Day 31 - 33: Viva Las Vegas

Day 31 - 33: June 30th - July 2nd, Las Vegas, NV. For the next few days, I would experience the two cities of Las Vegas: the strip and the rest of town. It is interesting to note that Las Vegas is not just a casino town, and I got to see the other Vegas, the city that the local residents experience. Jim Holden was my host in Vegas and he was able to share the local experience with me. When I arrived in town, he was just moving into a new house and was settling in. I was, in fact, the very first guest in his new house. Jim's daughter also lives in town and I was lucky enough to arrive when Jim's wife Carole was also in town. Jim and Carole operate a real estate appraisal company and maintain offices in Albany, NY and Las Vegas. Up until a year ago, Jim maintained his residence in Albany, but the ever-changing real estate market brought Jim to Las Vegas about a year ago, as his business was booming there and diminishing in Albany. Jim is a fellow pilot and had maintained a hangar in Albany. We would frequently fly with the Albany pilot group for breakfast on Sunday's, sometimes flying in formation. While we understand that the economic changes demand changes, the Albany pilot group misses Jim and wishes he'd return. Just recently, he let his Albany cell phone number of 25 years expire. Now in his new house with his Las Vegas phone numbers only, we realize that he is there to stay.

Jim, his wife Carole, and his daughter Michelle and I went to dinner at the clubhouse. They live on a golf course. Many of the homes here are in gated communities or have deed covenants that prevent the rif-raff from disturbing the neighborhood peace. It is a great place to live.

Carole had to return to Albany the next day, so I offered to drive her to the airport. Since I was near the strip, I decided to stop in and try my luck at the casinos. I stopped in at Mandalay Bay and was able to easily find parking for Jim's big red pickup in their parking garage. My first stop was the craps table. I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing, but I seem to be able to win at craps most times. As a mathematician, I know that there really is no way to actually win in Las Vegas. Statistically, the odds are tilted slightly in favor for the casinos. That is why they are there and can afford such opulence. Craps actually has the best odds for the player, and perhaps that's why I gravitate towards it. The house has only a 0.60% edge over the player, meaning for every 497 winners, there are 503 losers. Keno is the worst game in the casino, with a 25% house edge. They make big money on this game. Anyway, I made $80 at the craps table in 5 minutes. I love Las Vegas!

From there, it was on to the Luxor, which is the large pyramid-shaped casino with an Egyptian theme. The beam of light emanating from the top is comprised of 45 xenon bulbs and is the brightest beam of non-coherent light on the planet. It has been noted by astronauts aboard that space station and shuttle.

I was able to purchase some Criss Angel tickets for his 7:30pm show at a reasonable price. It was quite an interesting show. It was more Cirque Du Soleil and less magic. I enjoyed watching his TV show Mind Freak, but I was left wanting more magic and mentalism. In any case, it was done up in true larger than life Vegas style, and I did enjoy it. The stage alone was quite elaborate, customized for Criss's show. At one point during the show, he was performing an illusion in which he created doves out of thin air. All of a sudden about thirty doves flew off the stage in a swarm and headed to a roost just above and behind my seat. One poor dove didn't make it, and ended up hitting something and fell down by the feet of an audience member just in front of me. The dove seemed fine. I was very entertained and rather impressed with the grand scale of the stage devices used, but this is Vegas, so anything goes and money is no object.

My next stop was the New York, New York casino which features a pretty impressive roller coaster ride. It is amazing how they recreated the NYC skyline, complete with the Statue of Liberty! I've been to the casino before, but had never ridden the roller coaster. After my daredevil experiences at Epcot, I figured I was up for the challenge. Before you board the roller coaster, they warn you about a variety of medical conditions, including anxiety, which I had plenty of waiting in line. Anyway, I boarded the roller coaster car, which looks like a NY City cab car, and braced myself for what was to follow. The coaster slowly climbed up the track and I was launched into a 5 minute long continuous scream! This coaster has a full loop and portions of the track that twist a full 360 degrees, turning you upside down. I really enjoyed it and rediscovered my inner daredevil. Maybe skydiving is next on the list.

I had scheduled to depart Las Vegas on July 1, but the weather did not look promising, so I stuck around for another day and had a chance to meet the North Las Vegas pilot group for dim sum. The group meets regularly for dim sum and also holds barbecues on the airport grounds. It's too bad I didn't get a chance to fly with the group, but it was nice to meet everyone.

Jim, Michelle, and I later dined at a Las Vegas favorite, the buffet! There are casinos located far from the strip that tourists never see. These are for the locals. In this case, there is a casino called Alliante Station located close to Jim's house.

I spent the night planning for the next flight: San Diego. Using FltPlan.com, I filed an IFR flight plan from the North Las Vegas airport to Montgomery field, which is just to the north of San Diego. As usual, I had everything planned very carefully and was able to properly time wakeup, takeoff, and meetup with my contact in San Diego for lunch. I had also planned to continue directly on to LA for dinner. My aircraft had other ideas, however. I would have mechanical issues to deal with in the morning. Little did I know, I had set the stage for these problems the day before.