Kimo’s Vegas

Ryan Seacrest. Photo from Kimo Akane

Ryan Seacrest. Photo from Kimo Akane

WELCOME TO Kimo’s Vegas… the Players Edge!

IF YOU EVER asked yourself how they find people for those national game shows, check out the third annual Trivia Championships of North America (or TCONA3) starting Aug. 9 at the Tropicana. On hand will be scouts from Ryan Seacrest’s Million Second Quiz and GSN’s The Chase who will be eyeballing potential contestants. Being akamai is not enough at this level – you gotta be multidimensional to compete in games such as Pub Crawl Mashup, where you drink while you think and Kno’dgeball played on an oblate nonagon court where players combine knowledge and dodgeball … hmmm, wonder how they feel about the Hau’ula Homestead rules on head-hunting?

THE MOB MUSEUM and The Neon Museum are partnering and making you an offer you can’t refuse. For one price ($30) you can see both museums and not only save kala on the full ticket price but also all the money you save staying away from the casino. No need to thank me … fuhgetaboutit.

FLYERSRIGHTS.ORG IS FUNDED by donations and is dedicated to airline passengers’ rights. They say Spirit Airlines now has a crazy kukapila 74 extra fees they can potentially add to your air fare.

IN ITS FOURTH annual Airport Affordability Index, Cheapflights.com says the winner of the lowest average fare departing from an airport is Long Beach Airport at $216. Myrtle Beach Jetport came in second at $249 and Fresno Air Terminal was third at $270. On the opposite end of the runway are the most expensive airports to depart from and the winners are No. 99 Miami International $618, Washington Dulles International $652 and mirror mirror on the wall who is the most expensive of them all? At No. 101, Honolulu International Airport with an average fare of $689. Wow for 10 bucks more you can get a complete Vacations Hawaii package that includes air, food, luggage and hotel transport.

AT THIS YEAR’S Black Hat USA, the Las Vegas convention for the security trade, Karsten Nohl revealed how easily cell phones can be compromised – some memory cards can be hacked with only two SMS messages. Once they break the SIM card’s digital key they can read your SMSs, steal data and even rip-off your mobile identity.

EVERYONE KNOWS THAT the casinos make a lot of money on slot machines, but the one-armed bandits also are quite profitable for the folks who make them. Bally Technologies made enough to buy SHFL Entertainment for $1.3 billion. You’ve probably seen the latter’s automatic shufflers on blackjack tables and their games, Fire Bet craps, Fortune Pai Gow Poker and Blackjack Switch to name a few.

SEVEN OUT…Peepshow, the topless review at the Planet Hollywood, will permanently cover its peep hole on 9/2.

You don’t have to ask for peanut butter on your burger at Michael Mina’s Pub 1842. You also won’t have to ask for cheddar cheese, bacon jam and potato chips; they’re all standard ingredients on the celebrity chef’s Peanut Butter Crunch Burger.

Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and get the latest Vegas news online at www.KimosVegas.com and every week here in MidWeek. Send me your Vegas questions, manao, photos and reunions to Kimo@KimosVegas.com.