Home

History

Prologue

June 30

July 1

July 3

Six Days in Sin City
Day Four - July 3, 2005

Thrill Ride Day
Circus Circus & The Stratosphere Tower

Sven and I woke early and got ready for our big day of thrill rides. I again pulled the old Wake & Bake and then jumped in the shower. Soon I was dressed for adventure and ready to go. I wore a Blue Tusk shirt to Represent! All the commotion of us showering and getting ready to go woke Rob. He came out to see us before we left. He told us to call him later in the day and we would all hook up that night. I rolled another couple joints, smoked one with Rob, then grabbed a fistful of the mushrooms and placed them in a cellophane cigarette wrapper. Soon, Sven and I were out the door. As we walked to the plaza, I explained to Sven that there might be a problem with the whole Stratosphere leg of our odyssey. Although my older emails between myself and the Promo Departments of the casino had been positive, when I sent out last minute confirmation emails, there had been no reply from them in the days leading up to our adventure. I had saved the older emails in case there was a problem, and we could look it up and prove it.

But in the event things fell through, whatever we did, we had to save thirty dollars each to pay for the Stratosphere ride pass. We each pulled out the cash from our day's allowance and put it off to the side. We stopped at the Food-4-Less Store in the plaza and grabbed a couple of pints of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and walked to the bus stop. The bus came and we hopped on. We went directly to the back of the bus and got comfortable. As soon as my tasty ice cream treat was a slight bit melted, I opened the cellophane and dumped the shrooms into it. I stirred it around a little bit and began to eat. The taste of the ice cream covered the flavor of the mushrooms and moments later they were gone.
We arrived at the bus depot and met a lovely woman whose name escapes me. She worked at the Riviera which is across from Circus Circus. She told us about some cool stuff to check out and what to avoid.
We talked to her on the bus ride, explained what I did, and gave her a button. As we were talking to her, the mushrooms were really starting to let themselves be known. I was starting to "tingle" all over and my mouth began to form a permanent smile. She asked if I was ok. I explained that I was out for the Hunter S. Thompson style Las Vegas experience. I told her that I had eaten "magic" mushrooms a little while before we met her and that they were just kicking in, but I was fine. She laughed and told me to have a great time. I assured her that I would. We talked with her all the way to the Riviera. We were dropped directly in front of the main entrance to the famous landmark casino. We did a quick recon of the Riviera, taking in the scenery.

There were some really cool sculptures of a Money Tree and a comical one of a couple called "The Moneybags." We played a free pull at the giant slot machine and got a complimentary gift. I chose a deck of cards with the Riviera Logo and some hot showgirls. We went to the Cage and got a Dollar Gaming Coin, as was becoming our habit at each casino, and then went to Circus Circus. I took lots of PHOTOS.

Circus Circus is Las Vegas' premiere family destination. With its Circus motif and overall feeling of fun, it is a great place to bring the kids unless they have coulrophobia. That is the fear of clowns.
There are pictures of clowns on everything and real clowns wander through the entire establishment. The Casino boasts some of the best slots odds on The Strip and there is plenty to do for the kids, including an indoor amusement park. The Adventure Dome is really cool… Literally! The whole five and a half acre amusement park is enclosed in a giant glass dome and is air conditioned. No worries about bad weather here. The park is open every day! Besides the dozens of other rides like the Scrambler, Pirate Ship, and one of the coolest Flumes I have ever seen, the Adventure Dome is home to the Canyon Blaster roller coaster. The serpentine metal giant is the third fastest roller coaster in Las Vegas and it was my main reason behind going to the Adventure Dome. Sven wasn't feeling very well at that point. We decided to go see some other stuff and let his stomach settle before riding the coaster. On the way out, we stopped at the Cage and got our Gaming Token from Circus Circus. The coins feature a clown on one side and a circus tent on the back.
We ended up next door at Slots A' Fun, where I played some roulette. The Dealer was a very nice woman from upstate New York named Jo-Anne. I made few good bets in the beginning and got up a couple of hundred dollars. I started making bigger bets as I hoped for a big score.

