Stateline party all in the numbers

The 20 and 11 in 2011 will represent the temperatures in Stateline at 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. for tonight's New Year's Eve celebration.

As many as 60,000 people ring in the new year in Stateline, more people than live in Douglas County on any other day of the year.

Crowds in recent years have been quieter, with fewer arrests last year than at any celebration in the last decade.

But the Douglas County Sheriff's Office wants everyone to know that it will be prepared should the annual celebration flare up again.

Sgt. Jim Halsey said people should anticipate that with a lot of people celebrating the new year in Stateline, Highway 50 may be closed.

"If that should occur, vehicle traffic will be diverted around the Stateline casino core area using upper and lower Lake Parkway Drive," he said.

Drivers anticipating traveling through the Stateline casino core area on New Years Eve should allow themselves an additional 15 minutes of travel time.

The forecast includes a slight chance of snow, so drivers travelling through Stateline should be prepared for winter weather.

Sheriff Ron Pierini has directed all officers to adopt a non-confrontational approach in their contacts with the celebrants.

"This method of enforcement has been extremely effective in past years," Halsey said. "The celebrants appreciate the balance of protecting life and property while at the same time allowing them to enthusiastically ring in the New Year. There are, however, behaviors that will not be tolerated by law enforcement."

Things that will likely lead to arrest include rowdy behavior, fighting, throwing projectiles, vandalism, theft, narcotic violations, severe public drunkenness, possession of or discharge of fireworks, minors consuming or possessing alcohol.

County code prohibits glass or metal containers of any kind in Stateline, no matter what they contain. Any glass or metal container will be confiscated on sight by officers.

Beverages must be in a plastic or paper cup, which is the only way the casinos in the Stateline corridor will serve it.

Halsey asked that parents be aware of their children's location during the celebration.

"The crowd that gathers in the casino core for the event is not conducive or intended for participation by juveniles," he said. "Each year during the event, a large percentage of contacts and arrests are made of persons under the age of 21. The curfew in Douglas County is midnight."

Anyone under the age of 18 could be cited for violating curfew. Anyone under the age of 21 in possession or having consumed drugs or alcohol is subject to arrest.

Halsey said Douglas County deputies will be on patrol both at Lake Tahoe and in the Carson Valley looking for drunken drivers.

He asked that anyone drinking alcohol as part of their celebration designate a driver or take a taxi home.