Here are the Review-Journal’s most-read stories of 2023

Tragedy at UNLV, a celebrity’s mishap and Raiders’ staff changes topped the Review-Journal’s list of the most-read stories of the year.

Here are the Review-Journal’s biggest online stories of 2023:

5. Jay Leno breaks bones in 2nd accident after announcing Vegas return

Entertainment reporter John Katsilometes called comedian and former “The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno in January to discuss his recovery from a garage fire in November 2022 that left him with second-degree burns. During the call, Leno admitted he had been in a motorcycle crash the week prior.

Leno said he was knocked off his bike and broke a collarbone, two ribs and two kneecaps.

“But I’m OK!” Leno said in January. “I’m OK, I’m working.”

4. New minimum wage begins July 1

A new year meant more money in Nevadans’ pockets.

Nevada’s minimum wage rose in July to $11.25 an hour for workers without health insurance and $10.25 for workers with health insurance.

The raise came from Assembly Bill 456, which passed in 2019 and stated the minimum wage would rise 75-cents each year until July 2024.

A constitutional amendment passed in November 2022 will override the 2019 bill next year and raise the minimum wage in 2024 to $12 an hour for all workers.

3. Raiders release QB on eve of 1st training camp practice

In July, the Raiders announced the release of quarterback Chase Garbers, who had spent the previous season on the team’s practice squad.

Garbers’ release was one of three transactions the Raiders made to get its roster to 90 players for the start of training camp.

2. Hotel room rates plummet for Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend

Hotel room prices soared on the Strip last year after Formula One announced dates for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in September 2022. But, just weeks out from the inaugural race, casinos up and down the Strip saw room rates fall by nearly 60 percent.

Reporter Mick Akers broke down how much room rates dropped at several Strip properties between November 2022 and November this year, and how race and airline officials stayed optimistic about record-breaking business over the three-day race weekend. (Spoiler: Tourism officials announced in December that people paid more for hotel rooms in November than ever before in Las Vegas history.)

1. UNLV shooting: 3 victims, gunman dead; reports name suspect

Las Vegas experienced another mass shooting on Dec. 6 when a gunman opened fire at UNLV and took the lives of three professors just three miles from the site of the 2017 mass shooting on the Strip that took the lives of 58 people.

Review-Journal staff spoke with students, university staff and law enforcement officials to learn details about the shooting, from the moment the university sent out a message to all students and staff warning of an active shooter on campus to the identification of the victims days after the tragedy.

Students shared how they sheltered in place for hours in classrooms as law enforcement systematically evacuated the campus building by building. Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill and Gov. Joe Lombardo explained how officers had “zero hesitation” while responding to the attack.

Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.