As I wagered, I was talking with Jo-Anne. I was saying about how I had never received a free drink in Las Vegas. At first she didn't seem to believe me, but I explained that I would always lose my cash before the drink girls came around. She thought that was pretty funny and said she would make sure I got my first free drink. She was really cool! She called the waitress over and told her to make sure I got a drink. Two minutes later, I was holding a cold beer. It added to the buzz I already had going. I had a permanent smile on my face. I kept trying my luck and eventually, I lost it all the money I had won. It was really fun playing though.
I thanked Jo-Anne, telling her it was the most fun I'd had in Las Vegas with my clothes on. She got a nice laugh out of that. I gave her a button and told her to check out the site. She assured me she would. Sven was feeling much better by that point and we went back to the Adventure Dome to ride the Canyon Blaster.

I was out of my head, from the effects of the hallucinogenic fungus. I was peaking and couldn't wait to ride that fat coaster. We made our way through the amusement park, and past through a tunnel that had great murals painted on the sides of different animals and beasts. Sven and I posed in front of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
After a few more turns and twists, we stood in front of the ticket counter. We each purchased a six dollar ticket to ride the Canyon Blaster. We also got ourselves a locker to put our stuff in for the low price of a dollar. We packed all our loose items into the storage space and I attached the rubber strap to my glasses. With a final pat down to make sure we had no items that could lost, we closed the locker and got in line to be in the very first car. After a few more turns, it was finally go time.
As we strapped into the gondola, my brain was set to frizzle fry and my heart was beating like a trip hammer. The attendants checked our restraints, wished us a good time, and told us to enjoy the Trip... I told her I already was enjoying it!
Seconds later we shot downward and around a right-hand curve to the main incline. It took us all the way up to the top of the Adventure Dome and gave us a great view of the amusement park below. Just as you start to realize how nice everything looked, the cars go into the first drop. I am not sure how many feet it is, but you're pretty high. As it plunges, the coaster picks up speed, hits the first of its many loops, and true to its name, blasts you through a mock-up of the Grand Canyon and simulates the turns of a fighter jet. It was pretty damned fast. The steel track looped and twisted all through the park and into part of the main casino. The ride was truly a blast! It reminded me of the chase scene in Independence Day as Will Smith is being chased through the canyon by the alien. It was not as long of a ride as the Manhattan Express, but it was really fun! We went by the booth to get our photo of us on the Canyon Blaster and chose the package that included one large photo and two keychain photos. I believe it cost us twelve dollars. We received our photos and laughed at our expressions. The camera catches you right after you come out of the main loop, so we looked really funny because we were laughing and screaming at the same time. Not terrified screams, but "Whoo-hoo! We're having a really great time" type screams.

With photo in hand, Sven and I stepped out on the smoking deck, had a cigarette, and stared at the Stratosphere Tower. It was our destination for the night and I was ready to go. We could see the rides on the top in action. It was incredible. It was also terrifying. Knowing that, in a few hours, it would be me hanging over the edge was wearing on my nerves a little. Sven felt the same way.
As we were going to get something to eat, I met this really cute girl dressed in Punk gear. The patch on her back was for The Adicts. I told her I was planning to see them in October at the Wasted Festival in California. She was going to see them that night at a place just outside Las Vegas. She gave us the name of the venue and told us to come out. I wish we could have joined her, but we had no way to get there.
I gave her a button and took a photo with her. We said goodbye and left the Adventure Dome. We found our way down a grand staircase surrounded by domed frescos painted with clowns. Not your average Bozo type clowns, but elegant old school French clowns. They were incredibly beautiful.
We literally had to fight our way through the crowded hallways at the bottom of the stairs. There were hundreds of people of every color, size, shape, and age. We made our way through them and did not stray from our course to the Circus Circus buffet. We arrived to find about fifty people in line ahead of us. We took our place at the rear of the line and began our wait. Being higher than Hell, I looked at the carpet for a while and bugged out on the pattern for a few minutes, but my Attention Deficit Disorder kicked in and I was soon looking for something else to occupy my warped brain. I suddenly had a stupidly funny idea.

