First,
a personal note: I apologize for disappearing again; I was back in
the hospital. The good news is, I now know what is wrong with me!
(OK, so maybe not mentally, but....) No, seriously. I have suddenly
taken to falling on a regular basis, and I was beginning to imagine
fun things like brain tumors. Thankfully, it is nothing so serious. I
have a fractured L-2, which will heal on its own. I just have to
figure out how to keep from falling anymore while I get well.
And,
when I am done, find out which local lawyer wants 33% of my lawsuit
against Boulder City, where I fell and injured myself in the first
place, and who refused to run the one simple test they ran at the
hospital I am in currently that would have diagnosed my problem!
So,
I just wanted to mention that in case I disappear again. Please do
not worry if that happens before February first. However, once I get
back to The Strip, that is another subject entirely.
Meanwhile,
I never had a chance to write up what I did on my first trip. I sent
a couple of messages to people, but I never actually wrote it up in
my blog! So, yes, when I first got here I headed straight for the
crime scene and did some good, old-fashioned, reconnaissance.
Realizing the story we were told was a bunch of hooey, my approach to
the area was far different than the one used by most reporters who
hit the scene before the smoke even cleared.
Before
I did anything, I headed straight for the Tropicana, laptop-in-hand.
Having never been there before, I wanted to re-trace Mohammad bin
Salman's steps that night. The online speculation was so insane I
thought I would lay it to rest once-and-for-all. I froze the infamous
video of his extraction at a spot with plenty of “land marks”,
got my bearings, and then walked the route. All of my questions were
answered pretty much immediately.
For
people who have never been inside this particular casino, the
gambling floor is surprisingly small, at least to me. Following is
the extraction video for everyone's easy reference. As you watch it,
picture yourself at the front of the casino looking toward the rear:
The
Crown Prince is walking to the front of the Tropicana from what can
accurately be described as a cubbyhole-sized area in back. If readers
were to start at the beginning of this video and work backwards from
it, MBS (Mohammad bin Salman) had just passed a snack bar and
Starbucks to his right. He most likely entered the area from one of
several stairways/employee doors; the only other thing behind him
(from the angle on the video) is a public elevator and a set of glass
doors that go out onto an enclosed Wedding garden. This “garden”
has a couple of small, man-made waterfalls, and is enclosed by a
wrought-iron fence with no visible entrance/exit gate other than
through the Tropicana itself.
Of
far more interest is the number of external exits that cover the
perimeter of the casino. The largest and most logical rear exit is
the “Team Entrance” which, for those who are unfamiliar with the
Tropicana, exits directly into the line-of-sight of...The Mandalay
Bay. What I am about to outline is a back-up plan for what Mike
Closer outlined in his Periscope. For my civilian readers, I was
given an invaluable tip many years ago from a career Army
counter-intelligence operative. Anytime you want to sabotage
something (assassinate someone; same idea), you do not just plant one
explosive and hope for the best. You always set several so that,
despite one-or-more-failures, the plan still goes through. So, while
the idea of setting up the Crown Prince at the Four Seasons is one
possible scenario (certainly the easiest), we must explore others as
there had to have been a minimum of one fall-back position.
I
was extremely impressed with the Crown Prince's extraction. Right
through the front. Everyone in the casino under control. Hard to do.
But, when you go to the Tropicana, you see just how ingenious it was.
The video ends with everyone disappearing behind a pillar. If you
were present in the casino, you would know they were headed straight
for the front desk. There are a couple of stairs that lead to the
reservation “pit”, and then, if you go through the employee door,
there are five unmarked exits from that area. Again, ingenious. I am
still trying to figure out their route to McCarren; there are about a
dozen but, from a security standpoint, I am not sure which one they
picked.
Now,
can the Las Vegas Sheriff's Department and the freaking FBI Las Vegas
stop jacking with us, and tell us what we already know?!
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