Monte Carlo Fire – Up Close But Not Personal

Monte Carlo Fire
Originally uploaded by zariok

Well first of all, I was on the job and in my cab when the fire broke out, but I was at McCarren about to pickup and that trip took me to the Bellagio just up the street. As one of the more intelligent drivers, I knew that Harmon, next to Planet Hollywood, would be the best route. I quickly picked up, went to the Palazzo, and from there I went on to the Premium Outlets near Downtown. There I sat for almost half an hour, knowing that any effort to get to a busier stand would be more difficult and less benifitual to my paycheck. This gave me a break to speak to other drivers and to call a few of my relatives about what was happening with me and Vegas.

For certain, I am sure, this has now affected many who had intended to experience Vegas differently this week end. Fortunately, as the gloomy reports go, no one was seriously hurt. If you are not aware, the Magician Lance Burton will not be able to perform and most of the hotel’s workers are being asked to call a hot line to get the word on when to return to work. It was reported that they are however receiving pay while the casino is closed. I will be watching closely the Miss America Pagent tonight on TLC to see if the fire is on the minds of those involved. This event is being held again at Planet Hollywood just across the street.

Since I was not directly involved and do not work at the casino, I can only give very little of my local history/cabbie perspective on what went on at the Monte Carlo yesterday. I can tell you that you should not have any intent to go near the place at the current time as they are closed. And you are far better off not being among the overly curious who stupidly believe that an up close and personal, touchy feelly, and extremely dangerous spectator experience will be worth the risk of being harmed or even arrested. I personally, as a professional driver, will leave those up close personal experiances to someone who is getting paid to take such a risk, and I will only go there if a customer must and I’m permitted to enter this private property with my cab.

After the deadly fires at the MGM Grand in Nov. of 1980 and Hilton in Feb. 1981, legistlation was passed to make the Las Vegas Strip the location of the most fire safe hotels in the world. As a result, when a tourist stays at a Vegas Hotel today, the likelihood that they will die from a tower fire is extremely slim. If you wish to read more about the 1980 fire and this important legsilation, or view Clark County’s current fire code please go to the following web sites:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jan/25/las-vegas-fire-history/#/El_Rancho_Vegas_burns/

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Nov-20-Sun-2005/news/4306613.html

http://fire.co.clark.nv.us/(S(tuvlc5fhxxlh2f3gfbgueda4))/Fire%20Codes.aspx

If you would like to have a good report and photos from a local news team try these web links:

www.fox5vegas.com/news/15138622/detail.html

www.reviewjournal.com/media/video/mcfire.html

www.lvrj.com/news/14369312.html

www.lvrj.com/news/14450817.html

www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/news/2008/jan/25/fire-monte-carlo/

www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jan/26/good-outcome/

The Monte Carlo itself is located on property once owned by the Dunes and was built through a joint undertaking of the Circus Circus Enterprises and Mr. Wynn’s Mirage Resorts. Mr. Kerkorian and Wynn still reminisce fondly of this co-operative venture. As in the case of many construction projects in Vegas, it was first known as the Grand Victoria and opened in 1996 with a price tag of $344 million US. It had been designed to attract the middle income tourist who wished to expirance a budget friendly European Style Casino.

More details on the Monte Carlo Casino at this web site:

www.montecarlo.com/

www.answers.com/topic/monte-carlo-resort-and-casino

Have fun and be safe. : ) Mark

Drivers, don’t bet on getting the fare for bad driving.

Ok guys,

I know that nothing in the world is going to stop you from making money, but having a savvy customer can definitely ruin your day. I know that with the recient addition of more Taxicab drivers here in Vegas, it has become much harder not to do the wrong thing and do more of the illegal stuf like long hauling, high flagging, front loading, speeding (15 mph or more above the limit), ignoring stop lights and signs, and so on… But I also know that if you get a Vegas savvy customer, they can press the issue and not pay you. And so to be friendly, I thought I’d share this story with you.