We took some photos of me with a chain around my leg as if I were being kept away from the food. People were watching us and laughing. Moments later the line got swamped and there were literally several hundred people waiting to get in to eat. As we got a little further towards the front, I looked back and saw some other guys were taking the same photo we had with the chains. I laughed. We chowed down on some great food at a reasonable price. There was so much food that it was hard to believe. We ate well. We stuffed ourselves on all kinds of delectable delights. We kept joking that we wanted to have plenty of ammo when we got on the rides at the Stratosphere Tower. After dinner, we relaxed and had a smoke at the table. It felt good to sit and do nothing for ten minutes. We discussed our plans for the Tower and readied ourselves for the experience. Our bellies full, Sven and I checked out the rest of the Circus Circus Casino.
We went to the upstairs level where there was a three ring circus going on. We watched a few of the "death defying" stunts and then walked along the "Midway" with its games and carnival barkers. The smells of sawdust, popcorn, and cotton candy permeated the air. It was awesome. There were clowns everywhere. It brought back memories...
As a child, I often dreamt of running away to join the circus, but I never did. There were only two things I wanted to be:
1.) a Midget that got fired out of cannons, or 2.) a Lion Tamer. Even at seven, I was too big to be a Midget and the idea of being a lion tamer was out as well. I was a chubby kid and that is what lions like: soft and chewy on the outside; crunchy on the inside and they don't run very fast. I couldn't possibly outrun a lion if he really wanted to catch me. Being eaten by the other half of the act didn't appeal to me either. So, I soon gave up my dream of being Circus Folk. But I digress...
After playing a few games on the Midway and whatnot, Sven and I found our way to the gaming floor. I got ten dollars worth of gaming coins and grabbed a slot machine. I played the first few coins and won a small amount. I played a few more times and my winnings went up and down. When I was back down to my original ten dollars, I laughed... I moved to a different machine to try my luck and found that it got worse. Soon I was down to my last coin.

I decided to keep it as my souvenir token and dropped it into my pocket. Sven's luck was no better than mine and he lost a few dollars as well. Neither of us lost a lot and we laughed at our bad luck. We decided to cut and run before we lost any more loot. My companion and I walked out the front door of Circus Circus and using the Tower as our guide, we headed towards the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino. It was a bit of a walk, and as we got closer, the weight of what was to come started to weigh on us. We were in a relatively unpopulated area where some construction was going on when I decided to kick up my buzz even more before ascending the Tower.
I pulled out the fat joint I had been holding all day and broke it in half. I lit one half, putting the other piece back in my cigarette pack. I smoked the half joint as we walked down the deserted part of The Strip. Nobody even noticed. The Stratosphere Tower loomed in the distance and grew larger as we approached. About a block from the Tower, I stood on a corner and finished my joint. The tower lorded over everything around it and with good reason: The Stratosphere Tower is the tallest structure west of the Mississippi River and the Tallest Observation Tower in the United States. At over 100 stories above the ground, the Stratosphere Tower, (located at the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino on the Southern end of the Legendary Vegas Strip), boasts the World's four highest and most X-treme Thrill Rides; the Big Shot, the High Roller coaster, X-Scream, and the newest one called Insanity: The Ride.
When we arrived at the Tower we could clearly see the X-Scream and Insanity rides operating as they brought their victims past the edge nearly one thousand feet above us. We were surprised to find out that, even at that height, you could hear the terrified screams of the people on the rides above quite clearly. We caught it all on video tape as we shot a few informative pieces about the Tower for a DVD that I want to put together about the trip. We also did a "Before" segment where we talked about what we were thinking about the upcoming rides. I had just finished expressing my feelings, when the large TV screen on the outside of the Tower, that had previously been showing billboards for shows and gambling tournaments, suddenly flashed an ominous message. Sven caught it on his camera… It read: "You Could be Next!" As he clicked the shutter, the sign changed. It seemed to be just for us. It was so weird, like something out of a Twilight Zone episode. That didn't help either of our nerves…. Hah ha!

