On May 25, 1998, at 1420 hours Pacific daylight time, a Mooney M20F, N6453Q, ground looped on landing at the Las Vegas, Nevada, airport. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and the private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight and no flight plan was filed. The pilot reported that he was doing traffic pattern operations. As he crossed the threshold to land on runway 25, he felt a wind gust push the aircraft toward the right edge of the runway. He applied full throttle to attempt a go-around, but the aircraft was in a nose high attitude and began to sink. The aircraft impacted the gravel area beside the runway. The pilot reported that the right main landing gear assembly impacted a runway light and separated from the aircraft. The airplane came to rest on the north side of the runway. The winds were from 180 degrees at 10 knots.