obvious I’m slipping a little bit to even let a fighter like that go the distance with me. I’m not what I used to be.’

    Mayweather and McGregor enter the ring to face each other in Las Vegas later this month

    Mayweather and McGregor enter the ring to face each other in Las Vegas later this month
     The two fighters have been trading insults relentlessly ahead of their showdown this month
    Mayweather is a heavy favourite for the fight, winning all of his 49 professional bouts. McGregor, meanwhile, has never boxed professionally.

    And the American boxing legend has promised an entertaining fight, having learnt from his underwhelming performance in the victory over Manny Pacquiao.

    He added: ‘This can’t be a defensive fight. I have to go to him. I owe the public because of the Pacquiao fight. They weren’t pleased with that. They’re gonna be pleased with this fight here.’

    Both Mayweather and McGregor have been working hard in their respective training camps
    Both Mayweather and McGregor have been working hard in their respective training camps
  • Davido’s new signee makes debut with Las Vegas

    Davido’s new signee makes debut with Las Vegas

    The new addition to Davido Music Worldwide, Yonda, is out with his debut single titled Las Vegas.
    DMW boss, Davido took to Snapchat to introduce Yonda with a teaser from the track and telling viewers to watch out for him in this year.
    Yonda joins the likes of Lola Rae, Dremo, Mayorkun and Dammy Krane in DMW label.
    Known by the stage name, Yonda, the DMW music organization was said to have concluded Yonda’s arrangement on Friday, January 20, 2017.
    Davido Music Worldwide, its management says, is set to speed up with top record marks in Nigeria and crosswise over Africa.

  • Faraday unveils electric vehicle in Las Vegas

    Faraday unveils electric vehicle in Las Vegas

    Electric vehicle start-up Faraday Future showed off in Las Vegas a prototype of a vehicle set for production next year as the China-backed company strives to win credibility in the crowded sector and weather its funding challenges.

    The “FF 91”, described by its designer Richard Kim as “weird-pretty”, is a luxury electric SUV Faraday executives say, will be the most technologically advanced on the market when it goes into production in early 2018.

    Advance reservations for the car – which insiders say will retail for about 180,000 dollars – are being taken for 5,000 dollars.

    “You’re about to witness day one of a new era of mobility,” said Nick Sampson, senior vice president of engineering and research and development.

    “We’re going to show the first of a new species.”

    But cash shortages and a recent spate of executive departures have raised questions about the company’s prospects.

    Faraday is funded and controlled by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting, the chief executive officer of China’s Leshi Holdings Co Ltd., also known as LeEco ( 300104.SZ), which is showing its own prototype electric car, the LeSee Pro, at CES.

    He is also an investor in California-based Lucid Motors, a competing electric vehicle start-up attending CES this year.

    Faraday debuted at CES last year with a concept car not intended to be produced, raising eyebrows over the company’s legitimacy and Jia’s overall strategy.

    A cash crunch at LeEco and Faraday’s missed payments to a contractor working on its one billion dollars Nevada factory have spurred more questions in recent months over Faraday’s financial situation.

    In late December, LeEco said it was in talks to secure 10 billion yuan (1.4 billion dollars) from an unidentified strategic investor.

    Faraday executives would not comment on the company’s financials.

    “We’re hoping to … convince people that we’re real, we are doing a real product, it’s not just a vaporware Batmobile to create attention.

    However, we now have a serious product,” Sampson told reporters during a tour of Faraday’s headquarters in Gardena, California, in December.

    Executives say the car’s modular architecture and flexible battery layout will allow for a faster rollout of future models.

    The car will have a range of about 378 miles (608 km) per charge. Its electric motors will generate a combined 1,050 horsepower.

    The FF 91, a long, low, futuristic SUV with a roomy interior has no handles, as doors will open as a driver approaches.

    Holograms will be projected on the windshield to alert drivers of needed information.

    The car will come equipped with a package of sensors, including cameras, radar and lidar, to enable self-driving capability at a future date.

    Near the end of the launch, Jia – wearing a black LeEco hoodie – drove the car onstage.

    He got out of the car and was asked to push a button to make it drive itself to centre stage. The car did not move at first. It made it on a second try.

  • ‘Las Vegas suspects were white supremacists’

    Police reportedly find swastikas at the home of a couple who killed three people and then themselves in a suicide pact.

    The pair who fatally shot two Las Vegas officers and a civilian before killing themselves were reportedly white supremacists who targeted police.

    The two suspects were married, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. They killed themselves in an apparent suicide pact.

    Their identities have not been released but their home was being raided by police.

    The Review-Journal said investigators had found paraphernalia associated with white supremacy theories as well as swastikas.

    The attack at a CiCi’s Pizza restaurant on Sunday killed Officers Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31, who were both husbands and fathers.

    One of the shooters yelled: “This is a revolution”.

    The two suspects, a man and a woman, then fled to a Walmart across the street, where they gunned down a person just inside the front door and exchanged gunfire with police before killing themselves.

    The officers were “having lunch when they were ambushed”, Las Vegas police said in a statement.

    Both officers were pronounced dead at hospital.

    Mr. Beck had been with the department since 2001 and leaves behind a wife and three children. Mr. Soldo had been with the force since 2006 and is survived by a wife and baby.

    A witness, Pauline Pacheco, was shopping at Wal-Mart when she saw the armed man and grabbed her father to escape, KLAS-TV reported.

     

    “We saw when the man was walking, he was shouting, yelling bad words, and suddenly he had a gun,” she told KLAS-TV.

    “It was terrible, it was terrible. That man was crazy.”

    Both the pizza restaurant and the Walmart store remained closed while detectives carried out forensic investigations.

     

  • TENNIS: Agassi captures home town victory in Las Vegas

    TENNIS: Agassi captures home town victory in Las Vegas

    Andre Agassi won his second straight PowerShares Series event and thrilled his hometown fans with an 8-3 triumph over Jim Courier in the championship match of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Championships, Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.

    The victory moved Agassi into fourth place in the PowerShares Series rankings, as he now sits just 600 points behind top-ranked Jim Courier, after Courier gained 100 tonight with his semifinal win. Agassi is looking to make a late season surge into the top three of the point standings, in order to receive a share of the $1,000,000 PowerShares Series purse. Just two events remain on the 2012 schedule with stops in Denver and Anaheim upcoming at the end of November.

    “It always means the world to me, to play here in Las Vegas in front of all the people that have supported me throughout my entire career,” said Agassi, who had his wife Stefanie and entire family on hand for the match tonight, along with many students from his Preparatory Academy. “I felt the enthusiasm of my supporters, and I really like the way I’m striking the ball right now.”

    It was the second straight year that Agassi has taken home the title here in Las Vegas, defeating Pete Sampras in the finals of last year’s event at the Thomas and Mack Center.

    In the evening’s first semifinal, Michael Chang and Jim Courier waged a fierce back and forth battle as both players held serve up until 6-5 when Courier broke to advance to the final with a 7-5 victory.

    In the second semifinal Agassi handed John McEnroe his first semifinal loss in a PowerShares Series event since October 18 in Detroit, beating McEnroe in a highly charged and entertaining 7-5 set. McEnroe expressed his displeasure with a mid-match “moon over Vegas”, showing all of the fans his Bjorn Borg brand underwear.

    After a short Thanksgiving holiday break, the 2012 PowerShares Series returns to action Thursday night, November 29 for the Jeep Championships, presented Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Denver, Colorado. Agassi will rejoin Chang, Courier and McEnroe when the action gets under way at 7:30 pm at the Pepsi Center.