How old is Vegas Vic, the neon cowboy downtown? It must be at least 40 years old, because I remember hearing a rumor back in the sixties that some actor used Vic for target practice with a shotgun from a hotel window across the street. The rumor might not be true, but the sign apparently was there then.

2006 is the 75th anniversary of legalized gambling in Nevada. It would be cool if you could explain how Nevada happened to go into the gambling business back in 1931.

Could you please list the casinos that have closed since January 1, 2004, and that will be closing this year?

How does three-card monte work?

I stayed at the Thunderbird Hotel years back. Can you give a little history on this hotel?

We love the Tropicana, but nobody seems to know what’s going on there (including the staff our friends have talked to) as to why they're not taking any more reservations after the middle of March or thereabouts. Are they remodeling? Imploding and rebuilding? Sold?

I'm curious as to whether there's been any further information about the recent murder in the Carnaval Tower at Harrah's. National newspaper articles suggested a Las Vegas local shot and killed a Reno resident, who was staying at the hotel. The articles caught my attention, having been a guest at Harrah's a week earlier, albeit in the Mardi Gras Tower, but I haven't seen any further reports.

We were sorry to hear of the Boardwalk closure. What are the plans for the site?

You never did a story about "Sal Sagev" Hotel, which is now the Golden Gate. I would love to know when it was built and when its name was changed.

I heard that the name "Summerlin" was the maiden name of Howard Hughes's grandmother. If so, is the City of Summerlin named after her?