High Rollers, Las Vegas.  February 22nd - 26th 2007

For our first foreign rally we didn't plump for the usual, like Holland, Belgium or France.  Oh no.   We decided to go a bit further afield and see how scootering works, American style, in Sin City itself!

After a long, boring flight, the highlight of which was a stag party whose 'stag' paraded up the aisle in a Borat-style thong, we arrived in Vegas at lunchtime and checked into the Gold Coast.   We'd already seen some scooterists as early as Gatwick Airport (Lobby & co were in the bar - where else?!) but there were plenty more at the hotel.   Emma Cox was enjoying her first ever trip abroad and had already made the most of the shopping opportunities along the strip.   We made some new friends, including Mandi and Lawrence from Cardiff and Mark and Linda who live a stone's throw from Warmwell (handy!).  However, I didn't last very long, and by 6.30 I'd called it a night and got back to the room just in time to catch the American version of Deal Or No Deal.   It was slightly different to ours - they had small silver suitcases instead of boxes, and instead of dull punters opening them they had attractive, scantily-clad models.   I prefer the British version though, it's all just a bit less glossy and showbiz, but all the better for it.  

Anyway, not surprisingly we woke up early so headed down for the buffet breakfast at 7am, which was a bargain.  $6.50 for all-you-can-eat, including the most amazing dessert station (well, the carrot cake had 'no added sugar' allegedly, so I couldn't resist!).   At lunchtime Lee went off to a gun-toting, shooting place whilst I went shopping.  He came back with a bullet-riddled poster of a famous terrorist and a relief that we can't get hold of guns as easily as you can over there.   There was a crew there making a DVD of the rally and they interviewed Lee and various people about their scootering experiences, which should be entertaining when it comes out!  

At 3pm we went upstairs where the rally officially started, in a room where you could buy wristbands to allow access to all the do's, and an array of t-shirts, patches and other paraphanalia.   I started flagging so we headed back to the room for a little siesta which ended up lasting 4 hours!   We quickly showered to wake ourselves up and then ventured downstairs where the Americans were at one bar and the Brits were holding up another.   The drinks were very cheap in the main, which obviously pleased Lee.  At 10pm we got a taxi with Mark and Linda to the do, which was in the Hotel Aruba.  The driver didn't seem to know where it was except that it was somewhere near the Stratosphere.   Luckily, there were plenty of scooters heading in that direction so we followed them.   There were two rooms at the do; one for soul and 60's which was very Hipshaker-esque and the other was initially reggae but then turned indie and everything else.  Emma and Terry did a stint and the dancefloor was busy for both of them.   It was very surreal, dancing to this familiar music but looking out onto a downtown road full of seedy motels and wedding chapels.   The end of the evening was a nightmare, trying to get a taxi or lift back to the hotel.  Eventually, at 4.15am, we ended up walking to the Stratosphere (we later learned that it's illegal to hail a cab in the street!!) which took forever.   Mark and Lee brought up the rear, both too tipsy to be of much use, so Linda and I steamed ahead hoping someone would take pity on us, but none did!   Once we reached the hotel we got a taxi easily and it was so nice to be in a warm car (I can't believe how cold it was out there!!).

I only slept for a couple of hours and was then wide awake again so I went downstairs for breakfast.  Not surprisingly, some of the hardcore were still up.  That turned out to be the pattern for the weekend;  whatever time (day or night) you went into the casino - there would ALWAYS be a scooterist or two propping up the bar!   That morning the scooters gathered in the 'parking deck' (multi storey car park in English) and there were probably 100 or so from around the country.   Some had shipped them in via air, some had brought them on trailers and some were local enough to ride.   There weren't too many custom bikes, much less than in a similar random selection in the UK, but it was good to see them all parked together.   This is the biggest rally in the States.  Some others consider it a success if 50 bikes turn up.   It's so hard though because everybody is so spread out and the terrain doesn't lend itself to riding long distances.   We're lucky over here that we can ride from one end of the country to the other;  and you're never usually more than 400 miles from a rally, and all are usually at sea level!!

There wasn't much going on in the day so Lee and I went to the strip in the free shuttle bus, wandering up to the Venetian and then visiting Planet Hollywood in Caesars Palace for lunch.  We didn't last long though and needed some more sleep, so yet again we took a little nap that lasted over 4 hours!  The do was in the hotel, in a function room that looked more at home hosting a wedding rather than a scooter do.  It was non-smoking (which was great) but that meant a lot of people crowded outside for a fag so it never really got packed inside.   Lee spotted Russ Mitchell (who built Exile in the 80's and has since found fame in America via the Biker Build-Off tv programme) so I dragged Terry Walters over to take my photo with him (his camera is much better than mine!).   A member of the Glevum Stax was there, with club posters for Russ to pose with.   After a few more beers, Lee spotted the DVD-maker again and dragged Russ over to him so he could be interviewed.   Lee thought this was a great scoop and proceeded to tell me all about it about 500 times....   It should be hilarious when it's finished, provided he doesn't end up on the cutting room floor....   There were a couple of bands playing.  The first, the Stateside Saints, played a mod set mainly of original material but with a couple of covers.   Later on, the Aggrolites were on, with an energetic ska set that got everyone dancing.  I think they're hoping to play a UK rally later on this year, and I think they'd go down well with a British audience.  
We left at around 3am, when Terry was finishing his set, needed yet more beauty sleep...

Sunday was a bit of a non-day really.   We wandered up the strip again and tried out the new monorail.   It seemed a bit pointless unless you were doing it from one end to the other, as you had to walk through the enormous hotels to pick it up.  It would have been quicker to walk, I think!   The Oscars were on in the evening so we dozed through them, luckily waking up in time for the main awards.  

As we'd had so much sleep, we woke really early on Monday so headed downstairs for some gambling.  We tentatively approached the blackjack tables where a kind croupier showed us the ropes.  It was $5 minimum per hand, so not cheap.   We started off with $50 and walked away when we'd won another $30 or so.   This is easy, we thought...   To pass some time we went to the bowling alley.   Between midnight and 8am it's only $1 per game so was yet another bargain!   I was rubbish and my usual 'spinning' action didn't work so I ended up being trounced by Lee.   Oh well, I have to let him win sometimes ;-)

Later on, after a spot of shopping at the main outlet mall, we met up with a few of the others in the bar.   Lobby headed for the roulette so we all followed, forming an audience around him as he sprayed his chips around the table.   He started off with $50 and soon had doubled it, with lots of 'high fives' to celebrate.  Sensibly, he knew when to stop and cashed in the chips making a fantastic profit.    Lee went off with everyone to New York New York and to see the Bellagio fountains but I called it a night as I was totally pooped.

Tuesday was our last full day so we started off with another dawn game of bowling.  I'd got it sussed a bit more and Lee turned rubbish so it was a bit more even.   We then went to the Fashion Show mall to get more clothes and then headed back to the hotel for our big trip to the Grand Canyon.   We were picked up in a white limo which took us to the airfield.  We then boarded the helicopter and flew for 45 mins past Vegas, over the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, to the mountains and amazing terrain that forms the canyon.   We dropped down and landed near the bottom for a half hour picnic and photograph session, before returning to the Strip.   It was totally amazing, although a little bumpy in the wind and I only just made it back without using the sick bags!

And so to our final day, when we were