Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Bike Shop Tales: Las Vegas Interbike 1996 Part II

More tales from the Interbike show held in 1996 in Sin City.....

Of course when you go to Las Vegas for the first time, you have to get out and check out The Strip. So, that was a high priority for us when we got there. We were staying at The Imperial, which wasn't that far from the end of The Strip............back then! In fact, they had just finished the MGM, so we thought we should check out the newest casino there, which at that time stood all by itself, for the most part. And you wouldn't believe it maybe, but we walked there!

Well, as fate would have it, Rick, the same rep that got us into the oceanside pickle we were in a year previous, was with us again. As we walked down the sidewalk that was void of buildings, we were occasionally were passed by other people with the same idea as us, going the other way. One of these people looked like a rather fanciful female. Rick quickly scooted behind Tom, and made it seem as if Tom was asking "how much for the evening?" Well, this gal was what we thought, and was much smarter than Rick gave her credit for. She called him out right on the sidewalk, much to the delight of Tom and I. She pretty much dressed him down in a serious, but fun way that made Rick cringe and turm three shades of red. Priceless!

When we reached our destination, Rick and Tom hit the blackjack tables, and finding one they could "afford", they stopped and started in to gambling. Now, I am not a gambling man, so I just stood there, watched, and soaked in the free drinks that the MGM gals were handing out. This went on for a couple of hours until they could see I wasn't going to cave in, and then we made our way out. Along the way, I saw a glass encased room, within a glass encased room, that had a long table with several well dressed men at it with an attendant behind each one. I found out that this was the "by invitation only" gambling room, and that there was a high stakes poker game going on there. Like millions of dollars poker game.

Whew!

Anyway, we walked back to The Imperial, and before we reached our destination, I felt cold air surrounding me. I looked to my right to see at least 20 doors wide open and realized it was the buildings A/C coming out into the street. Holy cow! If I had just the money this place was wasting in A/C a year, I would be happy!

Needless to say, I wasn't too impressed by my first vist to Las Vegas, and things haven't improved much since!

Next Week: More Interbike Las Vegas- From The Show Floor.......

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