Religion, gambling mix at Laughlin casino church

Religion, gambling mix at Laughlin casino church
Posted: Saturday, October 20, 2012
The Las Vegas Sun


Steve Marcus

Charlie Urnick

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND, OCT. 13-14 - In this photo taken Sept. 9, 2012, Father Charlie Urnick poses by a God slot machine in his office in Laughlin, Nev. The church is the only Catholic church that holds weekly Mass in a casino, said Rev. Charlie Urnick. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Sun, Steve Marcus)


Steve Marcus

Casino Church

ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND, OCT. 13-14 - In this photo taken Sept. 9, 2012, A God slot machine is displayed in Father Charlie Urnick's office in Laughlin, Nev. The church is the only Catholic church that holds weekly Mass in a casino, said Rev. Charlie Urnick. (AP Photo/Las Vegas Sun, Steve Marcus)


LAUGHLIN, Nev. — The glowing marquee outside the box office showed six shirtless men with bronzed, well-oiled pecs and abs.


The “Australian Thunder from Down Under” all-male revue would be bumping and grinding later Sunday at Don’s Celebrity Theatre.

But right now, another star is ready to take over the main showroom at the Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino in Laughlin — the Rev. Charles Urnick.

“I’m on stage three times a weekend,” says the man known to his fans — more appropriately, his parishioners — as Father Charlie.

Wearing green vestments, the 60-something, white-haired, roundish administrator of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church wouldn’t be mistaken for one of the buff blokes from the outback.

But Father Charlie was still drawing a crowd to casino row in this gambling community about 90 miles south of Las Vegas, which features 11 casinos on the Nevada side of the Colorado River.

Close to 300 people were about to attend one of Urnick’s two Sunday morning Masses at the casino.

“I love what I do, and I love where I do it,” Urnick told the Las Vegas Sun as he prepared to hear confessions before Mass. “We’re the only Catholic church in the United States that has Mass in a casino.”

If you attend a service, you can buy a souvenir from the church’s gift table, which includes a St. John the Baptist casino chip. Edged in blue and white, the chip says, “Pray With Us! It’s A Sure Bet!”

To Urnick, celebrating Mass at the casino makes sense — both practically and biblically. “Jesus went where the people are. And when you’re in a casino town, this is where the people are,” he said.

“People joke about you’re in a casino, you’re in Sin City,” he said. “But many of our people who sing or are ushers are blackjack dealers or they’re performers in one of the casinos or lounges.”

Sometimes celebrities who do shows in Laughlin are in the crowd, too. “I’ve had Larry Gatlin stop in and just start chatting with me. I’ve had Lynn Anderson sing with our choir,” Urnick said.

The Rat Pack is Back brings its tribute show from the Rio in Las Vegas to Laughlin from time to time, so “at least two Sundays a year I have Frank Sinatra in my congregation,” he said.

The parish started as a mission in 1992 in what is now the River Palms casino and moved to the Riverside in 1996. “They’re good to us, and we’re good to them. We’re bringing in a few thousand people a week to their casino,” said Urnick, who has been with the parish since 2008 and has a small church about five miles from Laughlin’s casino row.

There are about 500 families in the parish, “but thousands of snowbirds who come down to Laughlin in the winter from all over the world,” he said. During the height of tourist season in February, as many as 2,500 people attend the three weekend Masses — two Sunday and one Saturday afternoon.

Barbara Nicolson, of Sedona, Ariz., was staying at the casino with her husband, Robert, and attended service on Sunday. She said she likes being able to play video poker downstairs before heading upstairs for church.

“It is a little crazy. But I think it’s marvelous,” she said. “This priest is amazing.”

Mini Granados and her husband, Danny, live in Bullhead City and are regulars at Father Charlie’s services.

“From here we go to breakfast and gamble a little bit,” she said.

Also at church this week were Judy and Ron Laughlin, the son of Don Laughlin, the town’s founder and owner of the Riverside. The Laughlins said their children received their first communion and were confirmed at the casino church.

Clay Slieff, a doorman at the theater, said that often the Catholic Masses bring in more people than the marquee performers.

“They really pack them in,” he said.

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/features/religion/religion-gambling-mix-at-laughlin-casino-church/article_cafb6ee2-9207-59ac-be79-136846a9d359.html

Jury finds Harrah's failed to protect patrons

Five bystanders agree to settlement in Harrah's Laughlin brawl case

Plaintiffs affected by fight between biker gangs in Laughlin

A confidential damages settlement was reached Friday with five bystanders who were caught up in the deadly 2002 brawl between rival motorcycle gangs at Harrah's Laughlin casino.

A District Court jury on Wednesday found Harrah's Laughlin liable for the stress and injuries the five plaintiffs suffered during the bloody altercation that left three gang members dead.

Attorney E. Brent Bryson, who represented the bystanders, said the settlement includes monetary damages, but he would not say how much.

Had the settlement not been reached, the jury would have had to decide how much to award the plaintiffs.

Attorneys for Harrah's Laughlin could not be reached for comment.

"We're happy that this brings a conclusion to a very long and troubled period in my clients' lives," said Bryson, who has scheduled a news conference with his clients on Monday to discuss the case.

On Thursday, Bryson said he believed this is the first time the Laughlin casino, which is owned by Harrah's Entertainment Inc., has been held responsible for failing to protect bystanders.

Phil Sindlinger, who said he was one of the eight jurors, said the panel was deadlocked for most of its two hours of deliberations. In the end, he said, the vote was 6-2 for the plaintiffs.

Sindlinger, a junior high school teacher, said the jury determined the brawl was foreseeable, that Harrah's Laughlin should have known that when you allow rival gangs in the same room something bad is going to happen. Testimony showed that police and casino officials knew trouble was brewing, he said.

Sindlinger said he found that the plaintiffs' security expert, who testified the casino dropped the ball, was more credible than the defense's expert, who said the fight was unforeseeable.

The early-morning brawl broke out on April 27, 2002, between the Hells Angels and Mongols during the Laughlin River Run, an annual rally that attracts tens of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts to the Southern Nevada town. Two Hells Angels and one Mongol were killed in the disturbance

One of the plaintiffs, Michael Bower, was in the casino at about 2 a.m. when armed Hells Angels entered and "provoked a barbaric and ferocious melee" with the Mongols, Bryson said in court papers.

"Plaintiff was essentially caught in the crossfire, helpless and defenseless" and "was forced to dive off his gaming chair onto the floor to seek cover," Bryson wrote.

Bower is a decorated Vietnam War veteran who has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Bryson said the casino altercation left his client with back injuries that required surgery and "severe mental and emotional trauma."

Two couples in the casino at the time, Steven and Kathy Fuller and Andrea and Dean Daniels, also had to run for cover when the brawl broke out, Bryson wrote. Both couples alleged in court papers that they were wrongly detained for some 10 hours, as police and hotel officials worked to restore order.


Harrah's Settles With Bystanders in Casino Brawl
Harrah's Laughlin settles with 5 bystanders in deadly 2002 biker brawl at southern Nev. casino

Harrah's Laughlin has settled with five bystanders for injuries suffered when a deadly brawl broke out in 2002 between rival biker gangs during a motorcycle rally at the southern Nevada casino-hotel.

The settlement comes two days after a civil court jury found the casino liable for damages.

Brent Bryson, the attorney for the bystanders, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday that the settlement includes monetary damages, but he didn't say how much.