Las Vegas aglow with good cheer as revelers mark the New Year

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Published Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015 | 6:45 p.m.

Updated Friday, Jan. 1, 2016 | 2:10 a.m.

More than 320,000 people in chilly Las Vegas celebrated the arrival of 2016 in one of the best New Year’s celebrations in the world, punctuated by a spectacular eight-minute fireworks show.

Revelers who packed the Strip and downtown's Fremont Street in a celebration that appeared to go off without a hitch were protected by about 1,000 uniformed officers patrolling the Strip and 300 to 400 watching downtown.

For Metro Police, it was the first time uniformed officers, including some wearing military-style vests and headsets, walked among the crowd of pedestrians in light of heightened security concerns globally.

Metro said that as of early Friday morning just 10 arrests had been tallied between the Las Vegas Strip and downtown Fremont Street events for New Year's Eve.

Officer Laura Meltzer described the night as uneventful and of the arrests, two were on Fremont Street. At least one of the 10 arrests was for a possible felony, but details were not available.

She says a full tally of arrests would be made available in the coming days.

Clark County Fire Department responded to about 55 calls on the Las Vegas Strip for medical and alcohol-related issues, including a man who had a heart attack outside of Harrah's.

County spokesman Erik Pappa says the man was taken to a hospital, but his condition was unknown.

New Year's Eve is worth an estimated $228 million to Las Vegas, and its 149,086 hotel rooms were almost fully booked, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Check below for a recap of events surrounding the transition to the new year.

12:25 a.m.

After the fireworks, celebrants are struggling to get back to their hotel rooms and cars. Metro Police have increased their presence along metal fences in an attempt to calm the frustrated crowd, many of whom are drunk. A strong stench of marijuana permeates the area.

12:15 a.m.

Locals and tourists alike counted down with intensity in front of Caesars Palace, glimmering 2016 headbands and bunny ears atop many of their heads. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Happy New Year," they shouted, in almost perfect unison, underscored by a chorus of horns.

Fireworks shot off from the resorts, heads swiveling from side to side taking in the scene. There were hugs, kisses, embraces and cheers, celebrating the new year.

Shortly after the fireworks display, the crowd began to disperse, shuffling north and south on Las Vegas Boulevard, back to hotels, parked cars, taxis and buses, some, continuing on to further festivities in the New Year.

12:10 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman takes the 3rd Street Stage on Fremont Street five minutes before midnight to introduce a video montage of 2015 on the Viva Vegas video board above. Featuring songs like Wiz Khalifa's "See You Again" and Aloe Blacc's "The Man," the video highlights the year in news, music, entertainment and sports, among other topics.

Four minutes later, the mayor has to cut the video off early to start a 60-second countdown to the new year.

While fireworks pop near the video board above, Champagne and confetti fly from thousands of people packed in front of the stage and in both directions down the Fremont Street Experience. Hundreds of smartphones flashing cameras and taking video help make up for the dimmed 3rd Street Stage lights.

While dozens of spectators lock lips beneath the stage, the mayor gives husband Oscar Goodman a quick kiss onstage, to the delight of two showgirls standing on either side.

The fireworks continue for nearly 10 minutes after the turn of the new year, with no apparent problems. The crowd roars as another band, Don't Look Back, takes the stage around 12:15.

And the party goes on.

11:45 p.m.

Stacy Jonas, 54, and Randy Jonas, 60, of New York City, made their first-ever trip to Las Vegas for New Year's Eve.

Sporting matching silver New Year's hats, the couple's red and white blazer jackets provided one of Fremont Street's more fashionable combinations of the night.

"We've celebrated every year in New York and we had to see what it was all about here," Stacy Jonas said less than an hour before midnight. "So far, we're very impressed."

Jonas wouldn't say how much their hotel or drinks costs, only that the price the couple paid was "enough."

"A pretty penny, that's for sure," she laughed.

11:35 p.m.

The Clark County Fire Department assisted a man suffering from a heart attack in front of Harrah's Thursday evening.

