Instead, it became one of the most stable constitutional frameworks on the planet.

The “Great American Experiment” is a fascinating concept because, when you look at the raw data of history, it truly is an anomaly. When the U.S. Constitution went into effect in 1789, the idea of a large-scale, self-governing republic was widely expected to fail. Most European monarchs assumed the young nation would tear itself apart or collapse into tyranny within a few generations.

Instead, it became one of the most stable constitutional frameworks on the planet.

To understand how it has outlasted so many others, it helps to look at the numbers and the structural mechanics that keep it running.

How Unique Is This Longevity?

To put it into perspective, look at how many times other major nations have fundamentally changed or completely reset their systems of government since the U.S. Constitution went into effect in 1789:

The Secret to “Outlasting”

Why has it survived while so many others fractured? Historians generally point to a paradox built into the system: it is incredibly rigid, yet intentionally flexible.

• The Amendment Process: The Founders knew they couldn’t predict the future. By allowing the Constitution to be amended (which has happened 27 times), the framework could adapt to massive cultural and technological shifts without needing a full revolution to change the rules.
• Separation of Powers: By dividing control among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches, the system makes it intentionally difficult for any single leader or faction to completely dismantle the government overnight.
• The Federal System: Giving individual states a massive amount of local governing power acts as a pressure valve, allowing different regions to experiment with laws without fracturing the entire nation.

It has been tested by a brutal Civil War, world wars, economic collapses, and deep political divisions, yet the underlying blueprint has held together longer than almost anyone in 1789 expected.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Don’t ask how it happened! Let’s just say that it was a series of unfortunate circumstances and an overly tired webmaster pushing too many buttons too late at night, and not watching what he was pushing. Suddenly… “POOF,” it’s all gone…..

So now trying to rebuild what was here. So far, not much, but we will repost what we can!

We Will Be back soon.

Until Then, Follow The Vegas Tourist on Facebook

Thank you for your attention.
Mark Anthony

The big news today was that Tillman Fertitta bought Caesars, debt and all. This tidbit of news set the Vegas blogosphere on fire as all the “Vegas experts” quickly jumped online to give their doom-and-gloom projections. They’re already claiming the deal is dead on arrival and bad for the Las Vegas tourism economy—arguing that Tillman’s luck has finally run out, or that he’s in over his head just trying to play with the big boys on the Strip.

Knowing the players involved, knowing Caesars’ history over the last two decades, and seeing exactly what Tillman has built here during that same time, I see it differently. This could be the deal that will change Las Vegas tourism for the better.

If I’m right, his $17.6 billion deal will look like an absolute steal when the dust settles, and the future for the average Vegas tourist will be bright and shiny again. Tillman knows exactly what he is doing. He’s ten steps ahead of everyone else on this. Like all great dealmakers, he ignores the naysayers and media pundits and social media warriors and plows ahead like a man on a mission.

Look at the track record. He came into town in 2005, bought the Golden Nugget, and broke almost every unwritten rule of casino ownership in the book. He got his hands slapped, and his pocketbook dinged pretty heavily in the process. But he learned his lessons well. Taking what he learned back then has already made him millions, and it’s going to make him billions once the ink dries on this one.

My prediction is that he will break up the monopoly. Sell off the older, smaller properties to other operators that don’t have the letters MGM in their name.

Selling off the smaller, older properties will help pay off some of that debt he took on. Breaking up the monopoly and bringing in new owners will benefit Las Vegas tourism and tourists.

In the end, in my opinion, Vegas is going to be a hell of a lot better off with him at the table.

Tillman in Las Vegas

Owns the Golden Nugget

Bought and demolished Hawaiian Marketplace.
Built BLVD Shopping Center in its place. That’s where the largest In-N-Out restaurant recently opened.

He was going to build a boutique hotel on the corner, next to the shopping center, but put that on hold. Instead, the market dipped slightly, and he got a good deal on some Wynn stock through a company buyback program. His total Wynn holding is 13 million, roughly a 12.3 percent stake.is now their largest single shareholder.

