In addition to the slogan “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” there’s also the saying “nothing good happens in Vegas after midnight”.

(Before I continue, let me say that my experience has been that thathasn’t always been true. Several years ago (and I’m talking, like, one of the first Goodboys weekends we spent in Vegas) I recall a very early Monday morning – must have been about 2 AM or later (this was back in the days when men were men) sitting with a couple of the lads at the Mirage’s Kokomo bar (now, unfortunately, renamed the “Lobby Bar”) and watching an elegently-dressed lady wearing a navy blue evening dress and faux pearls saunter in and engage some drunk guy at the bear in conversation. It was only after I went up to the bar to order a few beers that I no0ticed the “woman” had no shortage of facial and arm hair; I was witnessing my very first transvestite. OK, he/she was defintely not my type, but I had to give him/her kudos for his/her taste in clothes – especially the fact that he/she had found pumps to match the dress perfectly.)

But I digress.

Got this tragic story passed along to me by one of my Goodboys weekend buds – incredible when you come to think of it:

LAS VEGAS — A gunfight between a Maserati and an SUV on the Las Vegas Strip caused a fiery crash at an intersection involving a taxi that burst into flames, leaving three people dead and at least three injured early Thursday, police said. The Maserati driver, the taxi driver and a passenger in the cab were killed. The SUV got away.

In all, five vehicles were involved in the dramatic crash around 4:30 a.m. Thursday at Flamingo and Las Vegas boulevards, a wide intersection surrounded by some of the most famous casinos on the Strip, including the Bellagio, Caesars Palace and the Paris.

It started with people in the Maserati and the SUV exchanging gunfire before the high-end sports car hit the taxi, said Sgt. John Sheahan. Three other vehicles were involved in the wreck, but the SUV was gone when police arrived, Sheahan said. At least three people were hospitalized, including a passenger from the Maserati.

The intersection is expected to be closed for hours as officers investigate.

A tourist who witnessed the aftermath of the crash told KLAS-TV the burning taxi looked like a fireball. More people may be hurt, Sheahan said.

It’s the latest in a series of violent actions on the tourist corridor since the beginning of the year. Two people were critically wounded in a shooting at a parking garage Feb. 6, and a tourist was stabbed in an elevator at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay Feb. 16.

I dunno…SUV, Maserati, gunfire – that doesn’t sound like a very good combination to me. Tragic thing is the innocent people involved. But the saying holds true: nothing good ever happens after midnight in Las Vegas – especially when it’s after 4 AM. It’s a jungle out there.