reporter mauricio marin is live from the las vegas strip with a look at how these responders are gearing up. ((mauricio marin)) more than 330-thousand people are expected on the las vegas strip and in downtown to ring in 2016. and if there's an emergency...par amedics and e- m-t's will be on scene ready to treat those who need help. and they're preparing now for any type of potential disaster. a-m-r and medicwest ambulances are being stocked up with medical supplies now at headquarters. medical first responders are gearing up to help people with small stuff like cuts and bruises...to keeping people warm who didn't dress properly for the cold weather. they are also prepared for mass casuality events... planning and working with other agencies in the valley in the event disaster strikes. ((damon schilling, amr/medicwest ambulance: we've added 170 personell amr medic west that are going to be down and like i said cart teams, they're going to be riding around on motorized medical carts. they're going to be in ambulances and in those tents as well as roking strike teams to pull people out and get them ((mauricio marin)) at the same time...a-m-r & medic west leaders tell us they also have staff designated for emergency calls throughout the valley. to work and keep everyone safe...metro police will have about one- thousand uniformed officers on the strip. and between three to four hundred officers downtown. plus...undercov er police in the crowds. although there's no legal ban.... authorities are asking people not to bring large bags or items on the strip. they'll be asking to search anyone with bulky items on them. reporting live...mauricio marin. 8 news now. ((dave courvoisier)) mauricio...do we know how much this response of paramedics and ambulance costing a-m-r and medic west? ((mauricio marin)) the private ambulance services company says it's costing about period. and it's not costing tax payers...the company is picking up the cost. back to you./// ((paula francis)) > across the country... police departments will remain vigilant for the new year celebrations. but overseas... the terror threat has cancelled one of the biggest celebrations. in brussels, belgium... all new year's festivities have been called off in the grande place. officials say the move was a delicate decision... and was made because of information they received about a pretty credible threat. they would not elaborate on the details./// ((paula francis)) > back here at home... the party is still on... and it's gonna be a chilly night! tedd? < tedd florendo ((all eyes are on those winds denise. we do know we're expecting winds to kick up through day tomorrow, maybe even starting over earlier in the day. ............................... ................ here's what we know for sure and what to expect in the next 24 to 48 hours. wind becoming breezy between 10 staying cold in the morning and chilly in the evening with temps down to the 40's, but with wind could feel more like the 30's. also new year's day, colder with highs only in the 40's. ............................... .................. we're tracking those winds for tomorrow and here's how it looks. as of right now and this is subject to change. winds starting midday and peaking in the afternoon. relaxing more in the evening down to around 10 - 15 by midnight. wind aloft however 300 to 500' may be higher. but winds near the surface should start to relax more later in the evening. paul? weather is a big question mark hanging over new years eve. fireworks are always the big finale for americas party -- but as denise valdez tells us -- the wind could snuff out those plans. < ((denise valdez)) it's usually pretty cold on new years eve. but if it's windy. the fireworks extravaganza could still though -- prepartions for the biggest night of the year are in full swing. (( nats set up fireworks )) ((denise valdez)) fireworks guru phil grucci is staging pyrotechnics along seven strip rooftops. all the planning in the world could go out the window if sustained winds are stronger than 10 miles an hour. (( phil grucci, president and creative director, fireworks by grucci: "we can control everything else .. preparing for security preparing for fire prevention .. risk assesment .. but mother nature will do what she will do." )) ((denise valdez)) and grucci is doing its thing. setting up 80- thousand pyrotechnic effects to carry out the 8 minute, 18 second program that will light up the las vegas sky. (( nats nye crowd file)) ((denise valdez)) on the ground -- the entire strip is shut down to traffic and it becomes like one giant block party for you and 330,000 of your closest drinking buddies. road closures start at five, then the entire strip is open to pedestrians only by six thirty. want to walk -- locals can hop on the monorail for a dollar from seven am thursday to three am friday for one way rides. and r-t-c is offering free rides from 6 p-m on new year's eve until 9 a-m new year's day. (( nye fireworks file )) ((denise valdez)) no matter how stake out your spot before ((denise valdez)) the firing locations include mgm grand, aria, planet hollywood, caesars palace, treasure island, the venetian and stratosphere. this year you can download the fireworks by grucci app and