We flew out of McCarran Airport on May 16, 2007. As the plane left the runway, it went southwest and then turned right to go northeast. As it did this I was looking out the window and noticed three open pits that looked about two blocks square. They looked very deep. It also appeared that they were in the residential areas. What are they mining out of them? From the air it looked like they just contained sand.

There are so many malls along the Strip: Miracle Mile Shops, Forum Shops, Fashion Show Mall, etc. Do you know what the total square footage of all the malls is along the Strip? I'm sure it must be some absolutely amazing number.

My family and I will be in Las Vegas in late July. Unfortunately, my wife has a problem with heat. What cool things are there to do during the day?

We recently ran a question about TITO tickets and the danger of having them snatched from your machine. We received a lot of interesting feedback from our readers on the subject, so we thought we'd pass on some of your observations and tips.

You get a lot of questions concerning tips. I once heard that "TIP" is an acronym for "To insure promptness" and was generally paid in advance of the meal in Europe. Any truth to this?

We are going to Vegas and my husband isn't a big casino person. Someone told him there is a Carroll Shelby Mustang Museum. Where is it located and is it easy to get to?

My wife is a crab-leg-crazed person. We are going to Vegas for our 18th anniversary and would like to know where the best seafood buffet in town is.

I am not a high stakes gambler by any means; usually I take $500 for a three-day stay in LV. But, I am willing to wager $5 in BJ, or play with $100 on a $5 crap table. Most casinos today open $15, $25 and $50 tables with very few if any $5 tables. Those $5 tables are always very crowded. I expect the casino to win my $500 while I visit, and I don't mind. What I do mind is the fact they want it all at once. Couldn't they give me a chance to lose it over a longer period of time, and still enjoy myself? I've walked away from tables, and kept my money in my pocket and spent it elsewhere, or just saved it. If they have dealers standing alone doing nothing at a $25 table, wouldn't it be worth their time and trouble to make it a $5 table and let us little guys have some fun? It's not like we are going to break their bank.

What does it mean when they call a poker tournament a "freeroll" tournament?

Why do the casino pools close so early? When we were in Vegas in May, the temp was 100 and the pools closed at 6 pm. I enjoy a nice hot tub soak at the end of the day, but they are closed.