Impressing Someone on Their First Trip to Vegas

If you ever find yourself bringing in a guest to Vegas for the first time, here's how to make an impressive entrance.

My brother is not too computer savvy, but he used to be an ardent skydiver and still is a pilot. When Google recently came out with Google Earth, he took to it on his computer. He has visited Vegas in real life several times, but he was having trouble locating the casinos on Google Earth. We both have the free version.

He thought that the Strip was much farther North of the airport.

For those of you who are not geographically inclined, latitude and longitude of Earth is expressed in degrees. Degrees are divided into 60 minutes, and minutes are divided into 60 seconds.

Google Earth indicates the exact longitude and latitude of the cursor down past degrees and minutes all the way down to hundredths of seconds. A hundredth of a second is only a few feet.

Using Google Earth, here is a neat way to instruct somebody flying into Vegas to make a splashy entrance.

Surprise them.

All coordinates are 36 degrees North and 115 degrees West. I'll just give the minutes (') and seconds (").

Before you go, reserve a rental car from Dollar Rental to be picked up at the
airport. They have a free shuttle at the front door of the airport -
5' 11.95" N, 8' 47.93" W
that will take you up the street to their office. - 5', 46.44" N 8', 56.55" W

After you get your car, turn left out onto that main road and go NNW up to the main intersection at
6' 3.60" N, 8' 59.01" W
Turn left and go West.

You will reach the Strip at the intersection with the Excaliber on your left and NewYorkNewYork on your right
6' 3.08" N, 10' 22.59" W
Turn right onto Las Vegas Blvd.

Go North up to the intersection with Caesars Palace on your left and the
Flamingo and Imperial Palace on your right.
7' 2.57" N, 10" 22.42' W
Turn left (West) into Caesars

Go 2.75 seconds West and bear to the right (NW)
This drive will curve left and go under two tunnels.

Turn left into the free parking garage entrance at
7' 6.06" N, 10' 41.10" W

Follow the arrows that take you to the roof top parking. You will exit out of
the ramp at
7' 3.65" N, 10' 35.55" W.

Park and go to that little cubical building at
7' 4.39" N, 10' 34.25" W.

That building is an elevator. Take it down to the casino level, and you will step out between the the big Caesars casino and The Forum Shops.

Very impressive way to arrive in Vegas for the first time. It's also fun to do on Google Earth.

do that on the ground, you need to take a handheld GPS device.
These are readily available at camping supply stores.
It would probably be fairly easy to follow your coordinates
in actuality, but only when outdoors -- the devices don't work
when the signal is blocked by being indoors. And if you
program in the coordinates before hand you could quickly
follow the device like a moving map.

My brother, being a pilot and skydiver, co-incidently keeps a GPS device in his car.

As I mentioned, though, he has been to Vegas a number of times, but has always used taxis with the family. He is now married to approximately his 5th wife (I've lost accurate count) for the second time, and she has never been to Vegas. He wants to take her.

Having gone through my instructions using Google Earth, he now knows how to drive directly to that elevator at the roof level of Caesars Palace free parking because he has seen what each street and intersection looks like from a few yards up in the air.

Now, he doesn't need no stinkin' GPS device.

Do you know something the rest of us don't? :)

(titman)...

As defined in the following emoticon:

(oYo)

:-)