Michael "Anal-Retentive Kid" Grabois, Troy "Former AOL Chat Report Boy" McNemar, and Sidne Gail "Dinner-Organizing Damsel" Ward would like to invite you to join us at the second combination LSH (and General Comics) Fan Get-Together/Gambling Junket to be held from Thursday, June 11 through Sunday, June 14, 1998 in Las Vegas.
This time we're making the Tropicana at the south end of the strip our Legion of Super-Gamblers Headquarters. We'll be staying there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Our plans include gambling, dining, shows. Already scheduled are Cirque du Soleil's Mystere for Thursday evening, the Rio's pricey but renowned Village Seafood Buffet for Friday noon, and a visit to the Las Vegas Hilton's finally-opened Star Trek Experience on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. As last year, we'll be cruising up and down the strip and make at least one gambling foray to the downtown area as well.
Here are the answers to some frequently-asked questions about the try-outs. Reading them may enhance your chances at becoming a member of the Legion of Super-Gamblers.
If you want to join us, just make your reservations and let Sidne, Troy,or Michael know when you'll be arriving. We'll set up meetpoints. E-mail as soon as you decide to make plans since some of the shows and other activities require advance arrangements.
You can check out Sidne's trip report for the 1997 Legion of Super-Gamblers junket to get an idea of the types of likely activities.
In addition to the gambling, dining, and shows mentioned above, potential activities include watching all the "free" shows such as Treasure Island's Pirate Battle, the Mirage Volcano, Excalibur's Dragon, Siegfried and Roy's white tigers, the Destruction of Atlantis at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, and downtown's Freemont Street Experience. On Saturday night, we'll probably attend a traditional Las Vegas revue such as Jubilee at Bally's.
Several of the casino/hotels have amusement park type stuff (for an admission fee) such as New York New York's Manhattan Express rollercoaster and the MGM Grand's theme park. There's also hanging out by the pool since the typical daytime high in June is 98 degrees fahrenheit and the Tropicana has one of the most celebrated pools on the strip (including a swim-up blackjack table!). If that's not enough, check out this list of 100 things to do in Las Vegas.
And, of course, no matter what else we're doing, we'll be talking about the Legion of Super-Heroes in all its incarnations! (Among the three of us, we also read comics ranging from Golden Age Batman, Silver Age Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen and Fantastic Four, and modern Kurt Busiek's Astro City and Scare Tactics, so we can converse on a wide variety of comics-related topics as well.)
We might even try looking for Tinya III. Maybe we'll find her working as a Dabo Girl in the Space Quest Casino at the Las Vegas Hilton! :)
We're planning on making the Tropicana at the south end of the strip our Legion of Super-Gamblers Heqdquarters during the trip. The Tropicana has two towers as well as garden rooms. The rates quoted below are for "run of the house" which means you get the best room available at the time you check-in. When you make the reservation, the reservation agent will allow you to request a certain type of room (tower or garden), but won't guarantee it. The garden rooms are in a 2-story building that's closer to the casino and the main part of the hotel as well as the pool area. Some people find them convenient; others find them a little noisy. The towers are farther away from the casino and the main part of the hotel. They may be a little quieter and have a better view. There is a difference between the two towers. The Casino Tower is older and a little closer to the casino. The Island Tower is newer with a more modern decor and a little more distant.
As of 1/31/98 the rooms for double occupancy at the Tropicana were $39 for Thursday, June 11 and $79 for Friday and Saturday, June 12 and 13. Room tax on the Las Vegas strip is currently an additional 9%. The phone number is 800-634-4000. If you call and the room rates are substantially higher, make a reservation but keep checking since Las Vegas room rates change often (both up and down). (For example, as of 1/2/98 the rates were $79 for Thursday and $89 for Friday and Saturday.) When you make the reservation you'll have the option of having the reservation agent put a courtesy two week hold on the room (to give you time to firm up your plans) or giving them a credit card and having them charge the first night plus tax right away. Cancellations or changes may be made up to 48 hours before the scheduled arrival; the credit card will be credited back.
5/3/98: Updated Room Rate Information: As of 5/3/98, the room rates for the Tropicana are $39 (plus tax) for Thursday night and $169 (plus tax) per night for Friday and Saturday nights. If you haven't made your reservations yet and would like to save a little money here are some options:
If you're interested in possibly staying somewhere else, there are maps of the Las Vegas strip and downtown areas as well as a list of hotel 800 numbers available.
For the more budget-minded (particularly if you're only staying Friday and Saturday night), there's a Motel 6 (800-466-8356 or 702-798-0728) nearby. It's on Tropicana Ave. about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the Tropicana and the strip. As of 1/31/98, rooms were $55.99/night for June 11, 12, and 13.
If you've never been there and you're traveling alone, we don't really recommend staying in a different hotel by yourself. LV casinos and the strip are huge, it'd be easy to feel a little lost.
