Cynthia Hampton

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Voters in Nevada go to the polls next week to elect a replacement for U.S. Representative Dean Heller in a largely Republican rural district that has never sent a Democrat to Congress.

There's something titillating about a sex scandal with a Las Vegas connection. No matter how often it is said that prostitution is illegal in the city, no matter how much officials try to hide racy billboards that promote naughty nightclubs, no matter what services "adult entertainment bureaus" in the Yellow Pages say they provide, Las Vegas cannot outrun its image as America's playground for grown-ups. ¶ You can blame it on slogans such as "What happens here, stays here," but Las Vegas became synonymous with sexual indiscretions long before marketing gurus shaped the city's image. Rep. Anthony Weiner, the disgraced New York Democrat who reportedly traded explicit Facebook and text messages with 40-year-old Las Vegas blackjack dealer Lisa Weiss, is simply the latest VIP to land on the city's list of sexcapade all-stars. Here are some others:

The federal indictment that is due any day now for former presidential candidate and Sen. John Edwards, who fathered a child with a campaign staffer and then tried to cover it up, is raising speculation around Washington about another similarly scandal-ridden senator: If Justice goes after Edwards, would it be more likely to go after John Ensign?The circumstances of Edwards' and Ensign's cases are eerily similar. Both had been charting a course toward the White House; both took up affairs with campaign staffers; and both have since been haunted by accusations that they misspent campaign money to cover their tracks. (Both also have the same initials, J.E., and an obsession with their own, admittedly impressive, heads of politician hair.)

(Reuters) - It was one of the most high-profile investigations of a senator in years: John Ensign of Nevada had conducted an affair with his campaign treasurer, Cynthia Hampton, the wife of his closest friend and chief of staff. His family later paid $96,000 to the couple, and suspicions arose that the payment amounted to hush money in the form of an illegal campaign contribution.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Senator John Ensign appears to have violated federal law in a sex-and-lobbying scandal that drove the once-rising Republican star from office, a congressional panel said on Thursday.

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Nevada's governor on Wednesday named third-term Congressman Dean Heller to fill the nearly two years remaining in the Senate term of fellow Republican John Ensign, who is resigning next week following a sex scandal.

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Nevada's governor on Wednesday named third-term Congressman Dean Heller to fill the nearly two years remaining in the Senate term of fellow Republican John Ensign, who is resigning next week following a sex scandal.

The details of the John Ensign saga are uniquely Nevadan, a grotesquerie of small-state politics with a former casino executive bringing the amoral industry culture to a place where such an ethos is prized and then being undone by his own narcissism and superficiality.But this excruciating, consistently sickening tale, finally ending as it had to with Ensign's resignation, is hardly sui generis as it reinforces every pejorative stereotype about politicians at every level.

Resignation from the Senate caps a scandal that was ugly and drawn out. Republican Sen. John Ensign announced his resignation Thursday rather than face the Senate Ethics Committee's continued investigation into his conduct. The investigation started soon after his admission nearly two years ago to an affair with an aide.The affair, which launched investigations by the Ethics Committee, the Justice Department and the Federal Elections Commission, hampered Ensign's effectiveness in the Senate. Once an up-and-coming Republican leader, he was pushed to the backbenches of the Senate after he announced the affair in June 2009.

Nevada's soon-to-be vacant Senate seat creates many questions for governor, potential candidates and constituents. Washington -

Embattled US Senator John Ensign announced Thursday he will resign in May after getting embroiled in a sex and corruption scandal that saw him become the subject of an ethics probe.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nevada Republican John Ensign, who admitted having an extramarital affair with a campaign staff member, said on Thursday that he would resign from the Senate on May 3.

Embattled US Senator John Ensign announced Thursday he will resign in May after getting embroiled in a sex and corruption scandal that saw him become the subject of an ethics investigation.

Senator cites ongoing ethics probe in surprise resignation; Sandoval likely to tap Heller Our readers weigh in After the news was posted online Thursday afternoon, our readers began responding. Here is a sampling: Many of us will not be happy (about Heller being appointed), but I must say: If a Dem had done what johnny did (resign in disgrace), and we had a Dem Gov, they'd appoint a Dem. Politics as usual. ? gmag3 Bring Heller into the game. Force him to cast a vote and we'll see where he stands come 2012. ? unlv702 ... AND MORE INSIDE More reader reactions A more cynical person would say this looks like the NVGOP is panicking and has hatched a plot to give Heller and the eventual CD2 replacement candidate a leg up in 2012. ? ksand99 (Kevin Sandoval) About a year too late. Sandoval has two paths ? pick an elder statesman to fill out the term. Someone who would be acceptable to both a parties and not tilt the election in November. Alternatively, he could pick a viable choice, such as He

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Senator John Ensign, a two-term Republican from Nevada who admitted having an extramarital affair with a staff member, announced on Monday that he would not seek reelection in 2012.

As John Ensign meets with the National Republican Senatorial Committee on raising money for his 2012 bid to retain his Senate seat, he hopes he won't be É. Washington

Cleared in investigations, Ensign still faces an ethics complaint ? and voters. Nevada Sen. John Ensign's office said last week that the Republican is no longer a target of a Justice Department investigation into whether he broke the law in the wake of an ugly affair.That was certainly a relief for Ensign, who is planning to run for re-election in 2012, and it is the second bit of good news he has received in recent weeks. The Federal Election Commission dismissed a complaint against Ensign stemming from money paid out over the affair.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. John Ensign got a partial reprieve from his legal woes Wednesday with the news that the Justice Department will no longer be breathing down his neck - but the question remains whether dodging a reckoning for his past dalliances will be enough to salvage his political future.

Ensign's lawyers say Justice Department no longer views Nevada senator as target in probe. The Justice Department is no longer targeting Sen. John Ensign in a criminal investigation arising from his affair with a former campaign aide and has no plans to charge him, attorneys for the Nevada Republican said Wednesday.

If Sen. John Ensign began last week with a declaration of his 2012 candidacy that earned him more raised eyebrows than ravenous applause, he got a moment at the end to shake his fist at his naysayers.On Friday, the Federal Election Commission dismissed a complaint brought by watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington over the $96,000 Ensign's parents allegedly paid to the senator's former mistress and her family for their silence.