Sin City Casino To Invest $30 Million In… Bowling?

by Libby Zay on

Las Vegas‘ next big venture isn’t a multi-million dollar casino or even a gimmicky 500-item buffet or wacky wedding chapel, it’s a mega bowling facility constructed specifically for championship events.

The Associated Press is reporting South Point Hotel and Casino has struck a 12-year deal with the United States Bowling Congress (USBC) to host events in a new $30 million bowling center. Construction on the 60-lane center should begin as early as May.

If all goes as planned, the new center should put Sin City back on top of the bowling event hosting game. That’s good news for Las Vegas, but could potentially mean a tourism hit for Reno, Nevada. The Biggest Little City in the World currently hosts several annual bowling tournaments at the National Bowling Stadium, which is nicknamed the “Taj Mahal of tenpins.” Fans of the 1996 slapstick comedy “Kingpin” would recognize the interior of Reno’s center instantly.

[via Yahoo!]

[Photo credit: Flickr user ​j.o.h.n. walker]

Rhinos Now Extinct In Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park

by Kraig Becker on

An official from the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique made a sobering announcement this week when it was revealed that rhinos are now extinct inside the park. António Abacar, the park’s director, indicated that no rhinos have been spotted in Limpopo since January, which leads him to believe that poachers have killed the few animals that had remained. With rhinos now gone, he believes those same poachers have now turned their attention on the park’s elephant population, which is endangered as well.

Rhinos are hunted throughout Africa for their horns, which are then sold on the black market in certain Asian countries. The horns are highly valued for their use in traditional medicines throughout Asia, despite the fact that there is absolutely no evidence that indicates they hold any kind of medicinal properties whatsoever. The mistaken belief that a rhino horn is capable of curing any number ailments has pushed the species to the brink of extinction across the entire continent.

The Limpopo National Park is part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, which includes Kruger National Park in South Africa and Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe. This large sanctuary was created in 2001, with the three countries agreeing to remove numerous fences between their lands so that the animals could continue to migrate freely across the region. At the time, more than 1000 elephants and 300 rhinos were relocated into Limpopo National Park to help bolster their populations there. At the start of this year, only about 15 of those rhinos were believed to still be living inside the park. Now it seems that those are gone as well.The poaching throughout the region has gotten so bad that South Africa has threatened to restore its fences along the border with Mozambique. According to the article linked to above, over the past five years South African law enforcement has killed 279 Mozambicans who were caught in the act of poaching, while arresting another 300. That would seem to indicate that much of South Africa’s poaching problems isn’t homegrown but instead comes from its neighbor.

It is incredibly sad to me to think that we on the edge of wiping out an entire species because some people erroneously believe that its horn can be used in medicines. The rhino is being pushed to the brink and it may soon be gone altogether.

[Photo Credit: Kraig Becker]

The Secret Lives Of Congressional Air Travelers

by Libby Zay on

We here at Gadling have been closely following how furloughs have affected air traffic controllers, and subsequently how backed up airports got when flight delays started cascading across the country. But we were also surprised when Congress voted to reverse these cuts – and like many others who loudly voiced their opinions online, we wondered who, exactly, is benefiting from the decision.

It seems Bloomberg Businessweek has found the answer, claiming lawmakers aren’t pampering wealthy business travelers, but instead catering to their own needs. “There is no more pampered class of air traveler than members of Congress,” the news outlet writes, detailing how our representatives have their own special parking spaces at Washington’s Reagan National Airport. This “freebie” ends up costing the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority nearly $739K in foregone revenue each year.

Of course, that’s not the only perk lawmakers get at the airport. Businessweek is reporting they also never have to worry about rushing to catch a shuttle out of town because airlines allow them to simultaneously book multiple flights in the event the lawmaker is late or a flight gets canceled. This means they can get booked on the 6, 7, 8 and 9 p.m. flights without having to incur the fees the rest of us would for the luxury.

Many lawmakers fly frequently, and it’s not just back and forth from Washington to their districts. In some cases, they’ve been known to jet set around the world at taxpayer expense, as is the case with Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who racked up $23,646 on an around-the-world trip in February. So although we’re happy things are less congested at airports, we’re wondering if the rush to get things squared away was necessary – or if lawmakers just wanted to make sure they got home at a good hour.

[Photo credit: Flickr user ​Telstar Logistics]

Man With Tourette’s Barred From Plane After Repeating ‘Bomb’

by Libby Zay on

Uttering the word “bomb,” especially at an airport, is definitely cause for concern in this day and age. But in the case of a 19-year-old man who got kicked off a JetBlue flight for saying the word over and over again, he had an excuse: Tourette syndrome.