I know you may not believe this, but I reciently spoke to a yellow driver that this had actually happened to. This driver took his customer on a trip to the Tropicana, which by the end of the trip the meter had added up to $35, but because the driver did not explain why he planned his highway route prior to going through the airport tunnel and taking the highway, the customer said they weren’t going the pay the fair. He freely admitted to me that instead of just driving off and taking it a hit on his money making scheme, he decided to make issue and told me that he began a racially colorized tyrate which only ended when the customer began calling for hotel security which forced him into driving off. Well as a result, the Taxicab Authority was called out and after they had determined from the security cameras who the driver was, he was called back to his company and unceremoniously given the infamous $250 taxicab citation.

Well, if I was his customer, I probably would have said that I would not pay him either, but I would have thought that a customer needed to pay what was reasonable in fare to the driver. “You’ve got to be kidding,” I said, “they made you pay the entire fare too. I thought the customer always had to pay something.” “The TA officer told me that all my customer had to do was sign an affadavid,” he said.

I really couldn’t believe what I’d heard, and I actually thought that he was out right lying to me about being made to pay all of the fare. “The customer does not have to pay any of the fare? This can’t be true,” I thought. So, I called the Taxi Authority, and, to my surprise, the officer who answered said, “If I issue a ticket to a cab driver (where I find that the driver is clearly guilty of the citation), the driver will be required to pay the passenger’s fare as well.”

So what’s the point? No, I’m not going to say that you should stop your long hauling or dangerous driving ways. All that I’m saying as friendly as I can here is that if you do the wrong thing and the customer wont pay the fare, you’re probably much better off just taking the hit and not make a big issue over a small loss. Making matters worst when your in the wrong will definately not help you make any more money.

Last year in my driver’s safety class, which comes with our permit renewal, a Taxicab Authority Officer said, “If you have an legitimate reason for taking the tunnel to the highway (and I can verify this on my radio), you’ve informed your customer that it will be a longer and more expensive ride, and they are in agreement with you doing this, then I don’t have a problem at all with you taking your customer through the airport tunnel to the highway. But drivers, long hauling is illegal! If I catch you doing it, you’ll be given a $250 citation.”

So since then, I’ve always attempted to explain the route each time I start the meter. I do this not just to ward off a possible complaint issue, but also to help give the customer that warm fuzzy feeling which usually allows me an opportunity to give them that let’s double the fare, tip winning performance. And it’s because I work much harder on a bad book day at charming the customers, that I generally tend to do a much better percentage in side money than I do on a busy day.

If I were to advise you to do anything, it would be to talk to your customers, explain to them why you’re planning to do a long haul before doing it, and only do a long haul if the customer is in agreement, because they truly don’t have to pay you at the end, if you don’t have their advance blessing on you’re intended longer route.

You can check on this for yourself with the TA, if you don’t believe me. The TA’s phone number is on your permit.

The following blog entry is a customer rant dated from 2003, but from what I’m hearing that with the recent addition of more drivers on the road this is happening more often than not:

http://forums.dealofday.com/showthread.php?t=139361

I’ve had this happen to me while on a layover in Vegas on my way to Canada. The cabbie took us the long way to our hotel. Then griped me out for not tipping him enough! Never tell a cabbie you have never been in Las Vegas before. Ripoff artists!

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Don’t bet on getting a fair ride in Las Vegas cabs

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Margaret Mentecki became suspicious when a cab ride from the airport to her off-Strip hotel took longer than in past visits.

When the cab finally arrived at the hotel-casino, the 66-year-old retiree’s fare was $43.10, about twice what it had cost on other trips.

“I was real mad, but I paid him and told the guy that I was calling his boss,” she said.

Mentecki went a step further and filed a complaint with the Nevada Taxicab Authority. The cabdriver eventualy was fined $50 for turning a 7½-mile trip into a more than 15-mile run-around.

The case is just one of 174 in which Las Vegas cabdrivers were caught ripping off tourists last year by taking them on indirect routes to boost the cost of a ride, according to Taxicab Authority records.

