LAS VEGAS – When thinking about this desert town, the first thing you notice is that it has about everything there is when it comes to entertainment—gambling, of course, and now major league sports (as soon as the baseball A’s move in to join the Raiders [NFL], Golden Knights [NHL], and Aces [WNBA]). But the next thing you immediately notice is the sticker shock you’re hit with every time you reach for your wallet.

I have been here before so I am not a rookie, but this time it was like being slapped in the face to have to pay $17 for two 20-ounce Diet Cokes.  Not only that, you are required to pay a minimum 18% tip.  You have the option to pay more, but you can’t get out for less than 18%. 

Being a generous tipper is not so bad, but being forced to ante up at the behest of the casino czars leaves one miffed.  There are no bargains in Vegas, although a quarter pounder is about the same as it is in your neighborhood back home.

I didn’t order a steak while in Sin City, and I didn’t order three martinis when I had lunch at my hotel.  On top of that, I did not roll the dice, I didn’t spin the roulette wheel, and I didn’t put down a chip with the blackjack dealer.

A nice lady who provided a wheelchair assist for a traveling companion had an interesting story about the chance-taking business. She said when she was a young girl, she walked with her dad through a casino and watched him hand over ten dollars to place a bet at one of the slot machines.

Immediately the machine went into a conniption fit, horns blaring, lights flashing, and bells ringing with a cacophony that seemed to raise the roof—all of which let her know she had hit the jackpot.  She confirmed that she was the beneficiary of a prize that amounted to $38,000.  

Not sure what she did with her serendipitous windfall, but she suddenly had a dowry that made her giddy.  Interestingly, she did not go back for more.  She did not attempt to turn that bounty into twice as much or more.  She didn’t allow herself to become hooked on gambling. She was one of the few to thumb her nose at the gambler’s hex.

That was her first and last time playing the slots.  Now enjoying the benefits of social security, she has never placed a bet since that fateful day of her youth. Naturally the casinos don’t like for such stories to gain traction.

If a person ran through the casinos with a placard that screamed “The house always wins,” it would not faze those who patronize the gaming tables of the Sagebrush state.  

There are many who have found a formula that has benefited them to the extent that they make occasional visits to Vegas, win enough to open a bank account in one of the local banks, and enjoy reasonable success in the casinos.  

Got no idea how they pulled it off, but the suspicious side of this non-gambler believes that overall, the house has, nonetheless, been the big winner through the ages.  And the trend is likely to remain intact—just like the nearby Mojave Desert will always be oppressively hot in July.

Spending time here without gambling can be eventful.  You can tour Hoover Dam, which was completed in 1936 but remains a marvel that is worthy of an encore no matter how often you come this way.

Just riding out into the desert can be inspirational.  Its uniqueness is overwhelming, and it offers the greatest of photo ops. While I prefer the bountiful tree cover that comes with a tour of the Southeast and other sections of the country, the desert has a spectacular contrast to what Southerners are used to.

Visiting Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and driving through the canyons and state parks is emotionally fulfilling and is a must when visiting the city.  Connecting with the landscape and the environment costs nothing, which is a reminder that there are a few opportunities in the desert.  Any fulfillment that comes from communing with nature is the greatest jackpot of all.  Even inflation won’t affect this grand opportunity.

Then you might be lucky enough to be wending your way along the back roads of Clark County, and a flock of bighorn sheep might just take over the highway.  They act as if they own the road and the landscape.  I am one who is happy to yield to that notion.

It is not every day that one enjoys that experience, and the price is right.  By spending time in the desert, I trumped the casinos.