As of 11:30 p.m., the Fire Department had received 30 medical calls, many of which were alcohol-related.

11:30 p.m.

Revelers are starting to line up in anticipation of 2016 and a spectacular fireworks display.

People have begun to form along the fence in front of Paris while others have taken up post sitting on the boulevard's curb. A mass of people, standing shoulder to shoulder, has assembled at the intersection at the south end of the Bellagio.

Many stand on tiptoe or put a hand or drink in the air in an attempt to locate friends and loved ones. The sounds of chattering teeth, drunken shouts and horn sounds fill the air.

11 p.m.

With about an hour left before the fireworks show, people have begun positioning themselves on the intersection between the Bellagio and Planet Hollywood.

More celebrants are seen carrying alcoholic drinks, and fewer families are roaming the streets with their children.

10:45 p.m.

Las Vegas Boulevard in front of the Bellagio is already packed with people, including many holding "Free Hugs" signs. The signs, handed out for free near the Bellagio, appeared to give the sign holders license to hug strangers, even those who did not want their hugs.

10:40 p.m.

Temperatures are expected to dip to 38 to 40 degrees at midnight, and winds from the northeast are expected to stay between 5 and 10 mph, National Weather Service meteorologist Barry Pierce said.

Winds of 10 mph are the limit for the America's Party fireworks show to go on.

Wind, rain and snow can delay or cause the cancellation of the fireworks show.

It's expected to be chilly and a little breezy at midnight, but there's no chance of precipitation, Pierce said.

10:35 p.m.

Vendors from stores and souvenir stands on Fremont Street swore Thursday night that despite the holiday, they were not changing prices on their merchandise for sale.

"We don't do that," said Mike Whittington, assistant manager at Big Balls, a head and neckwear stand selling $15 New Year's Eve hats and $10 "2016" sunglasses. "We have enough customers buying already."

Just east on the Fremont Street Experience, manager Ricardo Nunez of Viva Vegas said his store wasn't price gouging, either.

"Not this year," Nunez said. "We don't want to make people pay too much more than they're already paying."

The merchants complained that a $40 New Year's Eve entry price for Fremont Street revelers makes it tough to compete with the Strip for New Year's Eve business.

"$40 to get in, another $20 to park and you can't bring bottles onto the street," Nunez said. "With all the other options in Vegas, why would you pay that?"

10:30 p.m.

For one Las Vegas busker, performing on New Year's Eve is old hat.

Neuman, a one-name star, apparently, has been dressing up as Captain Hook for five years for the year-end celebration.

He said the atmosphere on the Strip is much more exciting than on Fremont Street, which is known for its concentration of diverse street performers.

Recently, restrictions on Fremont have tightened for such characters, who are limited to certain areas for a period of time.

"The Strip is so much better," Neuman said. "There's too much zoning downtown."

He said that even though the New Year's party is adult-oriented, families have been his biggest customer tonight.

9:30 p.m.

A few church groups are out tonight preaching on the Strip to New Year's Eve revelers, taking vastly different tactics.

One of the groups, led by Los Angeles street preacher Ruben Israel, was staged behind a barricade in the middle of the street near Caesars Palace, yelling at members of the crowd and calling them "sinners" and holding signs saying "repent or perish" and "Jesus saves from hell." One of the group members voiced his support for Donald Trump and said that one crowd member looked like "a little sissy that's voting for Hillary."

One man walking by the group yelled back at them, saying "Do not judge! Do not judge!"

A Metro officer monitoring the demonstration said the group comes out every year, but this is the first year Metro has set up a special barricaded area to separate the group from the crowd.

Other churches took a less confrontational approach. Members of the First Baptist Church of the Lakes in Las Vegas handed out religious tracts designed as oversized $100 bills, as they have at several previous years' celebrations.

"People actually take it home," said church member Wibke Rockne. "It's kind of a souvenir."

She said that most are generally respectful of the church members, although they have been accosted in previous years.