The illegal scheme, called long-hauling, was detected in only a tiny fraction of the nearly 23 million taxi rides given by Clark County’s 4,800 cabbies last year.

But those statistics are misleading, according to interviews with cabdrivers and law enforcement officials.

They say the numbers don’t reveal the widespread nature of long-hauling. The citations issued by the Taxicab Authority represent only the instances in which the agency’s officers personally observed the crime during limited enforcement operations or cases in which tourists filed complaints.

“These are just the tip of the iceberg,” Taxicab Authority Administrator Yvette Moore said.

Overall, cabbies collectet about $230 million in fares last year, up more than 10% from 2002.

Although no study has been conducted to determine how much of that money was earned illegally through long-hauling, state regulators say the practice probably results in the bilking of untold millions of dollars from unsuspecting tourists each year.

Long-hauling citations in 2003 indicate that egregious cases, such as the cabdriver who victimized Mentecki by doubling a $22 cab fare, were rare. Far more common was the practice of long-hauling passengers over shorter distances, typically leading to an extra $3 to $10 in fare each time.

Records show that the most common long-hauling scheme occurs between McCarran International Airport and the Strip. Taxis travel the Interstate 215 tunnel beneath the McCarran Airport, which lengthens trips into the city.

The hundreds of pages of long-hauling reports for last year, and recent interviews with victimized tourists and with cabbies in the moments after they were caught, offer a glimpse of the practice.

Earlier this month, Taxicab Authority officers pulled over Checker cabdriver Borislav Glavas and ordered him out of his taxi.

Officers confirmed Glavas was long-hauling by interviewing the tourists inside his cab. Upon learning Glavas was taking them on an indirect route to the Rio hotel-casino, the two passengers inside were furious.

“I hate getting ripped off,” Carol Brosnan of Long Island, N.Y., said. “I told him I wanted to go the cheapest way. I’m glad they caught him because I never would have known.”

Glavas did not attempt to dispute his guilt.

“It’s easier to make money if I go this way,” the 33-year-old cabby said. Glavas admitted to using the scheme daily for the 5-½ years he has been driving a cab, but said this was his first citation.

Cabdrivers say the financial windfall of long-hauling outweighs the minimal risk of getting caught and having to pay a fine that can range from $50 to $200.

“A lot of us do it,” said Mahan Washington, a 29-year-old cabby who admitted to scamming passengers daily. “It’s adding about five more bucks to your fare.”

Washington said he has never been cited for long-hauling, despite doing it for the year-and-a-half he has been driving a cab.

Many of the cabbies also were combative with police, according to the reports and interviews.

“Some of them tell us they’re the ones driving, they can go whichever way they want to, which isn’t true,” said Sgt. Rick Piert, a supervisor at the airport. “They’ll spit and cuss and yell. And then they’ll get a ticket.”

In Nevada, cabbies must be caught long-hauling five times in 12 months to lose their cab permit. No driver lost a permit that way in 2003, according to the records. When caught long-hauling, some cabbies shift the blame.

“A lot of them blame it on the company,” said Ken Smith, the Taxicab Authority’s chief of enforcement.

Bill Shranko, director of operations for Yellow-Checker-Star Cab, said the company disciplines drivers for long-hauling, whenever they learn of it from customers.

But there is no mechanism to notify the cab companies that a driver has been cited.

Moore said her understaffed agency can ferret out only a negligible number of the long-haulers. Only nine Taxicab Authority officers are assigned to the airport.

“We prioritize cases where cabbies are rude, or if people say the cabby was drunk,” or where they say their life was in danger, Moore said. “We only have so much time to conduct long-haul stings. … and the only way to really catch them all would be to have an army and stop all the cabbies.”

She stressed that the vast majority of cabbies regulated by the authority are conscientious, law-abiding and hardworking.

“But this industry, just like others, draws unscrupulous people.”

