Vegas-Why I Drive

Well here goes. I said I was going to post about my Las Vegas trip, and damn it, I’m gonna do it. Because I have a lot to expound on this, I’m going to break it into three installments: This one will deal with why I chose to drive to get there, then some observations on gambling and getting around town and finally a post on the drive itself.

I use to love to fly - but not now - not if the trip can be driven in 6 hours or less. I have two airports to choose from: Burbank and LAX. Burbank is very close, but it’s small and they put a surcharge on top of the normal airfare for the convenience. LAX is a bit of a drive, and requires either a heavy sedative or heavy drinking to deal with their setup.

Either airport I choose, I have to get there, which means either get an airport shuttle, or use long term parking – basically a push when time and money are factored. On top of the just getting there, they want you there 2 hours before your flight leaves. S0, with driving to and sitting there forever, you’ve already used up three hours and haven’t even left town.

Shall we mention “security”? You are not allowed to take half the stuff you need in your carry on, so now you are faced with the choice of going shopping when you first arrive at your destination and then chucking the stuff you just bought before going home, or checking your bag and waiting the year or so it takes for them to offload it and get it to the baggage carousel. Both are sucky options and more time, money and effort than it’s worth.

Flight time: one hour in the air – this does not include the planes taxi time.

If going to Vegas (275 miles), it’s taken one hour longer to fly than to drive without rushing. If I were going to Phoenix (380 miles)I’ve saved, maybe, an hour, but in both places I’m still at the airport, I still haven’t gotten to the hotel or house and once at those final destinations, I have no easy or inexpensive way to get around.

Now you may bring up the fact that Vegas just put in a monorail system. Yes, they did, but it doesn’t go to the airport and it cost $15 for a one day pass. Cheaper than taking taxis, but still way overpriced. Also, it goes nowhere close to The Palms our favorite casino, which is located on the other side of the freeway from The Strip

And of course there is no way to Boulder Station which is about 5 miles east of The Strip. Yeah, Boulder Station caters to older clientèle, but hey, we are old now, and this is a good place to go during the day. It has a good movie theater, thousands of machines, lots of TV screens for sports and a payoff rate that is fair enough that you can usually play for hours without losing a lot. This is also one of the few casinos that I have left with more money than I walked in with (once, and not much more).