"We don't expect everyone to agree with us," said Pablo Navarro, another church member. "We just hope they'll search the truth about what we're saying."

9 p.m.

Dressed as Sesame Street's Cookie Monster and Elmo, Christian Cage, 38, and Erika Torres, 31, were proud to display their "inner kid" Thursday night on Fremont Street, with costumes they bought on eBay.

"We like being approachable in public," Cage said. "We bring the party to us."

The local couple chose Fremont Street over the Strip, ironically, so they could avoid children being pushed in strollers.

"It's easier to walk around on Fremont and you're not stuck in the street," Cage said. "And you can actually get phone service out here, unlike the Strip."

The couple said they paid $350 for a room at the nearby Plaza.

8:25 p.m.

Patrons of the CVS near CityCenter were mainly packed into the snack and winter weather gear aisles. Some New Year's Eve goers, already tired and cold, huddled on the floor in the aisles, seeking to regain some warmth before heading back into the cold outside.

The Walgreens attached to Harrah's is also slammed. Revelers are flocking in, desperate for gloves and scarves. Some in line are purchasing Red Bull and large plastic martini glasses.

Meanwhile, business has been slow for one street vendor stationed across Treasure Island. He says that's because Metro Police has asked him to relocate three times.

Those who set up shop on the Strip are required to have a vendor's license, but that hasn't stopped people like this man, who wished to remain anonymous, from trying to make a few bucks tonight.

The vendor said police should focus more on security than honest people trying to make money.

"(Police) should be watching out for terrorists, not people like me," the vendor said. "(Business) hasn't been good at all."

8:20 p.m.

James Pooley, 52, turned heads in the early hours of Thursday night's party on Fremont Street Experience with a holiday-themed suit featuring giant snowflakes and reindeer silhouettes.

A 10-year Las Vegas resident, Pooley said he prefers Fremont Street's $40 price tag to free entry on the Strip because he and his wife, Cindy, feel safer.

"Less panhandling here and you don't have as many people trying to pick your pockets," Pooley said. "We're here to party and we want to do it right."

The couple said they paid $200 for a downtown hotel room, a price they said was fair for New Year's Eve.

8:10 p.m.

Local Ryan Randall, 32, plays the bagpipes in the middle of the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue, seamlessly transitioning between "America the Beautiful" and a traditional Scottish tune.

Randall, who often performs on the Strip and on Fremont Street, has created a 10-foot circle out of salt in which he performs.

Spectators enter the circle to put money in his can and pose for pictures, with Randall never skipping a beat and not pausing between songs.

"I'll be playing through the night," Randall said, adding that he plans to play "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight.

As for how much he thinks he'll make tonight?

"That's personal," Randall said, although he said he always makes more on New Year's.

8 p.m.

Popular celebration accessories on the Strip appear to be flashy hats and bunny ears, with fewer 2016 glasses or headbands observed in crowds.

7:30 p.m.

Most casinos along the Strip are welcoming the eager New Year's Eve celebrants onto their properties with the exception of Cosmopolitan and CityCenter resorts. Like past years, these hotels are only opening their doors to guests.

7 p.m.

With massive crowds expected, cleaning crews on the Strip have their work cut out of them. One worker says about 275 garbage cans will be positioned throughout Las Vegas Boulevard starting at 7 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

Most of Las Vegas Boulevard has been closed to vehicle traffic, although the majority of pedestrians are still using sidewalks to traverse Las Vegas Boulevard with only a thin crowd wandering down the street.

At Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, in addition to a metal bar blocking access to the Strip, police have parked more than a dozen cars of different makes and models at different angles as a secondary barricade should someone try to drive west on Flamingo to get to the boulevard. Extra Metro security cameras have also been set up at various spots along the boulevard.

The Sun’s Megan Messerly, Julie Ann Formoso, Chris Kudialis, Kailyn Brown, Pashtana Usufzy, Don Chareunsy and the Associated Press contributed to this report.