Police Park It at Biker Festival in Nevada

Hordes of free-spirited riders atop Harley-Davidson motorcycles roared into this Colorado River town Friday for an annual rally, finding a doubling of police because of last year’s shootout that left three men from rival gangs dead on a casino floor.

Police said the additional officers should discourage a replay of last year’s violence and many of those who showed up agreed.

Juan DeHaro, 33, a commercial electrician from Gilroy, Calif., was among the hundreds of people at Harrah’s last year who was ordered to the ground and checked for weapons after the shootout.

“I came back this year because of the camaraderie of Harley-Davidson riders,” DeHaro said while standing on Casino Drive, the mile-long main drag where spectators gather to watch the incessant parade of deep-throated, custom-painted motorcycles. “What happened last year won’t happen again. And the cops, they’re pretty mellow.”

But some riders seemed wary of returning this weekend to Laughlin. Usually, the riverside town attracts 60,000 to 80,000 bikers for its annual River Run, and some bikers have to stay in nearby towns including Boulder City and Kingman, Ariz. Others avoid the hotel crush by making day trips from Las Vegas and elsewhere.

This year, the town’s 11,000 hotel rooms were not sold out as of Friday; in past years, they were fully booked weeks in advance. Occupancy at Harrah’s was down by more than 10% from previous years, a hotel spokesman said.

The rally, which began Thursday and concludes Sunday, is something of a sacred rite among motorcycle aficionados, a weekend in the sun to examine chrome, admire rumbling pipes and check out each other. The event features concerts, motorcycle giveaways and custom-bike shows.

Prominent this year is the twofold increase in police to 300 officers, many of them standing politely in their yellow shirts along the main drag and at hotel entrances as beer-swilling revelers cheer the passing motorcycles.

An additional 200 plainclothes and gang intelligence officers, some coming from as far away as Finland because of the worldwide connections of the outlaw biker gangs, also are walking through the jammed hotel parking lots, said Sgt. Rick Barela, a Metropolitan Police Department spokesman.

The added police presence seemed to have an effect. Police said far fewer outlaw gang members had been spotted in town.

“They’re kind of hidden, but you can spot them,” said Sue Victory, of Olympia, Wash. “They’re all wearing the exact same T-shirts, without colors, and they’re obvious by how they ride together, with a real hierarchy of who rides where in the group.”

Most outlaw bikers were believed to be headed to other rural Nevada towns, and to Tijuana, said Metro Police Officer Jose Montoya. “We’ve seen very few Hells Angels and no Mongols. We’re not surprised, just happy.”

Hotels were taking steps to turn back biker gangs, by banning the display of insignias, emblems, certain-colored scarves and other trappings showing membership to such organizations as the Hells Angels and Mongols, which have long been identified by law enforcement for their criminal activities.

At last year’s rally, members of the two feuding groups got into a fight at Harrah’s that quickly erupted into gunfire and stabbings. One suspect was arrested after he was identified on surveillance cameras firing a gun, but he has since been released. Clark County Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher Owens said he would not comment on the likelihood of prosecutions in connection with the three deaths and two dozen injuries.

The violence dampened this year’s turnout, event organizers acknowledge, but they say other factors are at play, including the soft economy and other large rallies around the country this year to mark the 100th anniversary of Harley-Davidson motorcycles.

“There are large, special events planned all across North America this year, and if someone is going to attend just one run, they might choose a Harley-Davidson anniversary event,” said Andre Carrier, chairman of the Laughlin River Run.

Carrier and police say last year’s violence was unique in the history of the Laughlin River Run, which was started 20 years ago by Harley-Davidson dealerships in Southern California to resurrect the brand’s popularity after flagging motorcycle sales. In the past, the event generated $25 million annually for Laughlin. Aside from holiday weekends, the rally is the biggest single boost to the economy of Laughlin, which prides itself as a more laid-back counterpart to Las Vegas, which lies 95 miles to the north.

The event grew increasingly popular, and many of this year’s attendees said they wouldn’t let last year’s violence keep them away.

“There’s bad everywhere you go,” said Victor Bonilla, of Lakewood, Calif. “I was here last year and I came back this year because I knew it would be tremendous fun.”

Police said last year’s violence was not unexpected, but was difficult to defuse. “The rivalries between the gangs have been brewing for years,” Montoya said. “There have been other encounters. It didn’t start here, nor will it end here.”

The cost of this year’s additional police overtime is being shared by rally promoters, Barela said. The extra officers are staying at the local hotels, their police cars parked conspicuously near lobby entrances.

He and Carrier said hotel security departments are working more closely with one another and with police this year, sharing information and observations hourly.

Police also are conducting random traffic stops on the highways leading into Laughlin, pulling over motorcycles and other vehicles alike to check driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations and proof of insurance -- and to check for the smell of alcohol.

Such checkpoints have been posted in the past, police say, but this year they have attracted greater publicity -- leading some riders to complain and take their business elsewhere.

An organization of Arizona motorcycle clubs said it would boycott the Laughlin River Run and stage an alternative rally today in Phoenix.

Phoenix Police Det. Tony Morales said Friday about 300 motorcyclists were expected. “We’ll add a few extra patrol officers, but we don’t anticipate any problems,” he said.