Clinton beats Sanders in closely-fought Nevada contest

[LAS VEGAS] In the state of Nevada, where gambling is king, there could be no more fitting tiebreaker - especially in the high stakes game of politics - than picking a caucus winner from a deck of playing cards.

That's the solution used by Democrats during caucus voting across the state on Saturday, where party members weighed in on their choice of nominee for November's presidential election.

"In the rare circumstances where two or more presidential preference groups are tied for the loss or gain of a precinct-level delegate and have the same lowest or highest decimal, groups must draw a single card from a deck of cards to break the tie. High card determines the winner," according to Democratic party rules in the Silver State.

That indeed, is exactly what happened in the small town of Pahrump, Nevada.

In this instance, the card drawn determined the winner in one precinct's tie-vote between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

The caucus contest between the two would-be Democratic nominees ended in a 51-all tie.

The stalemate did not last long, however.

US media broadcast - and then social media widely disseminated - a photo of precinct chair Peggy Rhoads holding two playing cards, a six of hearts and an ace of clubs.

Clinton, who got the winning card, triumphed in Pahrump, and as it turns out, defeated Sanders in the state-wide contest, 52.5 per cent to 47.4 per cent, with more than 87 per cent of precincts reporting.

AFP