If Planet Hollywood can do it…

The Hard Rock, currently undergoing a $750 million renovation and expansion, will have some competition in 2009… itself.

A new 41,000-square-foot Hard Rock Cafe will open in the summer of 2009, but this one will be right on the Las Vegas Strip. This Cafe is expected to contain a 700-seat restaurant, a retail store, and a live concert venue.

The current Hard Rock Cafe inside of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino will stay open.

Is there room for two Hard Rocks within walking distance?

After Planet Hollywood the casino opened, Planet Hollywood the restaurant is running just fine inside the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.

No word whether the new Hard Rock will contain gaming, but we suspect not.

12 people were injured late Wednesday afternoon when a car veered onto a crowded sidewalk in front of Planet Hollywood.

The driver suffers from diabetes and had passed out behind the wheel at the time of the incident. He had no recollection of the incident when he came to. Police cited him for failure to maintain a lane.

Although most of the victims, who were all from out of state, suffered head wounds and were bleeding, none had life threatening injuries. Four people were able to walk away with bruises and scratches.

The blue Pontiac had a shattered windshield and was missing the passenger side mirror.

A priest accused of attacking a choir member has pleaded guilty to battery. Father George Chaanine had been charged with kidnapping, attempted sexual assault and attempted murder. In exchange for a gu…

Tourists on The Strip escape with their lives after a car crashes into a crowd walking down Las Vegas Boulevard; twelve people were injured in the crash. Police believe the man driving the car had a d…

The unsigned rock band Searchlight will be holding a free performance and record signing at Zia Record Exchange on Saturday, September 22. The Las Vegas-based band will be celebrating the release of the Resident Evil: Extinction soundtrack.

Searchlight’s single, “Contagious” is featured in the movie and soundtrack.

The band will perform at 1 p.m. and have an autograph session at 1:30 p.m. Photos will be available for those attending.

Interviews will be given after the band’s set.

Zia Record Exchange is located on 4225 S. Eastern Ave, between Tropicana Avenue and Flamingo Road.

If you’ve been keeping up with the O.J. Simpson story, either through media or the first and second parts of this story, you’re aware that the different versions of the stories are running around coming from all the different men involved.

Police records have been released. Few facts have been agreed upon, but they may paint just enough of a picture for lawyers on both sides to work their magic.

The Police Report

The story, according to the police report, goes like this.

Beardsley, Fromong and Riccio met at Palace Station and the three men retrieved the collection from Fromong’s vehicle so they could set up displays in Riccio’s hotel room.

Riccio received a phone call from men he claimed were the buyers. He left the other two men in the room while he met with Simpson and his companions in the lobby.

Simpson entered with several men, two of whom had guns pulled. The group berated the collectors and took the items. Simpson grabbed Fromong’s cell phone, but agreed to leave it and any items that weren’t his at the hotel’s front desk for him.

Simpson told police that his group left the room with pillow cases full of sports memorabilia, worth at least $80,000. Not everything was related to his career, but he said “didn’t take the time to go through it,” before leaving the room.

Simpson and the other men face 11 charges, 10 of which are felonies:
• Conspiracy to commit a kidnapping
• Coercion with a deadly weapon
• Burglary while in possession of a deadly weapon
• Conspiracy to commit robbery
• Two counts of first-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon
• Two counts of robbery with use of a deadly weapon
• Assault with a deadly weapon
• Conspiracy to commit a crime

If convicted, Simpson faces up to life in prison.

The Consequences

Nobody would have guessed though that Las Vegas may be the city that brings O.J. to justice. Throngs of media have crowded courthouses and detention centers since Sunday.

Like I said, this isn’t just any robbery case.

Although he’s facing a heap of it, there are some who think Simpson might be looking at much more of an uphill climb than expected. Despite being charged with the same crimes as the other men, he was held for three days without bail. There are some who think the prosecution may not be being reasonable.

Las Vegas attorney Chris Rasmussen has secured bail for hundreds of defendants charged with more serious crimes. “If this was a regular case, this would be gross misdemeanor with probation, maybe five years’ supervision. We have guys that shoot up 7-11s and they get out the next day.”

Former Clark County prosecutor, Amy Chelini, agreed, “Even the most serious charges, except for capital murder, get bail.”

