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Feb 28

Maglev, diesel-electric trains vie for support in US desert

nevada, maglev, diesel, DesertXpress, MassTransit, mass transit, disneyland, usa, LasVegas, las vegas, california, disney, us, train No Comments »

Filed under: Transportation

Although the mention of a magnetically levitating train outside of US borders won’t grab too much attention, saying that phrase here most definitely perks up ears. Sure enough, a maglev project that would shuttle folks from Disneyland to Las Vegas at up to 300 miles-per-hour is now jousting with a cheaper diesel-electric alternative (dubbed DesertXpress) for support. Reportedly, the latter would cost “just” $3- to $5 billion to construct — compared to $12 billion for the former — but rather than escorting folks from Anaheim or even Los Angeles, its origin would be planted in Victorville, California. Still, the trip from there to Vegas would only take three to four hours including the 1.5 hour drive to Victorville, but that still doesn’t sound nearly as nice as “well under two hours” for the maglev. As it stands, there’s quite a bit of red tape to wade through before either option goes forward, but kicking back on a whizzing train sounds an awful lot better than staring at pavement and blasting the air conditioner for five or so hours.

[Via Gadling]

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Source: Darren Murph

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Jul 29

Bally bringing Pong to casino floors

LasVegas, las vegas, pong, slot machine, throwback, SlotMachine, gambling, casino, vintage, retro, atari, Bally, BallyPong, bally pong, arcade No Comments »

Filed under: Gaming

We know, you’ve got a zillion ways to get your Pong on whilst lounging around in your geeked-out crib, but how in the world will you deal with the withdrawals on this year’s trip to Vegas? Thanks to Bally, you may not have to suffer at all, as Nevada gambling regulators recently approved the concept behind Bally Pong, a “slot machine that would for the first time allow hand-eye coordination to affect payout.” Put simply, the machine would enter a 45-second round of Pong if three bonus icons line up on the five-reel video slot machine, and regardless of one’s skill, a minimum award would be doled out simply for reaching the bonus. Oh, it gets better — Bally also said that this was just “the first in a series of skill games (including Breakout!) it had planned,” so those looking to see a hint of vintage when they hit the casino floor should be very pleased if everything goes as planned over the next few months.