Truth be told, Sven and I were both terrified. I am not even ashamed to admit it. I get really nervous if I am even a few feet off the ground. I tell people that and they ask me how I manage to get on an airplane without freaking out and I explain that, basically, my feelings on the whole airplane thing are as follows:
The pilot of said aircraft went to school to learn how to fly the thing. I assume he makes a good deal more money than I do, owns a spacious home, drives a nice car, has a beautiful wife with big fake tits, and two adorable children. With that in mind, I figure this guy has a lot more to lose than me if the plane goes down, so he wouldn't be up in it if he didn't trust it. I know it seems sort of silly, but that actually gets me through take-off and flying… that and a healthy dose of liquor, a fat joint, or a fistful of sedatives.
I have a real problem with heights. In actuality, I enjoy the panoramic views, so it's not really the height that gets me; it's more the idea of falling. Now, to be truthful, the falling, in and of itself is not so terribly bad. It might even be cool to look around for a few seconds. That is why skydiving is so popular. What truly bothers me about falling is the unavoidable, sudden, violent "STOP!" …at the bottom.
The fear of falling is one of the most basic of all human traits. That universal fear is what the rides above were meant to play upon. The designers of the rides must have been some really twisted and sadistic bastards. I'd like to shake their hands. It's good to see that they aren't using their powers for evil… Ha ha! Yeah Right!

Sven and I entered the Stratosphere Casino got our Stratosphere Token, and toured the various eateries, shops, etc. that were located inside. One was clothing shop called Danielle. The clothes were nothing I would wear, being a guy, but they had a cool sign. It had a dragon that went from flesh to steel. It reminded me of something from a Boris Vallejo poster I used to have. It looked awesome and I shot a photo of it. We past by a Fat Tuesdays and I grabbed one of the plastic Yard Glasses filled with booze. I drank it down as we strolled along the Mezzanine layer of boutiques examining the wares.
Finally we found the counter to get tickets for the tower above. A large sign above the desk informed everyone that the rides were closed at the time due to winds and general maintenance of the rides. Sven and I were a bit freaked out and were thinking that we may not get to go on the rides. There were about seventy people in line to get tickets. I walked up to the other end of the counter to the "Will Call" window and got the attention of an older woman who was working. I explained to her who I was and what we were doing, but her English wasn't so great. She went and got a guy who was working to talk to me. He spoke perfect English. I once again introduced myself, showed him my identification, and explained that I was supposed to have VIP Passes to the Tower and the rides. The gentleman asked who I had gotten the tickets through.
I informed him that I had gotten them through the Stratosphere Casino's Promotional Director and dropped his name as well as the PR firm that dealt with the rides. He looked around the area, but couldn't find anything. He asked again who I had talked to. I told him once more. I then let him know that we had traveled over two thousand miles to do this story. I explained that if we didn't do the rides for the article, the whole trip would be a bust. I asked him if there was anyone he could call to verify my passes. He said that there was not. I told him that we needed to figure something out. The whole itinerary of our trip depended on us doing the rides on that specific day. If the whole thing went belly up over a communications glitch, I would be out nearly a thousand dollars for plane fares and expenses. Plus, I would be pretty pissed when I called the Promotions Director the following business day to complain, and neither he nor I wanted to go through all that...

He walked away for a moment, looked through a few stacks of paper, and came back with some green wristbands. He asked me if it was just for the Tower and I explained that we were to doing a review of the rides for the website. At that point, he left again and came back with two purpleVIP wristbands. He put them around our wrists, apologized for the hold-up, and told us to have a great time. Sven and I thanked him and went on our way. I took more PHOTOS.