New York defense lawyer Jeff Lichtman, who once represented John Gotti Jr., suggested that he believes the 1995 murders may have some influence over the heavy-handed prosecution.

“Despise O.J. all you want, but this Las Vegas court and these prosecutors should not be permitted to use this present case in order to achieve the justice for Nicole’s murder,” he said.

What can turn into a key issue of the case is the ownership of the property. “You can’t rob something that is yours,” said Simpson attorney Galenter.

However, according to Doug Godfrey, a professor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. “A prosecutor only has to show intent. And the intent is, ‘Were you acting in concert with someone with a gun to take property from someone?’ If you were, you’re guilty of armed robbery.”

Nevada law allows use of reasonable force to retrieve one’s property.

The Spectacle

Downtown Las Vegas is awash colorful characters and the latest Simpson scandal seems to have encouraged them to come out en masse.

The eclectic crowd included a man dressed in a chicken suit, some people dressed as cavemen (promoting a show at the Golden Nugget), others with signs supporting their websites and the “O.J. Queen,” a woman handing out free bottles of orange juice.

“Free juice! Free The Juice!” she offered to spectators and media crew alike.

One enterprising gentleman flew to Las Vegas from Florida with white T-shirts bearing the slogan “Get Arrested in Las Vegas, Stay in Vegas” and a photo illustration of Simpson behind bars.

Look around even more closely and you’ll see a couple of familiar faces from Simpson’s life. Marcia Clark, who unsuccessfully prosecuted Simpson during his 1994 murder trial, was reporting for “Entertainment Tonight,” and Christine Prody, his current girlfriend, bears striking resemblance to his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.

The Aftermath

The Juice was somber as could be during his arraignment Wednesday morning. After posting his bail, Simpson did not speak to reporters or bystanders as he made his way to a grey sedan with his lawyer.

Although a few people still support him, most people are eager to see him serve time.

“Justice for Nichole, justice for Ron,” shouted a spectator as Simpson made his way to the car.

Some say this may be one of the biggest stories to come of Las Vegas. It could be. It’s not over yet. It just may be starting. Simpson is to be back in court October 22 to face charges.

Simpson lawyers have claimed to fight the charges so trial may happen next year. Whatever happens in the coming months could be mean the difference between freedom and imprisonment for these men and just may be the beginning of the end of the saga of Orenthal James Simpson.

This is the second part of our extensive summary of O.J. Simpson’s latest legal snafus. If you missed the first part of the story, you can read it here. This part will deal with the men involved in the Las Vegas robbery.

The story continues to develop, but hopefully after reading this, you’ll have a better idea of the background and motivations of these men.

Orenthal James Simpson, 60. Walter Alexander, 46. Clarence Stewart, 53. Michael McClinton, 49. Charles Cashmore, 40. Five men who met at a celebration of Thomas Scotto’s vow renewal ceremony in Las Vegas.

Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong were two sports collectors who thought they were meeting a buyer for their memorabilia worth nearly $100,000.

Thomas Riccio. An ex-con turned auction house owner who brought them all together.

The Collectors

As far as Beardsley and Fromong knew, they were meeting a wealthy buyer who was looking to purchase their O.J. Simpson memorabilia. Riccio arranged the meeting in his Palace Station hotel room. They had no idea that they would soon be face to face with The Juice himself.

According to Beardsley, Simpson was unarmed, but two of his companions each had pistols. He said one of the men kept his gun pointed at Fromong, while another frisked him and impersonated a police officer.

“I’m a cop and you’re lucky this ain’t LA or you’d be dead,” the man said in a tape of the incident released earlier this week.

“One of the thugs — that’s the best thing I can call them — somebody blurted out ‘police!’ and they came in military style,” Beardsley told NBC’s “Today” show on Wednesday. “I thought it might have been law enforcement or the FBI or something because I was ordered to stand up, and I was frisked for weapons.”

“At no time did Mr. Simpson hold any type of firearm at all,” he said.

Wednesday, Beardsley was arrested in his Strip hotel room for violating conditions of his parole. In March 2006 he was paroled after serving 11 months for stalking a woman, said authorities

Bruce Fromong has described himself as a former friend of Simpson’s and testified in his defense during the civil trial brought by the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. According to police reports he was shoved over a chair by one of the assailants. He was hospitalized Tuesday after suffering a massive heart attack.