listen to the soundtrack synced with the fireworks show. and keep your fingers crossed for calm winds. dv. 8 news now. > ((dave courvoisier)) > and if you're heading anywhere near the strip tomorrow night... you need to know about several big road closures. las vegas boulevard will be closed between mandalay bay road and sahara. and if you're taking i-15... you won't be able to get on or off at the tropicana, flamingo, or spring mountain exits. closures and times... com./// ((paula francis)) > if you're staying at home tomorrow... be sure to watch our live coverage of the new year's eve festivities right here on channel 8... starting at ten tomorrow night. we'll have the morning team out at red rock casino... and reporters in downtown las vegas... and up and down the strip. they'll stay on until the fireworks show is over, just after midnight. we hope you'll use the hashtag "vegas n-y-e" whenever you post on social media... you might just see your posts right here on channel 8 during our broadcast./// ((paula francis)) > the political spotlight will soon be on the silver state again. our politics now team breaks down the nevada caucuses... so even political newbies can get a grasp on what they mean their attention to las vegas as we approach the new year. the nevada caucuses are a little over 6 weeks away. but what does that really mean? what is a caucus? politics now anchor patrick walker explains. < ((patrick walker)) if you follow politics in nevada... there's a word you've no doubt heard countless times. caucus. while most states use a primary election system... where you head to the polls to cast your ballot... the two major parties here don't subscribe to that system. caucus-goers in nevada elect delegates to county conventions, who in turn elect delegates to state conventions... who then send delegates to each party's national convention to vote for a candidate. ((kyle warren/sanders campaign regional field director: "it's definitely one of those things where you publically make your vote known, but you're also trying to get people to come to your side as well.")) ((patrick walker)) republicans who pre- register to participate in the caucus use a paper ballot to vote. for democrats... they literally divide the room. ((kyle warren/sanders campaign regional field director: "all the bernie supporters will go on hillary supporters will go on the other side, all the o'malley supporters will go on the third side, and the 'undecideds' will go on the fourth side.")) ((patrick walker)) if a candidate doesn't get at least room in their favor... them. martin o'malley... who's currently polling at 1 percent in nevada. and as one of the first states to begin the presidential selection process... the results can influence how the vote goes in other states... who stays in the race... and who goes. bernie sanders field campaign director kyle warren says that momentum can make it or break it for candidates trying to catch the party's front runner. ((kyle warren/sanders campaign regional field director: "so all the eyes of the country will be on nevada to see which candidates they're supporting.")) patrick walker... 8 news now. > ((paula francis)) the two parties are holding their caucuses on different days this year. the democratic caucus meets on february 20th... and the republicans will hold theirs february 23rd. /// ((dave courvoisier)) > after thousands of calls to the 8 on your side hotline... the results are finally in. michelle mortensen digs through the numbers... to find ou what bothered southern nevadan consumers the most in 2015./// the 8 on your side team takes thousands of calls from people across the valley reporting scams and rips offs along with requests for help. ((paula francis)) and every year, 8 on your side consumer advocate michelle mortensen collects the data and spends weeks analyzing it to uncover the trends for the year. and she's discovered that 2015 was a year of surprises. ((dave courvoisier)) michelle... you're telling us new scams popped up... an old problem became a bigger nuisance... and more people than ever needed your help.. ((michelle mortensen)) > this right here is our closed call log for 2015. that means we took your call ... and got you an answer or solution. for the many other cases we handled and won, as well ... so this is only a fraction of the work we did this year and the stories we filed. and after looking over all our results ... this is what i found. we more than doubled the number of calls we took this year from last year ... which is incredible. we've given more than 160 thousand dollars to folks in refunds this year. and ... it appears we're making a difference in other ways too. after combing through the data ... i started looking over our top calls and complaints. our number one call was about those i-r-s phone calls. that scam has grown by leaps and last year .. it was our second most reported scam ... but this year ... you guys weren't falling for it ... you simply wanted to report it. our data shows other big problems and scams in 2014 also dropped this year. money card scams were a big issues in 2014 ... but were hardly blips on our radar in 2015. instead .. storage unit thefts ... fake checks from craigslist postings ... fake puppy and