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Returning to the site of the “Sin City, the ever so glamorous Las Vegas, it really felt as if the set date of July 18-23, 2010 of the DeafNation World Expo was coming an inch closer, it was the genuine feeling of the thrill Las Vegas never fails to deliver, amidst the casino atmosphere and bright neon lights flashing 24/7.

Soon it will be DeafNation’s turn to be hosting what is hailed to become the world’s largest expo event that is by and for Deaf people internationally under one roof. Vibes are building, and sights are breathtaking, also, in no other place like here. I am very excited about the 2010 DeafNation World Expo & Conference. We will bring more exciting activities for all of you including the DeafNation Golf Classic event that takes place after DNWE. There, we will also host the DeafNation World Poker with the National World Poker, with capacity up to 600 players.

Jed Barish, the videographer, joined me while I was doing the news report on enticing Vegas and the popular attractions in preparation for the upcoming grand event, we both were foreseeing the big one in vivid detail that made it all the more clear what an impact will be made on the Deaf communities of the world making their stamp at Las Vegas. What once could only be found in separate events now can be congregated in one place- The DeafNation World Expo (DNWE)!

We took an helicopter ride up in the front seats on board one of the finest helicopters, a two-million dollar aircraft “The Maverick,” in VIP style and seeing Las Vegas airport 2,000 feet up in the air helped us to digest the magnitude of what we are about to undertake, the 2010 DNWE.

In passing Hoover Dam, we could see a new bridge being built, and passed through Lake Mead, saw the flat plateau of Grand Canyon, the Colorado River over the rims by the steep Grand Canyon walls. We landed in one of the small helipads, and saw several other helicopters landing, too.

We had an awfully scenic picnic lunch overlooking the entire Grand Canyon, which was breathtaking, seeing the enormity of such a huge, gigantic valley. After staring into such vast space, it was time to go take off for refueling and return to Las Vegas in 35 minutes flat, sweeping by old Las Vegas and the beautiful glittery strip before we finally returned to Las Vegas airport.

It is worth going on a helicopter tour, and becomes a must-do on your list when you visit Las Vegas! (www.maverickhelicopter.com)

We paid a visit to the place where we all will gather to mingle, change clothes and relieve ourselves, and to go eating and shopping, at the Venetian Las Vegas (www.venetian.com), one of our three official hotels during the 2010 DeafNation World Expo. It has massive suites boasting of at least two flat screen HDTVs plus a LCD TV in the bathroom. The tour doesn’t stop there, you can take a Gondola ride both indoors and outdoors, which conveniently gives you options to choose from.

To sum it up, the value of the Venetian is by far much better than the 5-star resorts in other cities.

I was lured by the 23 Fahrenheit degree experience from the bar and lounge made of ice called Minus5 (www.minus5experience.com), and we trekked inside smiling along with the high-spirited visitors in the environment duplicating Arctic conditions, wearing the thick fur jackets they provide you to wear in the ice lounge.

We admired the ice sculptures with drinks in our hands, analyzing them until our eyelashes became nearly iced. It is a little trippy because it is a literally ice-frozen bar which is pure New Zealand water made up of ice glasses frozen in New Zealand and shipped to Vegas. Wow! That was something to see..

And, in where else? In 115-degree Las Vegas summer weather. It is a reality based experience going from 115 degrees inside into a 23 degree weather, I wouldn’t know how to prepare for it unless they give me something to put on and wear, and a pat in the back to shake off the ice on our jackets.

I was stunned to see that there are some sand dunes so close to town. Heading to nearby Nellis Air Base, Jed and a local Deaf Las Vegan named James decided to join me in the exciting tour, and we could see many fighter planes passing over us with a loud boom as if they were continually breaking the sound barrier. We went to Sun Buggy Rentals where they offer some fun packages (www.sunbuggy.net). We each had our own buggy to drive following the guide, and we navigated through all those rocks, sand, and dirt on the dunes. Jed tried to video behind me but he got stuck when he drove down the sand dune. Good thing he didn’t turn over all down the dune!

That was one hour and half of sheer fun maneuvering those buggies, and when we drove to the top of the sand dune, we only could see sand all the way in front of us, then at the top, we had a bird’s view of Las Vegas, which gave us the feeling as if we were in two different worlds even tough it is only a 15 minute drive from the Las Vegas strip.

Seeing some military helicopters hover over us, it felt like the Desert Storm invasion or some kind of war game. What a procession of helicopters! The military atmosphere created sure made us feel that way, that is the awe of the deserts of Nevada.

As the sun went down, it was time to go to Old Las Vegas for the famed Fremont Street Experience (www.vegasexperience.com), where the Kick–Off event of the 2010 DeafNation World Expo takes place July 18, 2010. It has 12 million LED lights creating an amazing video show. You will need to flex your neck muscles ready for our big night, we will have a full stage show.

As you all come to the DeafNation World Expo event in 2010, you won’t have to worry about spritzing peppermint foot spray on your clay-baked feet, because you will be able to hop on the Las Vegas Monorail (www.lvmonorail.com) to ride from casino to casino in avoiding traffic (both pedestrian and vehicle), which is reminiscent of the Walt Disney Monorail system at Disney World in Florida. Up to three day passes are available to the general public and we hope to get one week passes for those who will attend the DeafNation World Expo!

As usual, we checked out golf courses, and experienced Siena Golf Club to our delight. There are so many golf courses around Las Vegas.  Keep checking on 2010 DeafNation World Expo & Conference.  We will use Sands Expo Convention Center for our Expo event as they can hold up to 50,000 people for us.  Be ready for the ultimate Deaf event of your lifetime, the return-of-investment (ROI) potential is enormous for all involved!

More sun-baked fun is to come..in the heart of Las Vegas and its’ many sand dunes.

Are you ready?