According to the Associated Press, Michael Doyle of Rockville, Md. was set to go to San Juan, Puerto Rico, through Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport. Doyle made it past security while repeating “bomb” – and even had paperwork to document his illness, a neurological disorder that can cause uncontrolled speech – but after being seated on the plane a JetBlue pilot asked him to leave due to “security concerns.”

Doyle told ABC News he had the Boston Bombings on his mind and tried to tell himself not to say the word. “When you try to suppress Tourette’s, it comes out even worse,” he explained, adding he repeated the word approximately 100 times. So what do you think? Were his enunciations cause for concern, or can we as air travelers never be too careful? Doyle, by the way, was offered a free round-trip ticket on another JetBlue flight, but there is no guarantee he will be allowed to fly at a later date.

[via USA Today]

[Photo credit: Flickr user ​Willamor Media]

Three Mountaineers Assaulted On Mt. Everest By Sherpas

by Kraig Becker on

The 2013 spring climbing season on Mt. Everest took a strange and unexpected turn this past weekend when a team of three climbers was assaulted by a mob of angry Sherpas. The incident first began at one of the mountain’s high camps, then reignited further down the slope when tempers flared up once again. If it weren’t for the brave intervention of other Western climbers, the conflict could have resulted in severe injury, or even the death, of the mountaineers involved.

This past Saturday, independent climbers Ueli Steck of Switzerland, Simone Moro of Italy and Jonathan Griffith of the U.K. were all climbing towards Camp 3, located at 7200 meters (23,622 feet), when they came across a team of Sherpas. The high altitude guides were busy fixing lines up the mountain that the commercial climbers will use as they scale it over the next few weeks. The Sherpas asked the Europeans to stay off the ropes while they were being worked on, as it was possible the climbers could dislodge debris and send it falling down on them while they worked. Steck, Moro and Griffith, who are each very accomplished climbers, agreed with the request and proceed up the slope using their own ropes that ran parallel to those the Sherpas were working on.

As they neared their campsite, the three climbers needed to cross the fixed ropes in order to get to their tents. As they carefully proceeded over the lines, the lead Sherpa, who was working above them at the time, rapidly descended and immediately began shouting at them to stay off the ropes. He accused the team of dislodging a chunk of ice, which struck and injured one of his workers below. Something the European climbers deny. The argument only escalated from there, culminating with the entire Sherpa team ceasing their work and descending to Camp 2 in a huff.Steck, Moro and Griffith then proceeded to their campsite to drop off several loads of gear and discuss what to do next. In an effort to extend an olive branch and show respect to the Sherpas for their efforts, Steck decided to help with the rope fixing himself, adding 260 additional meters to the work that had already been completed. But after spending some time mulling their options, they decided it was best to descend to Camp 2 just as the Sherpas had.

Upon arriving there, they were immediately met with an angry mob. The team of 17 Sherpas that the climbers had confronted on the mountain slopes had grown to nearly 100. The group attacked the three men, punching and kicking them repeatedly. Some threw rocks at them in an effort to severely injure or even kill them. The incensed Sherpa contingent was clearly out for blood.

Fortunately, other Western climbers were on site and jumped in to serve as a buffer zone between the trio from Europe and their assailants. It took the better part of an hour, but things finally began to calm down. At that time, the Sherpas told Steck, Moro and Griffith that they had better get back down the mountain to Base Camp, because if they spent the night in C2, one of them would lose his life. They promised to see to the other two climbers as well.

Grabbing a few pieces of gear, the three men descended back to Base Camp, but out of fear for their lives they didn’t use any of the fixed ropes that are in place along the route. When they arrived in BC, Ueli Steck was immediately flown to a hospital in a nearby village for treatment. He had suffered a minor injury to his head when he was struck by a rock during the melee but doctors didn’t find any serious damage. After spending a night under observation, he was back in Base Camp the following day.

The team had been considering continuing the expedition. Steck and Moro are two of the best climbers of their generation and they don’t give up easily. But after meeting with authorities yesterday and members of the Sherpa association, the three European climbers have decided to call it quits for the season and head home.

In the aftermath of the violent incident, three of the Sherpas have been removed from the mountain, while the police and the Ministry of Tourism investigates what exactly happened. Everyone knows that this story won’t be good for Nepal’s image, which relies heavily on tourism dollars from climbers and trekkers to stay afloat.

[Photo Credits: Rupert Taylor-Price via Wikimedia, Jonathan Griffith]