We wandered around looking at more shops, eateries, and such.
The Stratosphere Casino hosts a show called "Bite!" which is about some very sexy Vampires. Sven and I were fortunate enough to meet two of the actual female performers from the show. They were incredibly hot! If that is what the female vampires looked like, I was ready to be "brought across!" They were very friendly and talkative. They were walking around passing out vouchers that would get you two tickets for the price of one. They were also posing for photos with people and signing autographs. Sven and I each posed with the lovely ladies. They smelled really nice and their perfume added a nice layer to my experience. It lingered for several minutes after the girls were gone. We looked around for another twenty minutes or so then headed towards the elevators to go to the top of the Stratosphere Tower.
As we waited to go up, we were handed large cups to put all metal objects in because they make you go through a metal detector for safety purposes before you can enter the elevators. The elevators themselves are quite a ride. They take you up really fast and within thirty seconds we were stepping off at Level 108 which was the Indoor Observation Deck. The whole level was surrounded in glass and you could look out and see the entire city below. The view was awe inspiring. We were so high up that helicopters were flying around below us. We could even see the bottom of the X-Scream ride as we looked out.

There was a penny crunching machine on that level and I got two Crushed Pennies of the Stratosphere Tower for my collection. One has a picture of the whole tower with fireworks around the top and the other has a close-up of the pod at the top. Both are really neat.
Sven and I continued walking around and looked at everything. There was even the highest Starbuck's Coffee shop on earth.
We decided to go to Outside Observation Deck. Sven and I got in the elevator again and went up. We found the bathroom and made a pit stop before going out on the rides. As we started to walk out onto the deck, Sven had a Panic Attack. He began shaking and could not even walk out, let alone do the rides. I tried to talk him into going out, but it was out of the question. He couldn't even go out to snap photos. I waiting for a bit to see if he would get over his fear, but it wasn't going to happen. I was nervous as well, but I was determined to do the rides. So I chose to go on them by myself.

I elected to do the ride that I was most afraid of first and it was the X-Scream. The ride was ready to go after letting out a group of riders, and I was the first victim for the next ride.
At 866 feet, X-Scream is the World's Third Highest thrill ride! Shaped like a giant teeter-totter, X-Scream is an open vehicle that propels riders head-first, 27 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower and dangles them weightlessly above the Strip before pulling it's riders back and over again for more!
There was a walkway that went up and down that led up to the ride. Being the first one there, I would not have to wait to get the front seat. This was the one time I would not have minded waiting, but such is life… I was literally shaking and holding on to the railing and the car as I walked to the front seat and climbed in. The attendants couldn't help but laugh at the sight of a big-ass Punk guy being so afraid.
I sat in the seat and waited for other riders to come out. Soon I was joined by two women that sat in the seats behind me. They could tell from my stiffness that I was terrified. As they sat down, I turned and spoke to them. I told them, that although it might belie my usual calm exterior, to be prepared to hear me scream like a bitch. They thought that was pretty funny. After waiting for a few more minutes with no more people walking up, the attendants decided to run the ride with just the three of us on it.

The recording that played told us to enjoy our ride and the walkway dropped. So did my heart…
The car started to roll forward and the end of the rail that it sat on was rapidly approaching. There was nothing there to stop you. I screamed out, "Holy Shit!" and the ladies in back of me laughed. The car rushed ahead and then stopped dead! I was looking nearly straight down at the ground. I was glad at that time that I had gone to the bathroom before I did the rides, otherwise I would have pissed my pants. Seconds later the rail lifted and we began to roll back to our starting point. But right around the halfway mark, the rail tipped forward again and we were once again plunged over the edge. I wasn't expecting it and screamed again, which brought about another round of laughter from my fellow riders. Again we were lifted to roll backwards, but the ride just sat there for a few seconds… I wondered why we weren't rolling back. I flashed back to the news story I had seen weeks prior to our trip where a young girl got trapped out on one of the Stratosphere's rides. I thought, "Oh God… What if that happened just now?" And then suddenly, without warning, the rail dropped even lower than the previous time and at a steeper angle. I think the guys that were controlling the ride did it on purpose just to hear me scream. If that was true, they weren't disappointed. I let out a shriek that would be the envy of any horror movie scream queen. I nearly shit my pants. It was all I could do to hold my ass cheeks together and keep from messing my shorts...