The Accused

All five men have been arrested for the parts they played in the incident and police expect the sixth man to surrender himself soon. Walter Alexander was the first man brought in.

An anonymous tip to the Las Vegas police pointed to Alexander, who was waiting for a flight to Phoenix on Saturday night when he was picked up. Information he provided led the police to the other men and three search warrants. He was later release on his own recognizance and has struck a plea deal with prosecutors.

During the search at McClinton’s home, police found clothes that matched those worn by suspects in the hotel surveillance tape and two semiautomatic weapons they believe were used in the robbery. McClinton was arrested Tuesday.

Stewart was the driver for the outfit. He and the other men climbed into his Lincoln Navigator and proceeded to Palace Station. According to his lawyer, Robert G. Lucherini, he was unaware of Simpson’s intent and has said that no guns were drawn. He was released after posting $78,000 bail.

Cashmore surrendered himself to police Wednesday and is scheduled to appear in court Thursday morning. He handed over several items that police believe were taken in the heist.

The Lawyers

The Juice is familiar with staring at the business end of a criminal investigation. After all, he did manage to overcome a mountain of evidence implicating him in the 1994 murder trial. His legal team this time out includes Gabriel Grasso and Yale Galenter.

Grasso, a Las Vegas criminal defense lawyer has faced damning odds before. In 2003, he represented some of the 311 Boyz, a gang of affluent Las Vegas youths, who savagely beat and maimed another Las Vegas teen. The defendants were given relatively light sentences considering the severity of the crime.

Galenter, Simpson’s Florida lawyer, is a self-described legal expert who has given his legal insights during interviews on the Kobe Bryant rape case and the Scott Peterson murder case.

They are facing against two experienced prosecutors in Clark County District Attorney David Roger and Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Owens. Having worked on the Ted Binion murder trial and the Laughlin River Run riot, the two are experienced with high-profile trials. In the former, Roger won convictions against Sandy Murphy and Rick Tabish in the murder of casino magnate Ted Binion.

Simpson’s Tale

Simpson says that he was contacted by Riccio and told that there were collectors were trying to sell several pieces of memorabilia without people knowing. After arranging a meeting with the collectors in Riccio’s hotel room, Simpson, Stewart, Alexander, and McClinton piled into Stewart’s Navigator and made their way to Palace Station.

In room 1203, Simpson confronted the dealers, former associates. He claims several of the items, which included personal items, were his property and were stolen from him. “I don’t care about the memorabilia. I just wanted the family stuff,” he said.

Although he’s pondered why he is facing legal woes rather than the men he accuses of attempting to sell stolen goods, he does not have any evidence to prove the items are his property.

He maintains that no weapons were involved and that the incident wasn’t a robbery.

Simpson was arrested Sunday and brought to the Clark County Detention center, where he spent three days in a 7-foot by 14-foot cell. He was initially arrested without bail, which was granted Wednesday morning.

Simpson was released on $125,000 bail at 12:18 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. He posted 15 percent bail through You Ring We Spring Bail Bonds. He and his lawyer drove a silver sedan from the detention center to The Palms, where he stayed prior to his arrest.

He was ordered to surrender his passport, but may travel freely in the U.S. He was also ordered not to communicate with any of his codefendants or witnesses until he returns to court October 22.

He returned to Florida Wednesday afternoon.

Riccio and the Tape

The man some consider the architect behind the incident Thomas Riccio. He owns a California-based auction house, which handled the eBay auction of Anna Nicole Smith’s handwritten diaries after her death.

According to Riccio, Simpson was supposed to confirm his ownership of the memorabilia and give the collectors an ultimatum: surrender the items or he would contact the authorities. What happened was pandemonium.

Riccio surreptitiously recorded the entirety of the events on an audio tape, which has been released to the public. The tape indicates a yelling, snarling Simpson as the ringleader of the group.

“Think you can steal my s— and sell it?” Simpson said, “Don’t let nobody out of here.”

Beardsley accuses him of getting Simpson frenzied about the memorabilia. “If they don’t charge Riccio I will be very upset. That guy lied to O.J. and got him all pumped up,” he said.

He claims the tape made at the scene was inaccurate.

Co-defendant Alexander believes the incident was a set up. Although Riccio had taped the entire confrontation, he sold the recording to TMZ.com and did not inform the police about its existence.

