NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Las Vegas, the U.S. gambling mecca whose neon-lighted fortunes have been dimmed by the weak economy, has suffered another blow with a bankruptcy filing by its monorail operator.

The Las Vegas Monorail Co, the not-for-profit company that operates the 3.9-mile (6.3 km) elevated service that connects several hotels on the Las Vegas Strip and the city’s convention center, filed with federal bankruptcy court on Wednesday.

“The decline in the monorail’s operations is tied directly to the decrease in gaming revenues in Nevada, and particularly along the Las Vegas Strip,” the chief executive of Las Vegas Monorail, Curtis Myles, said in a court filing.

Ridership “has not met projections formed prior to the economic collapse,” he added.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Las Vegas Monorail Co has filed for bankruptcy protection, marking the latest economic trouble to hit America’s busiest gambling center, and exposing bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc to a potential $1.16 billion of liabilities.

“The decline in the monorail’s operations is tied directly to the decrease in gaming revenues in Nevada, and particularly along the Las Vegas Strip,” Las Vegas Monorail Chief Executive Curtis Myles said in a court filing. Ridership “has not met projections formed prior to the economic collapse,” he added.

Las Vegas Monorail is a not-for-profit company set up by the state of Nevada which operates the driverless monorail, a 3.9 mile, seven-stop, elevated service connecting several hotels on the Las Vegas Strip and the city’s convention center.

The recession has reduced the number of visitors to Las Vegas’ casinos as well as convention attendance. The city has also suffered the collapse of a real estate boom.

NEW YORK, Jan 14 (Reuters) – The Las Vegas Monorail Co has filed for bankruptcy protection, marking the latest economic trouble to hit America’s busiest gambling center, and exposing bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc <ABK.N> to a potential $1.16 billion of liabilities.

“The decline in the monorail’s operations is tied directly to the decrease in gaming revenues in Nevada, and particularly along the Las Vegas Strip,” Las Vegas Monorail Chief Executive Curtis Myles said in a court filing. Ridership “has not met projections formed prior to the economic collapse,” he added.

Las Vegas Monorail is a not-for-profit company set up by the state of Nevada which operates the driverless monorail, a 3.9 mile (6.3 km), seven-stop, elevated service connecting several hotels on the Las Vegas Strip and the city’s convention center.

The recession has reduced the number of visitors to Las Vegas’ casinos as well as convention attendance. The city has also suffered the collapse of a real estate boom.

NEW YORK, Nov 24 (Reuters) – New York State lawfully seized land needed for the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, the state’s highest court ruled on Tuesday.

The project, which includes plans to build a basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets alongside office and apartment buildings, has been repeatedly delayed by lawsuits and financing problems.

The court was asked to rule on a suit brought by Brooklyn landowners and grass roots groups questioning the state’s use of eminent domain to clear land for the site, a 22-acre expanse dominated by a rail yard owned by the public transit system.

Eminent domain is the power of a government to seize privately owned land for a public purpose after paying compensation. In the past, it has been used to clear land for roads, utilities and hospitals, or to replace slums with low-income housing.

Eighteen months into the worst recession in decades, and the pain of the downturn is reaching into nearly every U.S. state, city and municipality.With ever more people out of work, consumer spending has dried up, depriving local government of sales tax revenue. The continued housing slump has wiped out real estate transfer taxes, while declining corporate profits have eroded business tax revenue.From Maine to California, the slump has drained coffers at the very time that the cost of providing jobless benefits and healthcare has risen, straining public finances.Over the coming week, Reuters.com will publish a series on the problems facing states and cities. From Aurora, Illinois, Karen Pierog reports on the hardship created by the closure of a shelter for battered women, a victim of the crisis in U.S. social services.Nick Carey visited the town of Pontiac, Michigan, and reports on the desolation wrought by the bankruptcy of General Motors. From San Francisco, Jim Christie and Peter Henderson report on the ticking time bomb created by California’s fiscal crisis as the state Treasurer prepares IOUs for suppliers.Tom Ryan in New York and Andrew Stern in Chicago outline the burden that extended jobless benefits are putting on the funds that states use to pay the unemployed. From Miami, Michael Connor reports on how U.S. ports are being battered by the stark drop in trade volumes, a direct result of the collapse in American consumer demand and global trade.Municipalities around the country are cutting services, laying off staff, furloughing others, scaling back pension entitlements and raising fees on everything from parking to soda bottles to plastic bags and cellphone ringtones.As many as 46 U.S. states are facing fiscal 2010 budget deficits totaling at least $130 billion, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.That’s up from 42 states with mid-year shortfalls of a combined $60 billion in the current fiscal year, according to the Washington think-tank.Stimulus funds are a help and without them, the fiscal stress would be a lot worse. But the programs devised by the Obama administration are not sufficient to plug the gap, leaving governors and mayors with no choice but to cut spending and raise taxes — unpopular measures at any time but especially unwelcome as many families are struggling to make ends meet.Because state revenue tends to lag economic activity, things will get worse before they get better, according to S&P Chief Economist David Wyss. Municipalities are typically the last to feel an economic recovery.Mayors from around the country last month called for direct aid to cities arguing that they have been short-changed by the stimulus program money. Like many federal initiatives, the stimulus program makes states the primary conduit for funds, and urban centers feel they are disadvantaged compared to rural areas that have greater political clout.”The toughest part is cutting back on programs and services that people really want in their communities, and having to explain to them why we can’t do certain things any more because we just don’t have the money,” said Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.Read more on our special coverage page, Economy: U.S. State Budgets