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The name didn’t sit well with Naked City’s property owners, including Bob Stupak, who, in 1979, opened the Vegas World casino resort on land he owned in the neighborhood.
In 1996, Stupak replaced Vegas World with the Stratosphere—whose 1,149-foot observation tower remains the largest structure west of the Mississippi—remodeling Vegas World’s towers for the new purpose.
Stupak’s friends in city government agreed to rebrand the neighborhood as Meadows Village in the late ’80s. They also told and retold the cover story of the sunbathing showgirls, insisting that the Naked City nickname had nothing to do with crime.
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During the livestream, the president stated that he had spoken with a woman who said her 26-year-old son had taken his own life because of online betting. He also mentioned hearing from a bettor who had racked up BRL2 million ($388,410) in debt in just three months of wagering.
Lula said he intends to discuss the matter with his team and analyse potential measures to consider the social impact of online betting.
What the president does not acknowledge is that the government relies on revenue from the sector. In just the first seven months of 2026, BRL8.747 billion generated by sports betting has already flowed into public coffers. The Federal Revenue Service estimates the total could reach BRL16 billion by the end of the year. In 2025, nearly BRL9 billion was collected from sportsbooks.
What is Hearthstone?
The law came at the request of Full House Resorts, the Las Vegas-based regional gaming operator that expressed interest in relocating its Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun to a more attractive market, specifically in the northeastern part of the state.
During the lawmaking process, Full House’s exclusivity was stripped in favor of welcoming any company currently licensed as a commercial casino in the US to bid on the possible license. Lawmakers also threw in a one-time $150 million fee for the concession and a mandatory investment minimum of $500 million, all but ending Full House’s interest.
“The bill changed many times. We make money in Rising Sun. We always have, not a lot of money, but we make money. We continue to make money in Rising Sun. And we will continue to do that for our shareholders, as well as for the good of the state,” Full House CEO Daniel Lee said in March.