It's official: Slump is over - 2004-01-02
With more than 300,000 people jamming Las Vegas Boulevard - closing the Strip from Sahara Avenue to Russell Road at the end of Mandalay Bay casino -the new year came ringing in with a fireworks display and a festivity that rivals the one in New York's Times Square.

And now that the new year is here, we look back at 2003.

The top story of 2003 for Las Vegas was the recovery of the city's No. 1 industry - tourism.
Read the full story at Daily Racing Forum

Gambling addicts put life, love at stake - 2004-01-02
Ron saw himself as a high roller drawing crowds at the blackjack tables.

Just pulling up the parking lot of San Manuel Bingo and Casino by San Bernardino would make him sweat and his heart pound. Ron would go there three times a day.

Looking back, the 67-year-old San Bernardino Mountains resident hates the lies he told Jackie, his wife of 48 years, to cover up his addiction. He hates
that he took cash from their safe while she slept.

"The trust was gone," recalls Jackie, 66. "I was in a position of: 'How do I live with a person without trust?"
Read the full story at Long Beach Press-Telegram