Crowd bulges to 60,000 at last minute in Reno

As the big moment approached, thousands more rushed into the streets from the casinos to ring in the new year as the seconds were counted down on an outdoor sign at the Club Cal-Neva.

Throngs of people filled a five-block stretch of Virginia Street, many jammed under the famed Reno arch.

At the height of the moment, about 60,000 revelers blew horns, hollered and kissed under skies bursting with fireworks.

A half-dozen young men with no shirts climbed on top of a newspaper vending machines and several people threw drinks in the air, but there were no fights.

Only 8 people were arrested as of shortly after midnight, and half of those were for civil protective custody "so drunks don't hurt themselves," Reno Police Chief Jerry Hoover said.

"That's not even a busy Wednesday night in the summer," Hoover said.

"This has been basically a media event. There was a lot of emphasis on terrorism and potential problems and people said, 'The heck with it, I'm staying home.' People decided it was not worth the hassle."

Five minutes after the magic moment, many people returned to the casinos and the streets began to clear.

"Last year I was in South Lake Tahoe and I woke up in jail," said Joey Mazzone of Tahoe City, Calif., who climbed a street light pole in Reno as the fireworks exploded.

"The Reno cops are more lenient," he said.

His friend, Eben Bartow of Truckee, Calif., said the fear of violence had been exaggerated.

"But it's all peace, it's all good. I haven't seen any violence," he said.

In Carson City, a power outage moments after midnight left about 12,000 people on the west side of the city in temporary darkness.

Sierra Pacific Power Co. said the outage was caused when a Mylar balloon got tangled in a power line and tripped a breaker.

In Elko, about 3,500 people braved frosty temperatures in the teens to watch a fireworks display and join the rest of the world in celebrating the new year.

"We all survived. We're all intact," said Lori Gilbert of KELK radio. Many local officials, including the sheriff, fire chief and city council members, spent the evening at an emergency command post playing Monopoly.

In Ely, money literally fell from the sky and hundreds gathered outside for a chance to scoop up a portion of $1,500 dropped off the roof of the Nevada Hotel.

All night, few people expressed any concerns about the Y2K computer bug.

"It's all hype," said Terri Potter of Reno, who came downtown to see the fireworks with her 13-year-old son.

"There's no such thing as Y2K," said Kirk Pierce, 37, San Mateo, Calif. "I want to be out in the middle of the street with everybody else."

In Reno, rookie gamblers and vets alike plugged the slot machines with quarters and nickels and hundreds of people lined up for special New Year's Eve buffets.

"We came here to eat," said Tara Taylor, 7, Incline Village, Nev.

Actually, her father said, they came to Reno to see the fireworks - a $100,000 extravaganza set to explode off the roofs of a half-dozen hotel-casinos.

"We wanted to bring the kids to show them the Millennium so they'll remember it when they're grown up," said Tate Taylor, accompanied by wife, Sandy, and Tex, 5, and Terry, 1.

Several hotels greeted guests with Y2K survival kits. In addition to party hats and favors, the basket at Circus Circus included a bottle of water and a flashlight keychain, "although we are equipped with back-up generators."

Barbara Kaiser of Reno was watching the excitement through a special pair of glittery eyeglasses shaped like "2000."

"We could have gone to parties but chose to be here with our children. It's not often you can bring in the Year 2000 with your 15-year-old and he actually wants to be with you," she said.

Meanwhile, an interagency task force greeted the New Year from the basement of a reinforced armory in Carson City, prepared for any eventuality. But the trays of cold cuts and bottles of sparkling grape juice was about all the excitement the evening had to offer.

"This is the biggest training mission ever," said Frank Siracusa, chief of the state Division of Emergency Management, as the countdown to 2000 approached.

All was calm at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, where airlines canceled an additional 12 flights scheduled Friday night due to a lack of travelers.

"Everythings operational," airport spokesman Adam Mayberry shortly after midnight. "There's no problems."

The next flight was scheduled to leave at 6:30 a.m. Saturday.

The armory's command center in Carson City was the focal point of the state's Y2K preparations. It was manned by representatives of the Nevada Highway Patrol, the Nevada Division of Investigation, the FBI, the governor's office and the Federal Emergency Management Agency mingling with the building's usual emergency management workers and Army and Air National Guard members.

"We've had no incidents of any kind. We planned for the worst but we kind of expected this," said NHP Col. Michael Hood.

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