Vegas Revenue Down

Back in May, I posted a short article on how casinos are using fees to increase the cost of visiting/vacationing here. Examples are resort fees, parking fees, concession & franchise fees, venue fees, convenience fees, processing fees and tap water fees. I wondered at the time how this might affect casino business in the long run.

Now, I know. A recent article in the VitalVegas.com blog indicated that the world’s two biggest casino companies, Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts, are sending surveys to customers to determine why they’re displeased with Las Vegas and visiting less often. I suspect the reason for the survey is "strip gambling revenue was down more than 12% year-over-year in August 2018". As was pointed out in the article, "visitors are willing to pay for great experiences but they will not tolerate feeling ripped off".

The good news is that if you are a Las Vegas resident and know where to go, it can be a relatively inexpensive city to live in. You go to the strip only on special occasions.

Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park

The Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park is a remote ghost town in the mountains of central Nevada that features a turn-of-the-20th-century mining community and the largest known collection of ichthyosaur fossils. How remote is it you ask? The young ranger, who lives here year-round, told me he has a volley ball named "Wilson".

According to the brochure: "During its heyday, Berlin and its Union suburbs supported 200-250 people including miners, woodcutters, charcoal makers, a doctor and nurse, a forest ranger and a prostitute". I wonder which one made the most money.

Unfortunately, the building that contains the fossils was locked so I was unable to take photos. Apparently, it is their off-season and the exhibit is only open on weekends. This was disappointing as my older cousin, Chris, is rumored to have caught these things when he was a youth so I was looking forward to seeing one up close.

Garmin Dash Cam 45

My Z-Edge Z3 Dash Cam finally died. I suspect the heat in Las Vegas this summer was a contributing factor. Rather than replacing it with another Z-Edge, I purchased a Garmin Dash Cam 45 based on a recommendation from the renown high tech guru, Sunny Weathers.

Here are some of the reasons I went with the Garmin unit:

• It is smaller than the Z-Edge which creates less of a blind spot on your windshield.
• Its mount is glued to the windshield and holds the dash cam in place with a magnet which allows for easy removal. It also eliminates the problem of a suction cup mount falling off due to temperature changes or driving on rough roads.
• It includes a GPS which can display your location on the video.

Sorry for the dirty windshield

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good - One of the advantages of having the R-Pod is being able to get in smaller sites at some of the federal and state campgrounds. I used USCAmpgrounds.info to find a couple of dry camping areas in north central Nevada. Pine Creek was my first stop. It was one of the most isolated places I have stayed and involved ~20 miles of dusty, dirt roads to access. It was worth it when I found a shaded site beside a babbling brook with no one else around.

The Bad - I had just finished setting up and went to hook-up my generator when I realized I did not have the right adapter for the electrical outlet on the RV. No problem, I would be fine with the 12 volt battery. Problem, right before dark, I lost battery power. It turns out that some strange things happen to a R-Pod without electricity. The refrigerator quits working, you have no heat because the fan will not run and the carbon monoxide & propane gas monitor starts beeping (I cut the wires in order to get some sleep). My next concern was how am I going to get the slide in. I dreaded the thought of trying to figure out how to do it manually. Fortunately, I had a portable charger that supplied enough power to the battery that I was able to get it in the next morning. 

I was on my way back to Vegas when I came across a NAPA store out in the middle of nowhere. The owner quickly discovered that my truck was not charging the battery and the culprit was a bad fuse in the engine compartment which he was able to replace. I was so pleased I wanted to give him all the business I could so I bought new wiper blades and an adapter for my generator cable. The total cost was $36. Clearly, clean living paid off once again.

The Ugly - Now that I felt I could continue my road trip, I headed to the Big Creek Campground outside Austin, NV. It was after I finished setting up and opened the door to the bathroom that I saw this...

The cabinet above the sink had fallen off the wall. The mirror was not broken so I may be able to re-attach it using those plastic expansion anchors. First, I am going to try and find a RV dealer to get their thoughts. All in all, it has been a mixture of fun and frustration. C'est la vie.

Angel's Ladies Brothel & Airplane

North of Beatty, NV is a defunct brothel with the wreck of a twin engine airplane beside it...

In what must have seemed like a good idea at the time, the owners of the establishment promoted an interesting challenge with a very naughty prize. A mattress would be placed in the center of a large star painted on the desert floor - if one were to parachute out of an airplane (airplane provided) and land on the mattress, they would be the lucky winner of a night with the lady of his choice on the house!

Unsurprisingly, things went horribly wrong. Long story short, scantily-clad women plus distracted, inexperienced pilot plus heavy cross winds equal the plane plummeting straight into the ground. Luckily, no one was hurt in the accident and the clever owners decided that the wreck was enough of a spectacle to attract people from the road, so there it stayed.