Although we didn't get much interest in this last year, Sidne is willing to attempt to run a roommate-matching service again. If you'd like to share with someone else, send her an e-mail message with your age, gender, roommate gender and smoking preferences if any, and price range and she'll try to put you in touch with others.
If you're familiar with Las Vegas and would prefer staying somewhere else or live in the area, just let us know and we'll arrange to meet up.
Sidne will be arriving at 12:17 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas on United Flight 2707. Troy will also be driving or flying in mid-afternoon on that day. Michael will be flying in during the day as well.
Sidne is flying out at 5:20 p.m. on Sunday, June 14, from McCarran on United Flight 2718. Troy will also be leaving around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. Michael may be leaving then or a little later.
If you want to join Michael, Troy, and Sidne for their already-planned activities on Thursday evening (Mystere) and Friday lunch (Rio Village Seafood Buffet), you're welcome to do so. If you can't take the extra time off work or prefer not to join these activities, feel free to show up on Friday afternoon or evening. Be advised that most Las Vegas hotels do not allow Saturday arrivals.
Flying into LV is usually relatively inexpensive from almost anywhere even if you don't have a flight ring. The most popular flights (Friday morning and Sunday evening) fill up quickly. So make your plane reservations early! If two of you are traveling together you might check in your local Sunday newspaper travel section for air/hotel packages. Southwest and America West have a number of flights.
If you're traveling from the Southern California or Phoenix areas, Las Vegas is about a 5-6 hour drive.
There are taxis and shuttles from the airport to the hotels. Airport shuttles may be a little cheaper, but take longer since they often stop at a number of different hotels.
The Las Vegas strip is huge. A block on the strip is much longer than an ordinary city block. It is necessary to have transportation from one part of the strip to another, between the strip and the Rio, between the strip and the Las Vegas Hilton, and from the strip to downtown. Possible modes of transportation include taxis and rental cars. If you have your own car or a rental car, ample parking is available at strip casinos. Valet parking is also regularly available.
The legal minimum age to gamble or drink alcohol in Las Vegas is 21. For some of the shows you may need to be 18. Most other activities are available to all age groups. You're certainly welcome to join us if you're not 21, just be forewarned that gambling isn't legal.
Additional note to parents: Las Vegas is not a town friendly to small children. There are some restaurants that won't seat children under 6, for example.
Obviously, show attendance (as all other activities) is optional. If you'd prefer not to attend a particular show, you can opt not to do so. You may need to make a decision regarding show attendance before the trip since reservations should be made in advance.
| Hotel (Tropicana): | $214.73 |
| Airport Transfers (including tip): | $20.00 |
| Shows: | $125.00 |
| Entertainment (Star Trek Experience): | $16.00 |
| Miscellaneous (Food, Drink, Souveniers, Taxis, Tips): | $200.00 |
Total: |
$575.73 |
Any and all LSH fans (pros are welcome, too!). We don't care which era is your favorite. Just don't argue so loudly you get us thrown out of the casino! :) You can even invite your non-LSH-loving significant other; we'll attempt to brainwash him or her for you.
And you non-LSH-reading comics fans are welcome to join us for brainwashing sessions as well. :)
The 3 founders are Michael Grabois, Troy McNemar, and Sidne Gail Ward. During last year's try-outs, Laura Goostree, Joe Morano, Jay Johnson, Hosun Lee, and Jim Drew were admitted also. We still have a ways to go before our ranks match those of the LSH, though.
Why not? :)
There are hundreds of Las Vegas and gambling web sites. Just fire up your favorite web search engine and start looking.
The usenet newsgroup alt.vacation.las-vegas is full of people who visit Las Vegas frequently and would love to answer any questions you may have about vacationing in the city that never sleeps. As always, lurk for a little while or do a Dejanews search to see if your question has already been answered. There is no FAQ for this newsgroup.
The gambling-related usenet newsgroups are collectively referred to as rec.gambling. There's a web site devoted to general information about these groups and their participants. Newsgroups that may interest potential members of the Legion of Super-Gamblers include: rec.gambling.poker, rec.gambling.blackjack.moderated, rec.gambling.craps, rec.gambling.racing, rec.gambling.sports, rec.gambling.other-games, and rec.gambling.misc (which includes information on traveling to Las Vegas among other topics). There is a general Introduction FAQ to all of the rec.gambling newsgroups. You should read the FAQ and might want to do a Dejanews search before posting to these groups.
Please don't follow-up to r.a.c.* or LSH-L. Please e-mail all questions, etc. to Sidne or post to alt.comics.fandom.
You can also reach the founding members of the Legion of Super-Gamblers at:
A good place to start would be the Legion of Super-Resources. This is a comprehensive list of resources (both on and off the web) related to the LSH.
Of course, you can attend the try-outs in Las Vegas and ask some Legion gurus in person as well.