John C Fremont (pt. 2 Conquest of California)

Continuation of blog John C Fremont (pt. 1).

In 1842, Mexico makes one more effort to regain control over the rebellious California, by sending Manuel Micheltorena and an army of cholos (former convicts employed as soldiers). Micheltorena announced his new function as governor and then marched to Monterey. His army commits acts of rape, pillage, and looting against the Californios on the march to Monterey. Governor Alvarado is forced to surrender to Micheltorena, who regains control of California.

By 1845, the Californios-under Alvarado and Jose Castro’s command, raise an army and engage in battle with Micheltorena. Micheltorena is defeated and leaves with his army for Mexico. Castro becomes military comandante of California and returns to Monterey and Pio Picos becomes governor of California and governs from Los Angeles.

In December 1845, Captain Fremont continued on from the Las Vegas region with his force of sixty men and entered into the Mexican province of Alta California under the support of the congressionally commisioned mission of mapping the west coast area. Although he officially made contact with Mexican authorities, his movements around the province was a point of consternation to Mexico’s Northern Regional Commander, General Jose Castro. In particular, the latter did not care for Fremont’s contact and sympathy for American settlers and emigrants.

Soon after his arrivial in California, Captain Fremont did make an agreement with Comandante Castro that he was only going to stay in the San Joaquin Valley for winter than head north to Oregon.

As American settlers moved into Mexican-controlled California, most groups settled either in the Sonoma-Napa area, or north of Sutter’s Fort near present day Sacramento. A very few of them obtained grants of land from the Mexican authorities, which put the legality of the settlers’ claims to land into question. In April of 1846, Mexican Governor Jose Castro proclaimed that the purchase or acquisition of land by foreigners who had not been naturalized as Mexicans “will be null and void, and they will be subject (if they do not retire involuntary from the country) to be expelled whenever the country might find it convenient.”

The Fremont Party having traversed the territory as far north as Klamath on the California/Oregon border, turned south upon hearing that a proclamation had been issued by General Castro, aimed at driving out foreigners from the province, would soon be enforced. Several leaders of the settlers discussed their concerns of Mexican aggression with U.S. Army Captain John C. Fremont at a meeting. Fremont, though sympathetic could not commit U.S. Forces to aid the settlers. Nevertheless, he did decide to stay and advise those who chose to confront the Mexican authorities. Captain Fremont established his base camp at the base of four buttes (Sutter Buttes) in the Sacramento Valley a few miles north of John Sutter’s Fort.

Word of the camp reached a group of settlers who were most vociferous in their dislike of the province’s government. Leader of this group calling themselves Osos (Spanish for Bears), was Ezekiel “Stuttering” Merritt. Merritt was well known in the territory, and the west, for having been a fur trapper in the Rocky Mountains. Captain Fremont gladly accepted the twenty Osos, and went so far as to appoint Zeke Merritt a lieutenant of the irregulars.

Fremont remained in the background of events, not wishing to involve the United States in any altercations the Osos might be involved in; however, he and his force had already been branded “bandits” by General Castro, after an alleged horse stealing episode near Salinas during May 1846. Hence, in early June, Captain Fremont gave advice to capture the Northern Headquarters of General Mariano Vallejo at Sonoma. On June 14, the Osos took the town of Sonoma in the early dawn light without firing a shot. And with the acceptance of General Vallejo’s surrender the Osos declared California a Republic, and raised the Bear Flag over the plaza.

Captain Fremont saluted the Bear Flaggers, whose force now numbered ninety, when both the flag of the United States and California Republic were raised on July 4, 1846, in celebration of United States and California Independence.

