By: Todd Wheatley                   
 (c) IQ-2k      05-10-15        


 Las Vegas ** GAMBLING ** 
 SHOWs & special events

 Population  603,488 (2013)
 Pacific Time zone

 GEOGRAPHY
 ----------------------
 Desert Southwest - surrounded on west by mountains - 
 south, north & east by tall hills/low mountains

 Red Rock canyon - west 15 miles
 Hoover Dam - 20 miles SE * 
 Lake Mead 
 Grand Canyon 110 miles by AIR - 
 2 hr drive (one-way)


 HISTORY - popular legend has organized crime as the
 beginning force behind Las Vegas in the late 40s / early 
 50s -- the 1970s box office sensation "Godfather II" capitalized 
 on the prevailing nostalgia centering it's storyline around 
 Las Vegas in the early 50s. Then, as you can see below, 
 Las Vegas comes in third behind New York and L.A. with 
 movie storylines centered on or having the city in the 
 background. 


 TRANSPOTATION
 -----------------------------
 Las Vegas - short MONORAIL  
 citywide bus service ** taxi service **
 Bus tours
 helicopter tours
 Boulder City - scenic railroad 
 Henderson - executive airport - 
 Class D airspace * general aviation
 Jean, NV - glider flying

 McCarran INT'L Airport
 *** CENTER of TOWN !!! ***

 AMUSMENT
 ------------------- 
 Indoor skydiving 


 MOTORSPORTS
 --------------------------
 Las Vegas - speedway 


 SEX-related
 ------------------
 Numerous Strip clubs - 
 average number of adult video * no advertisement for 
 fabled house(s) of ill fame, but several ad stands with 
 free ad books (like apartment locator magazines - 
 only featuring sex services) -- SIN CITY

 MILITARY
 ---------------
 Nellis AFB


 CONSTRUCTION
 --------------------------- 
 New homes circle the city / old stucco homes in center ** 

 several unfinished casinos (skeletons) - casualties of the 
 Great Recession 


 MOVIES
 -------------
 "The Marying Man"
 "Oceans 11"
 "Oceans 13"
 "Diamonds are Forever"
 "Godfather II"
 "What Happens in Vegas"
 "Fools Rush In"
 "Rainman"
 "Lost in America"
 "Midnight Run"
 "Next"
 "Vegas Vacation "
 "indecent Proposal "
 "Showgirls"
 "Casino"
 "Leaving Las Vegas"
 "Honeymoon in Vegas"
 "Corvette Summer"
 "Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man"
 "Fear and Loathing in Vegas"
 "Cherry 2000" - post apocalypse


 TRAVEL
 -------------
 My wife is not a gambler and I am unlucky (at best). So why 
 visit Las Vegas when the price of a couple of shows (the 
 other tourist draw) would set me back more than losses at 
 the crap tables? 

 Herein lies the central question to this series of articles - 
 WHAT ARE THE MAIN ATTRACTIONS THAT DRAW 
 PEOPLE TO A GIVEN CITY OR AREA - NOT ONLY TO 
 VISIT, BUT TO LIVE?! Gainful employment notwithstanding. 

 Below is our trip to Las Vegas: 3-night hotel room, round trip 
 air fare from DFW Int'l, and a compact rent car ... $950 - minor 
 upgrades from lowest price about $875. 

 Note> Friday & Monday air travel *

 Travel package booked with Expedia a month in advance. 
 The online process did not work so we booked by phone! 
 Just Before departing we got a surprise EXTRA COST.

 $70 round trip - 1 carry on bag
 $40 round trip - 2 people seating
 --- an EXTRA $110 Spirit Airlines
 Not mentioned in our package deal

 ----------------
 04-10-15
 ----------------
 Awake 6:00am
 Jack-in-box -- Remote parking 
 1.5 hrs before board
 Quick takeoff - 2.8 hrs flt

 ** Aircraft zooming by in the opposite direction about 
 1 mi away - a first for me **

 Shuttle to rent car # LINE FROM HELL at Fox car 
 rentals 11:40am To 12:45pm P-time
 --------
 Food
 Hotel Check-in
 WALK the strip & WALK & WALK
 Misplaced our vehicle - oopsy
 Tour east side neighborhoods
 Quick nap at 7pm turns into a nights sleep - sux getting old 

 ---------- 
 04-11-15
 -----------
 AWAKE at 6am - already light outside!! Clock not working?? 
 -- time zone strangeness 
 Food - quick loss at the roulett table

 Impromptu Timeshare sales pitch for FREE show tickets 
 & $20 in FREE slot machine play ("FREE" 2-day Bahamas
 cruise thrown in) told a 90min presentation - in reality Over 
130 min (not part of our travel package - talked into by hotel 
 staff) Still not too bad - I am an information specialist after all.

 Hoover dam
 Downtown - Freemont St. PARTY !!
 Walk-walk

 ----------
 04-12-15
 -----------
 Tour neighborhoods
 Red Rock Canyon & points west 
 Gambling
 Crazy Girls Show (note- the free tickets)

 ----------
 04-14-15
 -----------
 Awake 6am
 Hotel checkout ** $57 - 3 days resort fee !!! 
 Not mentioned in our package deal

 45 min drive to rent car
 0.5 hr > rent car to airport
 2hrs early

 Win $62 at airport :-)
 Brought the NET LOSS for gambling down to 
 less than $50 -- not bad (see note below)

 Airline oversold!! 1 person asked to volunteer not to board - 
 a good bit of extras offered for the sacrifice 

 ** Aircraft zooming by in the opposite direction less than 
 1/2 mi away and 1000 ft lower - even as a pilot this rattled 
 me a bit - twice in the same trip **

 $36 parking fee - figured in prior to departure

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