The Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas is connected to the Miracle Mile Shops. It's not possible to walk through either without being approached by someone trying to sell something, even service to help carry my luggage.
Within 24 hours, I was approached three times to take a 90-minute tour of nearby residential towers in exchange for a show ticket or meal. I've been too busy trying to catch up with Miss New York to pursue this offer, and I've learned to avoid those hustlers.
But it's difficult sometimes. I find I'm asking them and others for directions several times a day to get around inside the complex and the hotel.
If I weren't trying to keep a schedule, I probably wouldn't ask for help and could just wander, bedazzled by the lights and mesmerized by the constant thumping of music.
I have to add some pedestrian travel time because the directions are something like "the reception desk is where the green lights are shining on the wall.''
By the time I say thank you and head in that direction, the lights have turned blue or pink.
Others giving directions refer to a wall banner advertising the new "Rambo'' movie. "See Rambo'? Go toward him, cross to the other side of the casino floor to reach the theater.''
OK, I see the sign, look down to head across the casino floor and see rows of slot machines and clusters of card tables. I head into a maze, looking for familiar signs.
After two days in Vegas, I'm no longer surprised or amused when I hear someone on the mezzanine level asking how to reach the tram on the street outside.
Ah, outside. Walking outside is a great feature in Oneonta when the weather is good.
Here in Las Vegas, the temperature Thursday morning is 42 degrees, and the forecast called for light rain, which seemed to go around the city, and for high temperatures in the mid-50s.
A casino security guard from Long Island who retired to Las Vegas said this year and last year were cold, and he misses the shores and water in New York but not the snow.
I walked outside the building Tuesday, and the air was chilly. On Wednesday, I exercised by walking through the mall. Looking through my hotel room window Thursday, the sun is shining and the sky is light blue, an appealing combination.
But I know how challenging it will be to find my way to exit doors leading to the street, and inside the casino, the mix of lighting and no windows blurs the difference between day and night.
The forecaster on the local news station said rain is predicted for this weekend, with high temperatures in the mid-50s. He described the weather as "nasty.''
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Staff Writer Denise Richardson is covering the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas, where Miss New York, Elisabeth Baldanza of East Meredith, is a contestant.
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