With Caesars close to Chapter 11, I read where there was more than company. Caesars Palace is owned by one company, but the other hotels on the Strip (Harrah’s, Bally's, etc.) are owned by another company that is not in Chapter 11? Can you explain who owns what and what is going broke in Caesars land?

Further to Monday 17 Nov. QOD....can you give details of what exactly was wrong..."It will stick out like a sore thumb to those readers very familiar with this city--the only ones for whom the famous-name specifics will resonate in the first place--if you make an obvious mistake in geography, as Casino, Diamonds are Forever and, most notoriously, Con-Air all did, resulting in varying amounts of egg on various faces"?

As a follow-up to the recent resort fee QOD, have you heard anything further about the Federal Trade Commission's investigation of resort fees (and other "bundled" fees)? I have heard the very occasional murmuring about a Federal Trade Commission probe, but very little actual information. I absolutely hate the resort fees and find them to be nothing but a money grab, especially when you are surprised by them at check-in or check-out. I am now a Vegas local but I am quite sure my previous annual trips here would have diminished due to the fees.

If someone writes a novel or short story to be published concerning a suspense/drama set on the Las Vegas Strip, can that person mention the casinos’ actual names? Are there royalties involved when actual landmark hotel and casino names are referenced in fiction, or can one use these places as a setting free of charge?

What’s this I hear about shrimp that miraculously appear when it rains there in the desert?

I saw a newspaper headline recently about boulders in Death Valley that move by themselves, but I didn’t have a chance to read the whole article. Can you explain please?

Can you please provide a list of non resort-fee hotels? Thank you.

I just had a wonderful trip to Vegas and I noticed the neon writing on the top side of "The Mirage" hotel and the writing on the top side of the "Wynn" appear to be penned by the same hand. Is that correct and if so, do you know who's handwriting the neon signs were modeled after? Thanks!

How much does it cost to produce a low-budget Strip show like Zombie Burlesque?

I was out in Vegas one and a half years ago. The north end of the Strip seemed dark, empty and dangerous. The big fence between the Riviera and Slots-A-Fun was new and the Riviera looked dark or closed. There were police everywhere. What is it like now? Is it safe?