The rail lifted again and finally rolled us back to our starting position. The walkway rose up and the attendants released my restraints and let me out of the car. My heart was ponding through my ribcage, and my legs were shaking so bad, it must have looked like they were made out of rubber. The ride crew was even nice enough to give me a hand getting down the walkway. Oh My God… X-Scream was the SCARIEST thing I have ever done in my life! The entire terrifying ride took all of about one minute, but felt like it lasted an hour. When asked if I would ever do it again, I answered, "Of course!" I went inside to get the photo of me on the ride and the lovely ladies that I had ridden with were waiting as well. They laughed as I entered and told me that I was so scared that they didn't have to be. I posed for a photo with them and gave them buttons. I was ready for the next ride. I found my way to the elevators and went to the very top level of the tower.

The Big Shot is the World's Highest thrill ride! The ride catapults sixteen riders from the 921-foot high platform up the Tower's mast to a height of 1,081 feet at forty-five miles per hour. Riders experience 4G's as they reach the very top, and feel negative G's on the way down. The night before, while sitting up with Rob, Sven and I watched a show about thrill rides on the Discovery Channel. They did a whole segment on the Big Shot and I knew exactly what to expect… or so I thought!
I walked up, sat down, and got strapped in. I saw the cameras and was ready for my picture. I flipped the bird with my good hand so I would be ready. The initial take-off was startling. The ride gently raised us up until our feet were of the ground and then suddenly and unexpectedly launched us upwards at incredible speed. Before I knew what had happened, I was at the top of the mast looking down. Then, the ride began to fall and I became weightless for a few seconds. I let loose with a wild scream of joy! It was a unique feeling. About halfway down, the ride slowed its fall and shot straight up again. I didn't know it did that. The view was unbelievable. Due to the size of the tower and the height that the ride goes to, I was unable to see the tower below me. It appeared that I was just floating in the air above the desert. It was beautiful and I loved it. But before I could get comfy, the ride plunged downward again, and then slowed down at the halfway point and set us gently back on the platform. I was excited by the ride and went to grab my photo.

When I got there and gave the photo guy my picture number, he looked at the picture and told me that I had ruined it for everyone in that photo by flipping off the camera. He deleted the image and warned me that if I did it again, that they would take away my VIP wristband and ask me to leave the tower. I apologized to the guy and went back to do the ride again. I was a little more prepared for the experience this time and grabbed a seat next to a father and son. It was their first time.

They asked if I had ridden it before. I told them what had happened only moments before and we all laughed. I said I was going to throw the horns this time and they did it as well. The ride was just as intense as the first time and I was in high spirits. Literally…
Afterwards, I went down and grabbed my photo. I apologized to the guy one more time and left. There were more rides to do and I couldn't wait.
Next, I hopped on the High Roller. It is the World's Highest Roller Coaster and the World's Second Highest thrill ride! At 909 feet above the ground, the High Roller rockets around the tower pod on 840 feet of track banking sharply at 32-degree angles, traveling approximately 35 miles per hour.
I got in line and waited to be in the first car. I ended up riding with a cute girl. Both of us were a little nervous. Though it doesn't seem very fast, when you are sitting in the car and whizzing around the top of the tower with all of Las Vegas laid out below you, it is pretty scary. The car ducks under and over its track several times during its run. The car makes two circuits around the outside of the tower before returning riders to their starting point. It was a fun ride. After we were finished I told the young lady that I rode with that her picture would be on my site and gave her a button. I rushed in, bought a photo and found Sven.
There was one last ride to do and I was as ready as I ever would be.

