The gremlins of computer land struck again and the blog I wrote for this week disappeared in a puff of digital computer virus smoke. Fortunately the virus was a light weight and the computers installed defenses removed it without damage. Unfortunately the blog was gone so here is its reconstructed version.

File photo from 2014 ….Photo by Royal Hopper

Remember this. The City of Sin is all about the green. Everyone is there to make money. They don’t actually give crap if you are having fun. It is about paying the bills or making a fortune. You always have to pay _ you gotta pay…It is the mantra of the City of Sin….You gotta pay…

One of the century old steel railroad bridges built in the bitter cold of the Alaskan winter in a few weeks ….damn -Royal Hopper

The wages of sin or you gotta pay Frank you gotta pay

By Royal Hopper

There is an incredible line about the wages of sin from an otherwise standard action adventure old west outlaw movie (don’t get me wrong it was a great movie with great one liners but not an inspiration) made almost 40 years ago that still rings in my head every time I walk down the streets in the City of sin.
“You gotta pay Frank you gotta Pay,” said Cole Younger, played by David Carradine, to Frank James as he sat on a train bound for the James Gang’s destined and fatal 1876 showdown in Northfield Minnesota. (cinema : The Long Riders 1980)
Younger had reportedly told Frank James he planned to write a book about his adventures as a gentleman and a lover and Frank replied he expected a free copy. Younger retorted “You gotta pay Frank…you gotta pay,” _ in classic old western foreshadowing.
That is something a man riding a cab on the way to a Sin City casino should have considered a when he realized he doesn’t want to or can’t pay the cabbie who delivered him to a local hotel/casino. He launched himself at the cabbie who apparently had some training in martial arts and pounded the poor unfortunate dead beat for several long seconds before casino security was able to break the fight up.

What does that mean ? Stay tuned

When I was younger I worked at the Mirage and Treasure Island. There was a man who played millions in Vegas casinos throughout the city. If the casino heard his plane was landing at a Vegas airport they would open up their high limit room and post a guard there just in case he decided to show up there and play. He ended up owing something like $60 million in debts to the various houses in Vegas and many more in taxes to the government. He went to prison and the Sin City gambling houses he owed money too went after all they could get and were more than happy to cooperate with the feds……. What does that mean ? stayed tuned ?

When I worked at the dearly departed Riviera one customer who was on a losing streak with a straight face he told me that he had played nearly $50 and had not won even once and was demanding his money back…..Seriously ….He wanted his money back….What does that mean…..and what is the Sin City mantra ….Simple ..You gotta pay Sinners …You gotta pay and their aint no refund

That is life in the City of Sin
Every action has some kind of consequence
Love You Sinners

A cityscape from three years ago Royal Hopper