pet listings.... and landlord tenant complaints were the big problems of 2015. ((michelle morrnsen)) that tells me what we're doing here at 8 on your side is working ... but there is still a lot more work to be done. so keep calling ... because we're in this together ... and we really are .. on your side. ((dave courvoisier)) > and that number to call is 702- 650- 1907./// ((weather toss)) < tedd florendo ((weather adlibs))> < < tedd florendo ((weather adlibs))> < ((dave courvoisier)) > nevada lucky in november. revenue rose by nearly 8% , year- over- year... to 944- million- dollars. the nevada gaming control board released monthly stats today... showing a good chunk of that money was made on slots... nearly 600- million- dollars. casino revenue was up nearly 5.5% on the strip... downtown las vegas saw a 25% > maybe that big gaming win had something to do with our record- breaking tourism.. more than 42- million visitors came to our city in the past year.. not even counting new years' crowds. that beats last year's record of 41-point-1. some of the factors include several new non-stop flights to our area... and more convention attendance throughout the year. tourism brings in more than 50 billion dollars annually and supports 366 thousand jobs. that represents 43% of employment within clark county./// ((paula francis)) > the runnin' rebels aren't the only show in vegas. ((dave courvoisier)) not when you're the fight capital of the world. chris maathuis here with a one two punch. ((chris maathuis)) ufc is in town this weekend and coming up this spring the former pound for pound king will fight in las vegas. more on manny pacquiao's next fight and it won't be in the new las vegas arena. plus... rebels are favorites in their conference opener tonight... but that doesn't worry the bulldogs. sports is next here on 8 news > ((chris maathuis)) it's go time for unlv... the rebels open conference play tonight against fresno state. both teams enter this game at 9-4. last year the two schools only played once and the rebs won by 12. tonight the home team is favored 7 over the bulldogs.... but in the history of time, unlv is 13-1 against fresno state... so history is on their side. but that doesn't mean the bulldogs will roll into las vegas without a big bite to their bark. (( )) paul watson/fresno st. "definately an athletic team... they like to get up and down the floor. won't beat themselves... and strong and we've got to be solid and exectute." ike nwamu/unlv;"conf. time is a different type of basketball anybody can be beat on any given night so we're not comfortable. dave rice/coach; "bottom line everybody's best shot, doesn't matter what a teams' record is we're going to get their best shot and we need to be mindful of that." tonight's conf. opener at home is kind of odd... just seven times in 16 years of mountain west play has unlv opened at the thomas and mack. ((chris maathuis)) it's official... manny pacquiao is coming back to las vegas to fight... he's going to fight timothy bradley for the third time. the pac man had three choices... bradley, terence crawford or amir kahn. after checking with officials at hbo, and looking at who would sell the best. timothy bradley hit the jackpot. so he'll fight pacqauio in april 9th at the mgm grand garden arena. not the new las vegas arena, which is scheduled to open in early april. also promoter bob arum told me today he's not selling this fight as pacquaio's final fight... says he's not convinced it'll be his last one. staying with combat sports... it's fight week in vegas with ufc 195 and in the main event, its robbie lawler facing carlos condit for the welterweight the fighters worked out at the mgm resort today... lots of fans back in town for saturday's showdown. it's the first fight of the year, in the fight capital of the world. however there aren't the big crowds like what we say a few weeks ago, when conor mcgregor brought his legion of fans from ireland. (( )) carlos condit/welterweig ht; "he's brought a lot of attention, he's a promoter and salesman, but backs it up he's a great fighter.. he's impressive and great for the sport." robbie lawler/welterweig ht champ; "he's brought a lot of new eyes, a whole country with him of crazy fans.. .so it bring a lot to the table.. he's got the mainstream media involved a lot.": adnrei arlovski;"i wouldn't do what he does, for business, it's different personality... in my opinion he's cocky, but who cares, he's a champion now, my opinon doesn't matter at all." this is the first ufc fight of in six months from now the world will be on edge when ufc 200 will be staged in the new las vegfa arena... and reportedly rondy rousey will fight holly holm. after the dodgers lost pitcher zack greinke to arizona they needed to fill a hole in their starting rotation. so they found a 48 million dollar man... signing left-hander scott kazmir (kahz'-meer) to a three-year deal. the three-time all-star was among the top names left on the free-agent market kazmir posted on his twitter account: "what a great day to officially be a dodger!" dave courvoisier > thanks for watching for 8 news now at 6. we're always on at las vegas now dot com and our app ... along with facebook and twitter. paula francis see you tonight