"Insanity: The Ride" opened up in March of 2005 and was soon voted the #1 Thrill Ride on AOL's Top Ten List with good reason. The ride consists of an arm that extends 64 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere Tower, spinning 10 passengers locked into escape-proof seats up to three Gs at a height of more than 900 feet. As the ride spins faster, the riders are propelled up to an angle of 70 degrees, and will experience the sensation of being flung over the edge of the Tower and facing downward at the city of Las Vegas below. (Sounds great, huh?) I got into line to go on Insanity. I was about forty people back in line. As I was waiting, I looked at the ground and found a ticket. I picked it up and it was good for one ride on Insanity. I asked around me and no one was missing a ticket. We passed the word up the line and again, nobody was missing one. It was mine to keep, but we had to go after the rides and meet up with Rob. I gave the ticket to a teenage boy along with a TomAroundTheWorld button. I told him to check out the site and leave a message about what he thought of the ride. I stood there waiting in line, for my turn when they called for a single rider. Everyone in front of me was with someone else.

I said I was alone and they had me come up to the front. There was a young lady that was going on alone and they needed to fill the seat. I was the only other person alone, so I got to skip about thirty people.
I got into the seat and the restraint closed against my legs. There was no turning back at that point. Once you are locked into those seats, you cannot get out. They are escape-proof. The message played over the speakers and we were off. The gates fell down and the arm holding the ride swung out past the edge of the tower. On X-Scream, you go over quickly. On Insanity, they give you a moment to realize exactly how far up you are. The seats are all close together and the other riders are only a few feet in front of you, so as we went out we could hear each other as we talked about how crazy it was being there. And then, the ride begins to spin. It picks up speed and the arms pull out until you are staring down towards the ground. The girl next to me put her arms up right from the start. I was totally nervous at first. But after a few times around, I was comfortable with the situation and raised my arms as well. Soon the spinning slowed and the seats came back together. We all laughed at how scared we were at first. As we swung back into place, I told the girl next to me about what I did and promised her a button once we got off the ride. As we came to a stop, the restraints came loose and the gates closed behind us. We exited the ride. I fished a button out of my pocket and handed it to the girl I had been seated next to. She told me she would check out the website.
I met up with Sven at the photo booth and grabbed my picture on Insanity: The Ride. I look so terrified in the shot. You can see that I am looking straight down to the ground. The ride was scary but very fun, and the photo is hilarious.
We went to the elevator and descended the tower. My adrenaline was pumping through my veins and I was all jacked up from it. We found a spot to sit and tape an "After" segment on the rides. With that out of the way, we finally called Rob. By this point, it was about 12:45 AM. He asked us where in Hell we were all day. We told him that we were out having fun. He had big news for us that would make us mad, but he wouldn't tell us until we met up with him at Harrah's.

With no bus in sight, Sven and I set out walking up The Strip until we could catch one. We past by a cool smoke shop with a giant Neon Pot Leaf in the window. It said "Save the World Hemp." I took that as a devine epiphany and lit up another half a joint as we walked up The Strip. I took a few PHOTOS as we went along. We decided to stop for a bathroom break at the world famous Sahara Casino and discovered the NASCAR Cafe. The whole place was just covered in racing paraphenalia, including full jumpsuits, helmets, and lots and lots of autographed photos of famous drivers. There were many items that belonged to the legendary Dale Earnhart. There were even a few racecars there and we posed next to them. The Sahara, in conjunction with the NASCAR Cafe, also featured a roller coaster called "SPEED: The Ride." It is the Fastest coaster in Las Vegas.That was something neither Sven nor I wanted to miss out on. We decided that we would have to come back and do it on the morning of July fourth when we could fit it into our schedule. We left the Sahara and kept meandering in the direction of Harrah's. Finally, a bus came along and we dug out our bus passes. We both commented on how long it had taken for it to come.