Fertitta is a cousin of Red Rock Resorts executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. Red Rock Resorts is the largest “locals” casino chain. The Fertitta brothers also created the UFC brand.

The Story is True.
I just asked AI to make it a bit more dramatic!

The afternoon sun beat down on the black asphalt as the north-south traffic held the green light, a steady river of steel and rubber flowing through the intersection. On the opposing street, a sleek, autonomous Zoox vehicle patiently waited for its moment, poised to merge onto Russell Road. The coast was clear, an inviting gap in the ongoing stream. With quiet confidence, the Zoox began its maneuver, inching forward, ready to claim its place.

But then, a shadow emerged from the opposite direction. A pickup truck, impatient and bold, began its left turn. With a guttural roar of its engine, it surged forward, aiming to cut off the unassuming Zoox, a blatant attempt to assert dominance. The autonomous vehicle, however, remained unperturbed, its sensors calmly processing the unfolding drama. It held its ground, a silent sentinel refusing to yield.

The instant the aggressive pickup truck committed to its obstructive path, creating a narrow opening beside it, the Zoox sprang into action. With a smooth, almost imperceptible acceleration, it glided into the adjacent lane, elegantly slipping past the thwarted truck and establishing its position at the front of the queue. A silent victory, a testament to its precise and unwavering control in the face of brazen human impatience.

Here is my version:

I was at an intersection earlier today, waiting for the green light to go west on Russell.

North-south traffic had the green lights. A Zook was preparing to turn into the traffic onto Russell. It had an open shot and started to pull out when a pickup truck making a left-hand turn from the opposite direction gunned to get in front of it and block it off. The Zoox did not move.

The moment the Pickup moved up enough, the Zoox pulled into the open lane next to the truck and got in front of it.

I actually cheered for the Zoox…

Any thoughts? Comments??

Mark Anthony
The Vegas Tourist

At a time when the world was reeling from the Great Depression, thousands of men descended upon the Black Canyon to do the impossible. To build something everybody said could not be done. To build the largest dam in the world, in the middle of nowhere, on the widest and most unpredictable rivers, the Colorado River

Think about it. In 1931, there was no computer-aided design and manufacturing. There wasn’t even anything resembling a computer. To do what they did, where they did it, and how they did it, just boggles the mind

Where am I Going with This?

The one thing I tell my guests when I do a Hoover Dam tour is to look at the dam from that perspective. The Great depression, the middle of nowhere, everyone saying it can’t be done. It’s too large, too complex. It was going to fail. There were no computers. It was brains, brawn, dynamite, and a lot of men desperate to do almost anything for a paycheck.

Yet, here we are. 91 years later, people come from all over the world just to look at it. It’s still working as it was designed to do.

When you start to look at and think about everything it took to make it a reality, you become absolutely amazed by what they did and how they figured it out. Or at least I do.

I have seen just about every documentary ever made about building the Hoover Dam. Most just go over what the storybooks tell them. I found one that is unlike any other, and it’s not really a documentary.

It’s made by a guy named Jacob O’Neal, who likes to find out how things work, then uses computer graphics to show us how they were made and how they work.

With the Hoover Dam, he includes the one thing no other documentary or video could ever do. Show us everything at a human scale. Currently sitting at over 4 million views with thousands of comments from people in awe of what they just watched. After watching it, I think you will agree that this is the best one ever made.

After watching that and wanting more (and who doesn’t?), watch the follow-up video on how he made this video.

Grab some popcorn, put on some comfortable headphones, and settle back to be amazed.

For us here in Las Vegas, it’s a mixed bag of “Great for Growth” and “Wait and See.” Let’s break down the good, the bad, and the reality for your next trip.

The Good: More Ways to Get to the Neon

The best news? This merger creates a leisure powerhouse headquartered right here in Las Vegas. It’s also probably the first time in a long time that we’ve seen two profitable airlines merge.

