Soldiers Fêted in Vegas

Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who owns the Venetian, hosted an all-expenses-paid trip for 40 wounded soldiers from Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval this weekend.

The soldiers-turned-high rollers took a private jet to Las Vegas over the weekend for an all-expenses-paid getaway with all the perks normally saved for casinos' richest regulars.

They were greeted at the airport by Wayne Newton, chilled backstage with the guys from Blue Man Group and hobnobbed with Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino mogul who runs Las Vegas Sands Corp. and paid for the trip.

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[Marine Corporal Kyle] Riley, a 21-year-old from Catlett, Va., who also lost part of his left leg to an IED in Iraq, was so overwhelmed by the trip he decided with his fiancee, Alyssa Mergler, to make it their wedding weekend. They planned to wed Monday on a gold and white gondola, courtesy of Adelson, whom Mergler said insisted on having his staff handle the plans.

Riley and Mergler pose in their hotel room at the Venetian.

Damn, they look young.

Adelson and the Armed Forces Foundation, which organized the trip, say that more trips will follow. If you're planning to go to Vegas, perhaps you should consider a stop at the Venetian as a gesture of support.

Thanks to tmi3rd.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 03:14 PM

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