Casino fight between gangs leaves three dead

Rival motorcycle gangs turned a crowded casino floor into a shooting gallery leaving three dead and at least 12 wounded.

It took place in a Harrah's Casino in Laughlin, about 70 miles south of Las Vegas.

Denise Massey, 48, was gambling with her fiance on the first floor of Harrah's when she noticed 20 to 30 bikers suddenly converge.

"Next thing you know you just hear 'Bam, bam, bam,'" she said. "All of a sudden they're running and just shooting at each other."

Fire Department spokesman Larry Tunforss had said earlier that four were killed, but police later revised the figure.

Authorities took about 100 people into custody and locked down the city, temporarily closing bridges over the Colorado River. The routes were reopened later in the morning.

The shooting occurred during the 20th annual River Run, a weekend gathering of motorcycle clubs that brought up to 80,000 people into the gambling resort.

Harrah's director of marketing, Laura De La Cruz, said a fight between rival motorcycle gang members erupted shortly after 2 a.m.

Aniko Kegyulics was sitting at a casino bar with her boyfriend when she heard yelling and gunfire.

"There were so many gunshots everything turned gray. Everybody fell to the floor. It was crazy," she said.