Market Access: Allegiant Air has been a domestic player. They built a profitable domestic airline serving smaller Midwest towns and cities that the big boys ignore. They also only fly when it makes sense. Like taking people from snowbound in the Midwest to sunny Las Vegas. Shutting off some of their smaller routes during the summer months. And they do it non-stop.

Sun Country is based in my home state of Minnesota. It has been a mixed bag of an airline. Started out as a charter airline. They were one of the airlines that travel agencies would charter, then sell the discount junkets to places like Las Vegas. Then, as that market started to collapse, they switched over to regular airline schedules.

Like other airlines, they make cargo their gold mine. Sun Country was one of the first, during the pandemic, to turn a profit from shipping for Amazon. Passengers are just filler material on the balance sheets.

By grabbing Sun Country, Allegiant suddenly has access to established routes to sunny vacation-friendly destinations in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

The Midwest Connection: Sun Country is huge in Minneapolis (MSP). This merger opens up a massive “snowbird” pipeline, making it easier and cheaper for our friends in the Upper Midwest to get to Vegas for a weekend.

Combined Rewards: They’ve announced they will eventually merge their loyalty programs. If you’ve been sitting on Sun Country points, you’ll soon be able to use them for those ultra-low-cost Allegiant hops.

The Bad: Less Competition, More Fees?

It’s not all “jackpots and free buffets.” Whenever two airlines become one, there are financial risks for us, the budget-minded traveler.

• The “ULCC” Struggle: Ultra-Low-Cost Carriers (ULCCs) are struggling right now. This merger is about survival. While it keeps the airlines alive, it means one less choice for consumers.
• The Fee Factor: Sun Country has always been known as the “nicer” budget airline (they still even give out free soda!). Allegiant is the king of “pay for everything.” There’s a real worry that the “Allegiant way” will take over, and those small perks we liked on Sun Country might disappear.
• Regulatory Hurdles: This is the first big merger test for the 2026 administration. If the DOJ or FAA blocks it, we could see both airlines struggle to maintain their current schedules.

The Verdict for The Vegas Tourist

I’ve only flown Sun Country once, and it was a complete disaster I would rather forget. I have no personal experience flying Allegiant.

For now, I wouldn’t change your travel plans. Both airlines will continue to operate as separate brands until at least the second half of 2026.

The airline gurus tell us that if you see a good deal on a Sun Country flight from MSP or DFW to Las Vegas, grab it. Your points are safe for now, and the flights aren’t going anywhere yet. Las Vegas is still the ultimate destination, and having a bigger, stronger airline based in our backyard is generally a win for the local economy.

That’s it for now.

Mark Anthony
The Vegas Tourist

It is also one of the most extreme geographic anomalies we have in the United States, if not the world. It is a land of record-breaking heat and punishing drought, where the lowest point in North America sits hundreds of feet below sea level.

Badwater Basin, one of the most popular stopping points in the park, is also the lowest point in the western hemisphere. The basin is dry, covered and crusted with silt and sediment from its millions of years as a series of basins, lakes, and oceanic inlets.

The entire basin is named Lake Manly. The lake was named in honor of William Lewis Manly, who rescued his traveling party stranded in Death Valley in 1849. They later called a potential northern lake for his Death Valley companion, John Rogers. The name “Lake Manly” was coined in 1932

After decades of being just a flat slate of salt and silt, over the last three of the last four years, it, like the rest of Death Valley, has had to deal with record rainfall and flash flooding. Closing this popular stop for weeks, sometimes months.

For about a month, major sections of the valley were closed for cleanup. Thankfully, access is rapidly improving: Badwater Basin, which is once again a shallow lake, has been open for about a week. Its otherworldly neighbor, the Devil’s Golf Course, reopened just yesterday.

However, scenic routes like Artist’s Palette Drive remain closed for the foreseeable future while the National Park Service makes necessary repairs. Always check the NPS website for the latest road status immediately before your visit.

