Friday, Oct. 6, 2017 | 12:21 p.m.
A gun show that was scheduled to take place this weekend in a casino off the Las Vegas Strip has been canceled and another is considering pulling out following last Sunday's mass shooting.
Boyd Gaming Corp. spokesman David Strow said Friday that the decision to cancel the gun show at the Eastside Cannery was made mutually with the show's promoter, Western Trails Show Promotions.
It was scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday and has been held at least five times in the past.
The Crossroads of the West gun show scheduled for Oct. 21–22 at Cashman Center in downtown Las Vegas is “most likely” going to be canceled in light of the Route 91 Harvest music festival mass shooting, according to its show manager.
“We are talking with Cashman now to see what we can do if we were to cancel,” says Rob Templeton, who works as a show manager for the 42-year-old Utah-based traveling gun show founded and operated by his parents, Bob and Lynn Templeton. “There is no final decision yet, but I think it will be canceled.”
He added, “It’s too close to what happened (Sunday).”
Templeton expects an official decision to be made and announced early next week.
Two Crossroads gun shows scheduled for this weekend — one in Reno and one in Costa Mesa, Calif. — are both going ahead as scheduled despite concerns and outrage by some residents. An unrelated gun show scheduled at Eastside Cannery here in Las Vegas has already been canceled.
Templeton added that he expects a December show scheduled at Cashman Center for Dec. 16–17 to go on as expected. Crossroads also has tentative shows scheduled into next year.
A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Association, which operates Cashman Center, said “there is no information regarding any cancellations at this time.”
Fifty-eight people were killed and hundreds were injured Sunday night when Stephen Paddock opened fire from the windows of his 32nd floor hotel room and rained bullets on a country music festival attended by thousands.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
