# You think you're in Las Vegas - but you're not! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 28, 2021, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561 "2021-07-28T23:27:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/41 "2021-08-01T16:23:55Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I’m in Las Vegas now, for the night, and lemme just say that y’all need to figure out the concept of “runoff” and “storm drains.” That downpour that just came through had me driving through enough water that I thought I was making an amphibious landing into my hotel. Were you staying at The Linq? Because it’s built on top of the major flood control channel for the center Strip. Been that way for decades. A good, solid downpour and the bottom level of the parking garage is under 8 feet of water. They did _some_ work on it when they remodeled the place from the Imperial Palace and built the High Roller, but not enough. The land is too valuable to “waste” by installing proper channels and drains, so everybody just deals with it. The water goes down the street, through the garage and out the back towards Koval. Eventually it gets to Lake Mead. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/42 "2021-08-02T00:46:48Z")
You’re lucky you weren’t trying to fly out of there. The night before I was supposed to leave there was a 1.5" rain, traffic was snarled and the airport was knocked off schedule for the entire next day. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/43 "2021-08-02T04:28:37Z")
What happens in Sunrise Manor stays in Sunrise Manor. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/44 "2021-08-02T04:57:28Z")
There’ve been massive monsoon downpours two out of the three times I’ve visited Vegas in August. You’d think they’d have learned to cope considering how apparently routine it is, but then again Vegas is essentially the ultimate example of short-term planning in American municipal infrastructure. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/45 "2021-08-02T15:34:29Z")
I wouldn’t say routine, but it isn’t an _uncommon_ occurrence. > **[A brief history of the monsoon in Las Vegas](https://www.ktnv.com/news/a-brief-history-of-the-monsoon-in-las-vegas)** > > It's nearly summer in Las Vegas, which means hot temperatures but also monsoons. How have monsoons affected the city's history? ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2021, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/46 "2021-08-03T01:46:19Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A good, solid downpour and the bottom level of the parking garage is under 8 feet of water. This is exactly what happened when we were there about 5 years ago. We were staying at Harrah’s, right next to the Linq. A downpour hit and we had a front-row seat watching the flood pour down the ramp into the parking garage. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/47 "2021-08-06T00:12:51Z")
No, I was overnighting at some Hilton in what seemed to be in some sort of Medical district. Near where US 95 and Cheyenne cross. I gotta say as soon as that storm was over, dumping so much water on Tenaya Way, the clouds parted and sunshine came through, _but the Mississippi kept flowin’_. I’m back in town agan for an overnight layover. Holy mackerel is it hot! Tripler Not quite Afghanistan hot, but damn close. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/48 "2021-08-06T01:49:48Z")
> [@Tripler](#): > > I was overnighting at some Hilton in what seemed to be in some sort of Medical district. Near where US 95 and Cheyenne cross. Mountain View Med Center and its ancillary providers, must be. That part _is_ within LV city limits, looking at GMaps (but apparently is commonly identified as Summerlin). ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/49 "2021-08-06T01:50:42Z")
Oh, I gotta ask, who or what was “Terrible Herbst”? He seems to be some sort of convenience store magnate. Tripler Helluva moustache, though! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/50 "2021-08-06T02:08:17Z")
The Herbsts started by building a gas station chain, then moved to Vegas to expand into gaming and motorsports: > **[Herbst family looks south](https://lasvegassun.com/news/2007/apr/16/herbst-family-looks-south/)** > > Thirty years ago the Herbst family, busily running its chain of gas stations, considered buying the three casinos in Primm, the desert burg that greets Southern Californians crossing into Nevada. They thought about it for about as long as it took to... Their first gaming venture was sold off after the Great Recession and big property crash in Vegas, but they built up a new one and have acquired a few casinos since, while at the same time keeping up [the original family business](https://www.cspdailynews.com/top-202-convenience-stores-2016/terrible-herbst). No idea of the history of the Terrible’s trademark, though. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/51 "2021-08-06T02:09:53Z")
So apparently, after 5 minutes of Googling I learned that the reason for this is because back in the 50s the Mafia organized all of the Strip properties into a township to prevent the city of Las Vegas from annexing the area and adding them to their tax base. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/52 "2021-08-06T02:14:55Z")
Thanks for that! I had no idea–I kinda thought it was a gimmick! Trip ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/53 "2021-08-06T17:44:49Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > No idea of the history of the Terrible’s trademark, though. _Terrible Herbst, a gas station, carwash and casino giant with 65 profit centers in Nevada, California and Arizona, was founded by Ed Herbst in Chicago in 1937. The business got its name because of the turmoil that would arise whenever Herbst moved into a new area. The local competition, afraid of losing business to this crowd-pleasing operation, would warn one another to watch out: “That no-good Terrible’s coming to town.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561/54 "2021-08-06T18:41:11Z")
Speaking of Vegas in the 50s: > **[Log into Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/summacorp/posts/945060879030424/)** > > Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know. Much of that is the Fremont Street Experience now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-think-youre-in-las-vegas-but-youre-not/947561.md?page=2)