Following the celebration, Captain Fremont proposed that a unified force be organized, under his command. A discussion was held July 5, with William Brown Ide (Grigsby-Ide emigrant party of 1845), who the Bear Flaggers had elected as their Commander-in-Chief. A compact was drawn up for all volunteers to sign, which in part read: Not to violate the chastity of Women; conduct their revolution honorably; and pledge obedience to their officers. With the signatures or marks of the men, the California Battalion was formed. Fremont appointed a Marine Corps Officer, Captain Archibald H. Gillespie, his Adjutant. Captain Gillespie had joined Fremont when the latter was at the Oregon Border. Gillespie had crossed the Mexican nation and entered California about the time hostilities broke out with the opening of the Mexican War, May 1846. Fremont requested the Battalion’s volunteers to elect their officers from the ranks. Chosen were: Richard Owens, John Grigsby, Granville P. Swift, and Henry L. Ford.

The California Battalion was given further legitimacy when on July 23, it was recognized by the American military leader in California, Commodore Robert Field Stockton, Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in the Pacific. J.C. Fremont was promoted to Major by Commodore Stockton, and given command of all Volunteer Militia. Major Fremont and the California Battalion eventually came under the command of Brigadier General Stephen Watt Kearney. Following this command change the Battalion came into prominence when in January 1847 they accepted the surrender of the Californios, thereby ending the conflict in California.

(continued in Part 3)

The New Year’s Eve Song

I know that more than just a few of you may know little or nothing about the song that is used to ring in the New Year. You may think of this song as I once did as “Old Angsine,” but the name is actually a Scottish term meaning, “Time Long Past,” and it is actually writen “Auld Lang Syne” which is a song first writen down by Robert Burns (1759-1796). You may very well remember the tune, but have little knowledge of the words. So the following are the lyrics for which we use here in America today on New Year’s Eve:

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind ?

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne,

we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !

And surely I’ll buy mine !

And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the hills, and picked the daisies fine ;

But we’ve wandered many a weary foot, since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream, from morning sun till dine (dinner time) ;

But seas between us broad have roared since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !

And give us a hand o’ thine !

And we’ll take a right good-will draught, for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

If you would like more information on this, please use the following link.

auld lang syne

Have fun and be safe. : ) Mark

A Very Happy New Year to All!!!

Hello Everyone,

I thought that I share a little of what a lonely, date seeking cabbie does for a very Vegas New Year’s Eve. First of all, if you do as I do for a living, seeing what I see happen everyday on the Las Vegas Strip, and if you don’t have someone who insists that you should be one of those standing in that bone crushing crowd in front of Ceasars, you’d probably make your plans elsewhere. Also, if you can understand, it’s very rare that a cab driver has both the New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day off. So for the first time in over four years, I was free to roll in the New Years with the other locals who were also this free.

You may ask now, “How did you do this?” Well, after I made my one final trip before the Strip closed at 6 p.m., I went back to the company’s YCS taxicab yard, and did my nightly turn with the about 100 or so other guys, who I’m sure were just as tired as I was after the mandatory twelve hour shift. I then went home about 6:30 to change clothes, freshen up, and grab my camera equipment, before heading down to Green Valley Ranch.

For anyone who doesn’t already know, GVR is next to the I-215 in Henderson, and about 15 minutes from the Strip. A short distance from GVR, is the Anthem Highlands, which contains the Anthem Country Club, Revere Golf Course, and Rio Secco Golf Course. The reason I have mentioned them here is because, if you have ever been fortunate to have visited these Golf Courses, you probably had the privilege to have seen some very spectacular views of the Strip.

Upon reaching GVR, parking, and walking through the door just after 7:30 p.m., I headed directly for the Feast Buffet. If you’re not in the Vegas transportation industry, you’ll probably not know that cab drivers enjoy a 2 for 1 discount at the Station Casino Buffets. Which is another reason for making GVR my place of choice for the night. Soon after reaching the $19 Buffet line, I realized that I had encounter the same type of problem which I had just a few of hours before. This being a very long line of impatient people, and that it would take me more than 30 minutes just to reach the cashier.

So, what was I to do, but after the guy in front of me made a few humorous comments about the line, I quickly realized that he had to be a local. As you might imagine, being the very social, but slight tired cabbie that I was, I could not resist making a few very funny comments about the Strip. This seemed to make the wait, much less irritating slow than what it could have been. After, I was seated, very near this man and his wife, I went on to try some of their Chinese cuisine, Cocktail Shrimp, and a little piece of great Cheese to top off one of my better buffet experiences.