We hopped the bus and got off near Harrah's, but had to walk the rest of the way. We passed a huge statue of Sigfried and Roy with a lion and posed for pictures. I told Sven to do his impression of Roy and he stuck his head inside the mouth of the metallic lion. It caused a bunch of Mexican tourists to laugh. We got our photos and kept walking. As we passed the Casino Royal, I noticed a hot chick with a large chest. I was thinking to myself, "Wow! Great sweater kittens… and hey… that guy she's with looks just like Alice Cooper. Oh my God… that's Nick Fuoco!!!" And it was him! I couldn't believe I bumped into him. Neither could he. And neither could Sven. This was the second time this had happened to us in three days.
Nick is legendary in Central New York for hosting the annual Hundred Kegger Music Festival. The event takes place over two days and features performances by up to as many as fifty Rock, Metal, and Punk bands from all over the northeastern United States and occasionally bands from California. Fuoco is also known for his vocal work with the bands Tempter and the Alice Cooper tribute bands Cold Ethyl and Nightmare. He was famous for ending the shows by being hung from the rafters by a noose. I even got to "beat" him and help lynch him at one performance. He moved out to Los Angeles a few years ago. We exchanged stories about what brought us to the Sin City. It turns out that Nick was bored in L.A. and decided to spend the Fourth of July weekend in Las Vegas. We talked for a few minutes and were off.

We met Big Rob at the bar near the Cage. Sven and I gulped down several glasses of water, and then got cocktails. I asked Rob what the big news was that would make me mad. He told us the story of how he had gotten two free tickets to the Billy Idol show that we got screwed out of. He had waited for us to call to go to the show, but by 9 PM, he had called a friend and they went instead. Rob figured that I would be mad that they ended up seeing the Peroxide Prince. I assured him that after being screwed out of it, I had resolved to have a great time anyway. I had accomplished that mission. So, it would not bother me at all. I was just glad that somebody we knew got to see the show. I then related the story of bumping into Nick Fuoco and Rob was shocked. It was as if lightning had struck twice in the same place. It just goes to show that the world is shrinking daily. We had a few drinks with Rob's friends at Harrah's and then went to The Orleans Casino to cash Rob's check. They give you a coupon for a drink for cashing your check there, so we went to redeem the coupon, and had a few more drinks. The bar had giant alligators sticking out from the corners. It was pretty cool. The bartender knew Rob and poured us some stiff drinks. They were great!
Our drinks finished, we headed to catch a cab and head home. When we got outside to where the cabs line up, we were faced with an awesome choice. A cab to Rob's apartment would cost about thirty dollars and a Limo to Rob's was forty dollars. Rob splurged for the extra ten bucks to take the Limo. It was worth it!

As we rode to the crib, we acted like big shots in the Limo. We turned on the video camera and recorded ourselves acting "Gangsta." I was all up in the camera, with some funny antics. I was like, "Yo! This is how we roll in Vegas, Bee-Yotch!" and stuff like that. It was so funny.
All too soon, we arrived at Rob's apartment and the limo ride was over. It was the perfect way to come home after a day of high adventure. After getting home, we dropped all our gear and souvenirs, and walked to the Food-4-Less in the plaza across from Rob's complex. We bought some groceries and headed home. We rolled a joint and smoked it down as we discussed all the incredible things we had done that day. After that, Rob made some kick-ass bacon cheeseburgers with spicy fries. As the three of us ate, Bill came home and joined us in a burger. We all ate like kings and praised Rob's burger chef skills. After our meal, I checked email and had a cigarette. Rob cleaned up the dishes and headed off to bed. Sven and I talked about the next days plans for a few minutes and then, with our bellies full and a full day ahead of us, we faded off to sleep.