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Pew pew pew (I'm smarter than Kinch)

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LostLassie said:
Just seemed like there should be a thread for it. Although, maybe all the mass shooting threads should be combined into a single one. Could change the thread title to something like Why I Hate The World or This [Mark May] is Never Going to Cease.
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Sorry for the delay. I've been working on this since the middle of last week, but was busy with a conference and never had a chance to finish it. I'm sorry if this is long winded, but I'm using this as an opportunity to document my memories before I forget details.

I would have started this thread, but I was too busy making my way from the Mandalay Bay casino to the Luxor then I got locked down in the Excalibur until 5am Monday morning with a low battery on my phone.

Needless to say last Sunday night was an experience. Luckily I was on the back side of the Mandalay Bay casino so I never heard any of the shots. People started running by while I was at the craps machine, but we all figured there was a fight on the other side. It took at least 5 minutes for a cop to run by telling everyone there was a shooter and to get out, but we still just thought someone had pulled a gun at the other end of the casino. The hotel was full of cowboy looking dudes all day. It isn't politically correct and feels horrible now, but my first thought was one of the cowboys lost some money and pulled a gun. Nobody inside the casino had an idea the horror that was going on outside.

After being told to leave I made my way up the mall to the Luxor, which had already been cleared out. All I wanted was to go back to my room, but obviously that wasn't happening. Not knowing what was going on outside I was looking for an exit so I could try to walk around to get in the other side.

There wasn't a security or police presence at this point so I continued to the Luxor. Both levels were pretty empty. I looked down the steps to the casino level and a cop was directing people to the north side. He motioned for me to come down so went down the steps. This was the first time I saw people with blood on them. Looking back these were injuries from getting out of the concert, but I didn't know that at the time.

A Luxor employee told a group of us that we could go downstairs to a safe area in the basement, but I still just wanted to get out of the building so I found the hallway to Excalibur and went for it. On my way through I could see police lights filling the strip. On the way into Excalibur a teen girl on the verge of tears ask if she could get out of Luxor so she could get to her car. I told her they were directing everyone toward Excalibur, which pushed her into a full sob as she said, "I just want to go home". Knowing what I know now I can only imagine what she witnessed.

The Excalibur casino was still business as usual. I worked my way to the other side, but was blocked by security before I was able to make it out the north side so I was stuck. There is a Dick's Last Resort by the exit that had the news on the tv in front which is the first time I started to get an idea what was happening outside. It was probably around 11 by this point. The only time I felt any fear was when the SWAT team ran from the back of the casino to the front. When a mob sees 20 armored cops with assault rifles running toward them everyone starts yelling get down and tries to hide. My brain told me these are cops and I'm not in danger, but I was on the floor hiding behind a wall like everyone else.

There were more people with blood on them now, guys with no shirts, etc. One girl went to the bar to get a drink talking about how she just saw another girl get shot in the head right in front of her. People were taking about bodies everywhere, but the news was reporting 2 dead. This was before the videos started popping up on the news so I still figured someone pulled a gun at the concert and shot some people.

I had decided not to call or text my wife until the morning, because I knew she would just worry even though I was fine. Unfortunately for me her friend that lives in Henderson called her at 2:30 Eastern asking if she heard from me so I got a frantic call. We talked for over an hour, which I knew was a mistake for my battery, but it was nice to have someone to talk to.

At some point the first videos made it to the news and I got an idea how bad this actually was. Around 1am they closed Dick's and had everyone in the casino move up to a banquet room. When I got there the room was pretty full, but I was able to find a spot on the floor against the wall. There were 3 kids with blankets next to me. I talked to one of them, but honestly I don't remember about what. They were at the concert, but just wanted out like everyone there.

A couple came in and looked for a spot over by me. All the chairs were taken, but there was a chair dolly, which would work to sit on next to me so I pulled it against the wall in case the wife wanted to sit. She ended up having her husband sit and sat in front. I felt bad because she was wearing a pretty skimpy dress and the AC was cranking straight down on our heads.

They were pretty chatty as we all needed people to talk to. Their story sounded like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. People dropping all around and bullets clanging off of metal. The husband had a couple marks where he had been hit by shrapnel. After an hour my ass was falling asleep from sitting on the floor and I was shivering from the AC. The husband got up because it looked like they had another delivery of blankets. Unfortunately all they had were ratty beach towels, but luckily one of the kids next to me realized that all 3 of them didn't need full size blankets so they offered one to the wife. She offered to share it with me and the 3 of us laid down using the towels as pillows. I had enough of the blanket to cover my upper body which helped a little.

I think I got a little sleep, but the White Castle I had for a late lunch was kicking in which made it hard to relax if you know what I'm saying. They never turned the lights down either, which didn't help.

There was a grandma, daughter, and granddaughter sitting next to us. The Grandma was a tough old bird because she had a big bloody spot on her shoulder where she was either grazed or hit by shrapnel. She refused to lay down and stayed in a chair.

Around 3:30 they opened up the Luxor so about half the people left including my blanket mates so I was finally able to bundle up and release the White Castle. Around 4 they released everyone that wasn't at Mandalay Bay so there were probably 20 people left. I laid around until 5 but I had to pee and still wanted out especially knowing the situation had been taken care of. I asked security if I could leave and they said yes so I headed out to the north. I crossed the bridge toward Tropicana then up to MGM. I knew there was a 24 hour Starbucks by Bally's (I know there are multiple Starbucks in every casino, but my brain wasn't right) so I headed north, stopping at a Walgreens to pick up a power brick since my battery was at 4%. I got coffee around 6 and sat in the Starbucks to send some texts and check the news for an hour. It was nice to see the sun come up. Around 7 I realized I hadn't eaten since 4 the day before so I went to the Paris buffet since it is our favorite.

After breakfast I called Mandalay Bay a couple times with no answer, but I figured "fuck it" and started the 30 minute walk back. As I approached Mandalay Bay I passed some of the news crews reporting. I looked for the broken window, but couldn't really see anything from that distance. I made it back to Excalibur, then Luxor, and into Mandalay Bay without being stopped. I headed to the elevator then my room on 31. By 10am I was showered and in bed.

Some other people in my group were locked in their room all night after a visit from the SWAT team. Others went to the desk in the Luxor and got a room for the night. Some ended up in the Michael Jackson theater back by the Delano and were bussed to the arena. It was crazy how everyone had different stories about how they spent the night.

There are a handful of events in my life that I remember exactly where I was when they happened: Challenger exploding, first gulf invasion, 9/11, OSU beating Miami, Jerry Sandusky being found guilty (don't ask), and now this.

I remember driving by the concert on my way to Mandalay Bay last Sunday thinking that it looked like fun. I knew part of the I Heart Radio festival had been there the week before since the morning show I listen to had their travel bus parked at the venue. It was in stark contrast to the feeling of driving past the caution tape surrounded concert on the way out Friday. Vegas is supposed to be fun and happy not what I went through last week. The horrible thing is it was just an inconvenience for me. I had most of my conference and I'm back to the real world this week. 58 people are gone, thousands of people were witness to something nobody should ever see, and all of their family and friends have to deal with the emotional tole inflicted on them by a madman.

Not sure if this post is of any value to anyone, but it feels good to get it out and take my mind off the Indians getting shelled.
 
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