“It sounds like a setup to me,” he told ABC’s “Good Morning America” Tuesday.

Riccio is a former ex-con whose rap sheet includes: four separate felony convictions, including arson, prison escape and stolen property charges. He has spent a total of eight years in prison and was first convicted of a felony in 1984, charged with conspiracy to receive stolen goods.

Police said he could face charges in connection with the armed robbery.

The story of these men and O.J. Simpson is ongoing. Legal experts have expressed concern that the credibility of these men can affect the outcome of the case.

“This is a pretty shady world and pretty shady characters dealing with each other in a pretty shady way,” said Dennis Turner, a University of Dayton School of Law professor.

Although the robbery occurred just seven days ago, throngs of reporters have stormed Las Vegas for what many consider the biggest story to come out of this town in recent memory.

The last post in this series will detail the circus this story has become.

O.J. Simpson’s story got a new Las Vegas chapter added to it.

You couldn’t write this stuff.

As with all stories, there are different versions of this story and it can get a little confusing. This isn’t just some robbery case. O.J. Simpson does that to news stories. There is more on the line than just seeing four men behind bars for robbing a pair of sports memorabilia collectors.

Hanging in the balance is the fate of a man, who many people believed eluded justice that cool October morning in 1995 when he was acquitted of the double-murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.

Like Al Capone, who got away with doing all the terrible deeds a mobster does, was finally brought down by mere tax evasion, Simpson may find himself spending the rest of his life in prison but for the events of that fateful September 13 confrontation in room 1203 at Palace Station.

The simplified version of the story is that something happened in that room. Guns may or may not have been drawn. Sports memorabilia was definitely stolen. Of course the assailants and the accosted offer different versions of the tale and that is where the police have had to pick up the pieces.

The next few posts will hopefully clear things up or perhaps offer a little more perspective into the case and what may happen in the future. The next part of this story will focus on the men involved in the case, including the Simpson’s side and a brief background of the legal teams.

O.J. Simpson was released today at 12:18 p.m. after posting $125,000 bail on armed robbery charges.

He was seen getting into a car with his Florida attorney, Yale Galenter, and proceeded to The Palms, where he stayed prior to his arrest.

Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Joe Bonaventure Jr. accepted a bail deal worked out between prosecutors and Simpson’s attorneys.

Simpson was ordered to surrender his passport, but may travel freely in the U.S. He was also ordered not to contact any of the codefendants or witnesses in the case.

He is expected to fly back to Miami, where his lawyer said he will spend time with his family.

A return date has been set for October 22.

A Nevada judged set O.J. Simpson’s bail at $125,000 today. Simpson had been held in the Clark County Detention Center without bail since Sunday. The judge ordered Simpson to surrender his passport, but said that he may travel within the United States.

A return date has been set at October 22.

Simpson and three other men were charged with multiple felonies in connection with an alleged armed robbery of two sports collectors in a room at Palace Station.

Simpson claims that no weapons were involved.

A search of Simpson companion Michal McClinton’s Las Vegas home yielded two guns police suspect were involved in the incident.

McClinton and two other men involved in the incident, Walter Alexander and Clarence Stewart Jr., were arrested by police and face the same charges, which include robbery with use of a deadly weapon and assault with a deadly weapon.

Thomas Scotto was initially a suspect, but has since been cleared.

The number and severity of the charges levied against Simpson and his initial no-bail status shocked several people in the law community, which some attribute to his celebrity.

“If this was a regular case, this would be gross misdemeanor with probation,” said Las Vegas attorney Chris Rasmussen, “We have guys who shoot up 7-11s and they get out the next day.”

Loyola law professor Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor, was also surprised by the charges. “They’re certainly loading up on the charges against Simpson,” she said. “It strikes me that they are just lowering the boom as hard and as fast as they can.”

Witnesses said that Simpson himself wasn’t armed. He maintains that he was retrieving stolen property. Nevada law allows the use of reasonable force to get one’s property back.

New questions are being raised concerning Simpson’s treatment. Although all four men apprehended face the same charges, until this morning, Simpson was the only suspect held without bail.

Alexander was released earlier this week on his own recognizance and McClinton posted $78,000 bail.

Police are still searching for two unidentified men they believe were involved in the robbery.