My plans after this was to sit myself down at a penny slot, hitting the button a penny at a time, and wait for that wonderful cocktail waitress to come by. Unfortunately, just I began to hear that wonderful siren call that you’re always listen for, my bowels decided to give me a very painful suggestion, and it meant a swift exit to the mens room. After this, I never saw another waitress before my 11 p.m. must leave now cut off time, and so with a hefty gain on my $8 investment, I cashed out the $21 voucher. Heading up towards the Revere Golf Course, I found myself thinking that I should have enough time to be able to stop off a local bar along the way and still be OK.

After passing a few, I settled on stopping at P.T.’s Sports Pub. When I went in, I sat down at a video poker machine, shoved in $5, and ordered one of their $5 Miller Lite drifts. So here I was playing video poker, drinking down a Miller, and was surprised to find that I was at $8 when I was ready cash out and move on at 11:30 p.m.

When I reach the Revere Golf Course about 10 minutes later, I sat up the tripod and camera, and began taking photos. They did have a party going at the Club House, but not one of those stand near to me seemed to mind that I was there. I was sure glad that there was not a problem with what I was doing there, but I don’t think that I want to risk doing this again next year.

Although I did have a very slight buzz after midnight from the beer, I knew very well from my training and education, I did not have to worry about DUI, and went home.

So my day, which had started at before 3 a.m., now ended just before 1 a.m. as my head came into contact with my soft warm pillow.

This effort resulted in the slide show you see above. I’d be surprised if you didn’t think to yourself as I did, “Not bad for a cheepo Walmart 7 megapixal Samsung camera.”

I truly hope that you enjoyed your New Years Eve, as much as I have telling you about mine.

Have fun and be safe. : ) Mark

I sincerely apologize for disturbing you.

This is meant to be a short general comment to anyone who feels puzzled about my sending them a friend request and then wishes to send me a note to find out why. I’m truly sorry, if the request itself offends or disturbs you in any way, but my intent to have someone as a new MySpace friend is as innocently pure as it can get.

Please check you’re security settings on your profile before asking me anything that needs a reply. The following really irritating issue prompted this blog entry.

I’ve tried my best to reply to an email message today from a person whom I’ll not identify, but found that I couldn’t due to their profile settings.

I’d hope to think even Tom would get a little peeved to get a note that he could not reply to. And, from my point of view, it’s not very social at all.

======================================

The subject of the note to me was:

So tell me….

—————– Original Message —————–

From:

Date: Dec 26, 2007 7:02 PM

What’s your reason for contacting me? I browsed your profile, but I don’t like adding friends without a little discussion.

=====================================

My attempted reply:

Hi,

Sorry about not answering your note right away and Sorry that I didn’t send you a note with the friend request. I did look at your profile, but I didn’t think that you’d mind having another very tame MySpace friend. I didn’t mean to seem like a spammer, but we have a few Mutual MySpace friends I thought a friend request may be OK with you.

If I have disturbed you in any way, I’m sincerely sorry, and will not bother you again. Yes. It’s true. I’m very big on the Las Vegas culture. Yes. I like to blog about Las Vegas and it’s culture. Yes. I like the Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend. Yes. I think Betty Page types are sexy. Yes. I have lived on Oahu, and my brother and sister were born there. Yes. I’m flawed, attracted to beautiful women, and prefer to think of my self as a gentleman. And, I’m very very sorry that I didn’t send you a note to explain the friend request.

I would love just being a MySpace friend, and I’m just hoping that you may like looking at my blogs and leaving a comment when you feel it’s necessary. You may get a happy birthday or happy new year, but I never spam and do my best not to disturb any of the MySpace friends I have. I hope this note gives you a little more clarity as to my reason for contacting you.

Sincerely. Mark