Casino Owner Loses Vegas Mayor Race to Councilman

LAS VEGAS — Veteran City Councilman Ron Lurie won the race for mayor of this gambling city Tuesday night in a close battle with flamboyant casino owner Bob Stupak.

Stupak conceded the election about 9:30 p.m., trailing Lurie by more than 2,000 votes.

“I thank him, and I know he’s going to be a good mayor,” Stupak said.

The election night vote counting was marred when Stupak allegedly shoved a camerawoman and hit a television reporter in the face during a visit to Lurie’s headquarters.

Stupak refused to apologize for the incident, which he said was touched off when the reporter asked him if he was taking drugs.

“They asked me if I took drugs in front of my son,” he said. “Nobody, but nobody, can insult me in front of my son.”

“I’m just sorry the incident took place at my headquarters,” Lurie said.

Million-Dollar Race

With all 84 precincts reporting, Lurie had 18,013 votes, or 53.8%, to 15,457, or 46.2%, for Stupak.

At least $1 million was spent by the two candidates, most of it by Stupak, a self-described millionaire who said he spent at least $650,000 in the race for the post being vacated by three-term Mayor Bill Briare.

The race, the most bitter in the city’s history, has been marked by phony petitions, urine tests, pulpit denunciations, delivery of fruit to selected voter groups and a number of proposed debates that Stupak failed to attend.

Earlier this year, Lurie, a 46-year-old slot machine salesman and 14-year councilman, was considered the leading candidate for the job, but Stupak stunned political observers by spending about $400,000 to win the primary election.