LAS VEGAS, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- The state archivist says the latest O.J. Simpson criminal case could be the biggest story to hit Nevada since a 1980 fire at the MGM Grand killed 80 people.
"If O.J. Simpson gets convicted and goes to prison, this story's going to be big," Guy Rocha told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "Big, big, big. People don't forget O.J. Simpson."
The media started to descend on Vegas as soon as Simpson was accused of teaming up with several gun-toting pals to allegedly steal back sports memorabilia from a dealer.
Since then, the local court has been inundated with e-mails and calls, while news vans line the streets surrounding the Clark County Detention Center, where Simpson is being held.
"This is the biggest case I've ever worked," said court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer.
"Oh, my God, in my 17 1/2 years (as a judge) I've never seen anything like this," said Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle.
Despite the attention, Rocha said the incident hasn't yet created the same frenzy as the MGM fire, the 1910 "fight of the century" between boxers Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries or the 1942 plane crash and death of actress Carole Lombard.
