Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

What interested you this year: the Sun’s 10 most-read stories of 2013

Strip Shooting Vigil

MONA SHIELD PAYNE / SPECIAL TO THE SUN

Heidi and Kenneth Cherry Sr. (from right) join friends and family in prayer during a vigil held for their son, Kenneth Cherry Jr., at the corner of Flamingo Road and Las Vegas Boulevard Friday night, February 22, in Las Vegas.

It's almost 2014, but before the fireworks appear above the Strip, let's take a quick look back at what happened in Las Vegas during 2013.

It was a busy year. And although the Las Vegas Sun doesn't know what you're doing day and night like Santa and the National Security Agency, we do know what stories are the most read on our website.

Here are the top 10 stories of the year, based on the number of page views in 2013:

    • 1. 'Ka' artist dies after fall during performance at MGM Grand

      The Sun's John Katsilometes reported that Sarah Guyard-Guillot, a mother of two children ages 8 and 5, was performing in the 7 p.m. show June 29 at MGM Grand when she fell an estimated 90 feet to a pit below the stage and out of the audience's view. She was pronounced dead at 11:43 p.m. at University Medical Center.

      The show temporarily closed and OSHA inspectors issued six citations against Cirque and three against MGM Grand.

      Read the full story here.

    • 2. Heart Attack Grill spokesman dies from heart attack

      The unofficial spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill in downtown Las Vegas died from an apparent heart attack Feb. 11.

      John Alleman, 52, suffered a heart attack as he waited at the bus stop in front of the restaurant, inside Neonopolis at Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard.

      The medically themed restaurant is famous for its high-fat menu that includes a record-breaking 9,982-calorie, 3-pound Quadruple Bypass Burger. The grill's slogan is "Taste worth dying for."

      Alleman was the second unofficial spokesman to die. In March 2011, Blair River — known as the Grill's "Gentle Giant" — died of flu-related pneumonia. The 575-pound spokesman was just 29.

      Read the full story here.

    • 3. Reid says Obamacare just a step toward eventual single-payer system

      "What we've done with Obamacare is have a step in the right direction, but we're far from having something that's going to work forever," Reid said during an appearance on Vegas PBS' program "Nevada Week in Review."

      When asked by panelist Steve Sebelius whether he meant ultimately the country would have to have a health care system that abandoned insurance as the means of accessing it, Reid said: "Yes, yes. Absolutely, yes."

      Read the full story here.

    • Heidi Montag hosts at Liquid Pool Lounge in Aria on April 10, 2010.

      4. Strip Scribbles: Dayclubs, lounges opening for pool season; Liquid, Bare first up

      Sun columnist Robin Leach gave readers notice that Las Vegas' pool clubs were opening for the season, starting with Liquid Pool Lounge at Aria and the topless Bare Pool Lounge at the Mirage.

      Read the full story here.

    • 5. Boy, 15, run over by SUV and killed during theft of iPad

      Marcos Vincente Arenas, 15, died after a man grabbed an iPad out of his hands and fled in an SUV that ran over the boy as he struggled to hold on to the tablet.

      The iPad was a birthday gift from Arenas' father. The teen was a freshman at Bonanza High School, where he was a standout baseball player.

      Jacob Dismont, 18, and Michael Samuel Solid, 21, both of Las Vegas, were later arrested in connection with the death. They face charges of open murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

      Read the full story here.

    • Amanda Brennan, 24

      6. Foothill teacher, 24, arrested for relationship with 15-year-old student

      Amanda Brennan, 24, a Foothill High School English teacher, was arrested on two counts of luring a child and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

      The student, a 15-year-old male, had gone out at night with Brennan, according to the parents, who brought their concerns to Clark County School District Police.

      Read the full story here.

    • A view of the Mormon temple in Las Vegas.

      7. Judge's son kills himself at Las Vegas Mormon temple

      The son of a federal appeals court judge shot himself dead in the courtyard of the Las Vegas Mormon temple in November.

      Scott Greer Bybee, 26, committed suicide in an inside courtyard area away from the lobby and from worshippers who were attending a temple session about 6:40 p.m. in the temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

      Bybee, of Henderson, is the son of 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jay Scott Bybee.

      Read the full story here.

    • The Wheel of Death act is performed during Cirque du Soleil's "Zarkana."

      8. 'Zarkana' artist injured after slipping from 'Wheel of Death'

      Less than a week after being issued a half-dozen citations from OSHA in the death of "Ka" artist Sarah Guyard-Guillot, Cirque du Soleil reported that an artist was injured Nov. 1 during "Zarkana," the production at Aria.

      Posted on the company's Facebook page was this report of the incident: "During the 7 p.m. performance of 'Zarkana' last night, an artist performing in the 'Wheel of Death' act slipped and fell off the wheel. The show was halted and the artist was transported to UMC, where he is in stable condition and is expected to be released from the hospital in the next few days."

      Read the full story here.

    • Smoke and flames billow from a burning vehicle following a shooting and multicar accident on the Las Vegas Strip early Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013.

      9. Three killed after gunshots fired from SUV cause fiery crash on Las Vegas Strip

      The Las Vegas Strip became a scene of deadly violence early Feb. 21 when someone in a black Range Rover opened fire on a Maserati, sending it crashing into a taxi that burst into flames, leaving three people dead and at least six injured.

      Police later arrested Ammar Harris, 26, in relation to the shooting and killing of rapper Kenneth Cherry Jr.

      The other victims were cabdriver Michael Boldon, 62, and passenger Sandra Sutton-Wasmund, 48, of Maple Valley, Wash.

      Read the full story here.

    • 10. Woman found dead in Las Vegas swimming pool is identified

      Norma Jean Rivera, 44, was found behind a home around July 4 in the 3800 block of Manford Circle. Rivera's cause of death was not immediately available, the Clark County Coroner's Office said.

      Read the full story here.

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