I do not fly as well as I used to. I beat sunrise this morning by several hours in Florida to make my plane to Las Vegas for the 2022 SHOT Show with a two-hour layover in Louisville that turned into three with a delay. I finally arrived at McCarran Airport just as the Sun was beginning to set over the mountains.  The Airport is named for Democrat Senator Pat McCarran who pulled a lot of money out of DC to help develop Las Vegas in the 1950s.  Now the airport is being renamed Harry Reid International after it was suddenly discovered that McCarran was an avowed racist, anti-Semitic xenophobe.  We can probably expect that in fifty to sixty years, they will suddenly discover that Harry was also a really bad guy too and they will rename the airport yet again.

Thankfully the airport itself is pretty free of any detectable traces of racism, anti-Semitism, or xenophobia and I’m surprised McCarran’s accusers haven’t demanded the entire place be rebuilt because it carries the taint of such things in its past naming.

The Hitman On The Run Room With A View

Anyway, I arrived at the Tropicana Hotel which is a throwback to the heyday of 1960s Las Vegas.  Elvis Presley filmed part of “Viva Law Vegas” at the hotel.  James Bond stayed at the Tropicana in “Diamonds Are Forever” and the casino scenes in the first two God Father Movies were both filmed at the hotel as well.  It still has some of that charm leftover despite numerous renovations and being a Hilton property.  So it was with a certain irony that I noted that the view from my room looks what you would get as a mafia hitman hiding out until things cool down.

I was never promised deluxe travel when I signed on for this job, and now I know why.

After I dumped my gear and had a drink I headed over to the Venetian where just a day before SHOT the convention center rooms appeared to be nowhere near showroom ready, and I just know there will be people working all night to make it so. There are millions of dollars in firearms at this event and security has to be a nightmare to keep all those firearms secure.