Posts in the category "Gambling":

According to recently released statistics from the Department of Transportation (DOT),  airlines appear to be getting better at keeping track of checked bags.  Plenty of bags still go missing. And some bags do get stolen.  But according to the Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), in 2009 the mishandled bag rate was 3.91 per 1,000 passengers, down from 2008′s 5.26 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers; and the lowest rate of lost bags in quite some time.

The numbers are going in the right direction, but it may be because fewer people are traveling and many travelers are doing whatever they can not to pay a checked bag fee.

But just about everyone will get a big kick out of this YouTube video of Rhod Gilbert talking about his luggage problems.

And while Mr. Gilbert may have had bad luck at the airport, on Sunday, February 21st, Denver resident John Johnson had some very good luck at Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Johnson, his wife, and his bowling team went to Reno for the US Bowling Congress Open Championship and, after putting $20 in a Megabucks machine at the airport, Johnson won $10.4 million.

Categories: Baggage, Carry-ons, Entertainment, Gambling
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It’s Souvenir Sunday! And it’s the traditional day to unpack and look over the fun, inexpensive souvenirs we’ve picked up at airports.

This week: McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas (LAS). Add a hotel and those guys trying to press nightclub advertisement cards into your hands and you’ve pretty much got the whole city experience right here. There are bars, slot machines, drunk guys arguing over who knows what, a fitness club, free wireless Internet access, and several oxygen bars where you can try to do something about that hangover.

There are also plenty of places to shop for inexpensive gee-gaws to remind you of your trip, including fuzzy dice in all colors,

Tiny cardboard slot machines filled with chocolate coins,

And, my all-time favorite:gummi poker chips.

Inedible, I’m sure, but tacky enough to get my vote for this week’s Souvenir Sunday pick.

Did you find a great, under $10, “of” the city souvenir last time you were stuck at the airport?

If so, please snap a photo and send it along. It may show up on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Categories: Airport shops, Fun Stuff, Gambling, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs
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Last week I wrote in Portfolio.com about the unusual ways some airports have found to earn income – such as growing and selling hay planted on airport acreage to signing contracts to allow outside companies to drill for oil and gas underneath airport ground.

That article also noted that, for some time now, Reno-Tahoe International Airport and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas have been raking in the bucks from slot machines scattered about inside the airport terminals.

According to a report in the Arizona Republic, the mayor in Phoenix, Arizona thinks putting slot machines at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a great idea. But Phoenix isn’t Nevada, where gambling is legal pretty much everywhere. So to make this idea work, the city would have to create a profit-sharing agreement with a Native American tribe.

It’s do-able, but not yet a done-deal. The paper reports that the slot-machine scheme is just one of the ideas a revenue-enhancement team is exploring to help solve budget shortfalls for the entire city of Phoenix.

Got some other ideas? Casey Newton at the Arizona Republic (casey.newton@arizonarepublic.com) has offered to gather them up and forward them on to the mayor who, he says, “will give you – at his own expense – a weekend at the downtown Sheraton, complete with tickets to a sporting event or other cultural experience” if the city uses your idea.

Categories: Gambling
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