Ok, it doesn’t always happen; actually, except over the last five years, it usually hasn’t occurred for decades. So this may be the last time to see it as a lake in our lifetime. (or not)

Desert Safety Still Applies: Despite the water on the valley floor, Death Valley remains an extreme environment. Bring a gallon of water per person per day, pack plenty of high-energy snacks, and fill your gas tank outside the park, as in-park fuel is limited and expensive.

READ THIS: Cell service is unreliable, so download offline maps (like on Google Maps) before you enter the park. And good luck finding an EV charging station. Death Valley is notorious for eating up EV batteries or melting the car entirely!

Your Thoughts?

Mark Anthony
The Vegas Tourist

That would be the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. A.k.a. WNF or NFR for short. Often called the “Super Bowl of Rodeo,” December 4 to 13.

For ten days, Vegas turns country. Unlike F1, almost every casino resort gets into it, on and off the Las Vegas Strip. Parties, fan contests, live feeds on the gaming floor, and in the sports books.

For ten days, tourists are happy as well as those of us who work on the Strip. No streets closed, no shows postponed. Sidewalks and walkovers are open. Most of the top names in country music show up. And “shop till you drop” takes on a whole new meaning! (seriously)

What is WNFR?

The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo is a 40-year tradition, generating over $200 million a year, and serving as a real major economic driver for Las Vegas.

F1 has nothing on NFR, except that NFR is legit and welcomed by all.

The NFR showcases the world’s elite rodeo athletes from around the world. Only the top 15 money-earners in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) from seven primary events qualify to compete at the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus.

These athletes compete in a high-stakes battle for a multi-million-dollar prize purse and the coveted gold World Champion buckles in each of the ten categories, as well as the “all around” champion.

History

It all started in Dallas, Texas, in 1959, and then moved to cowboy country in Kansas and Missouri. Then “stolen” by Las Vegas in 1985.

They like to say we stole it from its true home and moved it to Sin City because we offered to pay the riders a decent bounty just for showing up. It worked!

Other than 2020, when it had to move to Texas because of our “two-week shutdown”. It has been filling Las Vegas hotels, casinos, and the Thomas & Mack Center with fun-loving, hard-working true gamblers and entrepreneurs, the American cowboy (and cowgirl), since 1985.

In 2023, the Board of Directors for the NFR got a bug up their ass and threatened to move out, with possible locations including Orlando, Florida.

Most of the riders, stock contractors, and shoppers said it can move; they will still come back here in the fall for whatever Vegas does to replace them. So they changed their minds and decided to stay. They signed a ten-year, multi-million dollar extension! Then, it was extended to 2035.

What’s Here for the Tourist?

Well, if you don’t like cowboys, cowgirls, country music, or shopping, I would avoid Vegas during this week. Otherwise, there is something here for just about everyone.

Cowboy Christmas takes over the Convention Center. You can buy anything from cowboy boots and ranch vacation rentals to mega RVs and luxury toy haulers. Here is the Cowboy Christmas link

If you ever wanted an excuse to visit the cowboy-friendly South Point casino and resort, now is a good time. They have Cowboy Central. Shopping, horse and rider competitions, great food, and fun gambling. (and bingo)

Entertainment galore. From Rodney Carrington to Tim McGraw to almost every country act in between!. Here is a listing of NFR Entertainment

And of course, the competition inside the Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus.

Wrap Up

So, Las Vegas welcomes back its true, time-honored tradition. The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. It’s more than a one-night sporting event that excludes more than it includes.

It’s a 10-day celebration that brings family entertainment, money for everyone involved, and a party atmosphere unlike any other in Las Vegas.

It delivers on the promise of world-class entertainment without sacrificing the city’s accessibility or charm. The open doors of every resort prove that when the cowboys come to town, Vegas truly feels like home.

So saddle up and join the party—this is the real Vegas deal.

Your Thoughts?

Mark Anthony
The Vegas Tourist