Topic: Last Episode?

[VegasSinner]

They will be in Las Vegas today, 8/7.

[Moo]

Any proofs?

[Jobby]

Any proofs?

VegasSinner
RFF Newbie

 

[georgiapeach]

They will be in Las Vegas today, 8/7.

to RFF VegasSinner!!!  Thanks for sharing!


The TAR Detective team concurs. 

[Kiwi Jay]

Any proofs?

VegasSinner
RFF Newbie

 

I think Joab, you may have been wrong!

[topaz]

if this is true then I hope the finish line will be in Hoover Dam just a few miles southeast of Las Vegas, and there's a bridge that is now under construction just in front of that famous dam in which I'd found this news article from BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8186262.stm

and btw, if Tiffany and Michelle are on the final 3 [hopefully], then it is a big advantage for them due to in fact that Las Vegas is their home city, so there's a possible that they could win big there and being the 1st all female team to win $1 million for the 1st time in TAR history!!!  So, let's cross our fingers and pray to the Lord that they'll on the final 3 and win the big prize!

[Jobby]

Any proofs?

VegasSinner
RFF Newbie

 

I think Joab, you may have been wrong!

My posts says nothing? You're jumping to conclusion?

[Benedicto]

FINAL TASK: Play poker in Las vegas, once they accumulated $100, 000 they must now run to the finish line!

Maria/Tiffany wins!     

[No evidence, Just speculation.]

[Mister RC]

if this is true then I hope the finish line will be in Hoover Dam just a few miles southeast of Las Vegas, and there's a bridge that is now under construction just in front of that famous dam in which I'd found this news article from BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8186262.stm

and btw, if Tiffany and Michelle are on the final 3 [hopefully], then it is a big advantage for them due to in fact that Las Vegas is their home city, so there's a possible that they could win big there and being the 1st all female team to win $1 million for the 1st time in TAR history!!!  So, let's cross our fingers and pray to the Lord that they'll on the final 3 and win the big prize!

Yeah, it would totally work out in their favor (and we'd finally get a F/F winner; amazing stuff given the field this season).  Except, not really, if you've followed the series from 2001 to present.

[georgiapeach]

Don't y'all read the spoilers??

[VegasSinner]

They will be in Las Vegas today, 8/7.

to RFF VegasSinner!!!  Thanks for sharing!


The TAR Detective team concurs. 

Thanks for the welcome.  I am new here, and I have no proof, but you will see.  Thank you, thank you very much.

[north09]

Well if you see anything, we'd love to hear about it!

[Dånooky]

Don't y'all read the spoilers??

Stage 1: Denial

[graytex]

They will be in Las Vegas today, 8/7.

to RFF VegasSinner!!!  Thanks for sharing!


The TAR Detective team concurs.  

Thanks for the welcome.  I am new here, and I have no proof, but you will see.  Thank you, thank you very much.

I'm sensing an Elvis related task.

[ImANewUser]

Don't y'all read the spoilers??

Stage 1: Denial

I am in Stage 1 right now. Rewatching the TAR 14 reruns on AXN. (the Phuket,  Bangkok & Guilin episodes...I'm still hurting from last season's boot order )

[hakushu8]

No one wins in their hometown. NO ONE, I TELL YOU!
I actually hope the leg will run through the famous main road... whatever it's called.

[Dånooky]

No one wins in their hometown. NO ONE, I TELL YOU!
I actually hope the leg will run through the famous main road... whatever it's called.

The Strip. Very odd. I once rode the Strip Trolley, but it didn't live to my expectations

[VegasSinner]

The Strip. Very odd. I once rode the Strip Trolley, but it didn't live to my expectations
[/quote]

It's not odd if you live here...it's actually full of fun, entertainment and excitement! 
That's probably why they chose Vegas for their final destination.
The last three teams flew in this afternoon at 1:45pm, their clue was to head to a wedding chapel on the Strip, walk in on a wedding taking place, and get the clue from the "King".  Once they arrived in the chapel, there was a couple set up to pretend to get married by Elvis, Elvis then gave them the final clue which was to make their way over to the MGM hotel at the other end of the Strip to win.  I have no proof.  You'll just have to take my word for it, a total stranger, that lives and works in sin city.   

Thank you, thank you very much.

[VegasSinner]

FINAL TASK: Play poker in Las vegas, once they accumulated $100, 000 they must now run to the finish line!

Maria/Tiffany wins!     

[No evidence, Just speculation.]

No all female teams were among the three teams that arrived.

[Moo]

It's not odd if you live here...it's actually full of fun, entertainment and excitement!  
That's probably why they chose Vegas for their final destination.
The last three teams flew in this afternoon at 1:45pm, their clue was to head to a wedding chapel on the Strip, walk in on a wedding taking place, and get the clue from the "King".  Once they arrived in the chapel, there was a couple set up to pretend to get married by Elvis, Elvis then gave them the final clue which was to make their way over to the MGM hotel at the other end of the Strip to win.  I have no proof.  You'll just have to take my word for it, a total stranger, that lives and works in sin city.  

Thank you, thank you very much.

Question, how come the leg looks so easy and located in just one place (The strip to be exact). (I mean, where;s the detour and the final roadblock?)? Usually, Final Legs are the most tense of all legs right?

[puddin]

So if I come to Vegas and get married VegasSinner will you come? My bf and I have been talking about getting married by Elvis for years :elvis: just haven't found the time.

Thanks for all the info and yes I believe!

[Moo]

So if I come to Vegas and get married VegasSinner will you come? My bf and I have been talking about getting married by Elvis for years :elvis: just haven't found the time.

Thanks for all the info and yes I believe!

It's my dream to get married in Vegas (or even visit it!) too!  :monkey

[Plaidmoon]

It's not odd if you live here...it's actually full of fun, entertainment and excitement!  
That's probably why they chose Vegas for their final destination.
The last three teams flew in this afternoon at 1:45pm, their clue was to head to a wedding chapel on the Strip, walk in on a wedding taking place, and get the clue from the "King".  Once they arrived in the chapel, there was a couple set up to pretend to get married by Elvis, Elvis then gave them the final clue which was to make their way over to the MGM hotel at the other end of the Strip to win.  I have no proof.  You'll just have to take my word for it, a total stranger, that lives and works in sin city.  

Thank you, thank you very much.

Question, how come the leg looks so easy and located in just one place (The strip to be exact). (I mean, where;s the detour and the final roadblock?)? Usually, Final Legs are the most tense of all legs right?

If VegasSinner has it right (and it sounds possible), there was probably more to the stop at the wedding chapel than he described and they probably had another task before that. As I recall, it's not very far from McCarran Airport to the MGM so as described, it won't take long, although traffic will provide tension. I hope they do something outside of the city, maybe a bungee jump at Hoover Dam, or water ski on Lake Mead or even search for dead mobsters in the desert.   

For what it's worth, I took a look at the archived images of the MGM Grand webcam (it's Cam 2) http://www.earthcam.com/usa/nevada/lasvegas/# and I didn't see any sign of the racers, but that doesn't mean much. There's also a wedding chapel cam (cam 1) and it did show a couple of weddings, one with Elvis, but no racers there either. It did appear that the camera was off for a portion of the day and only showed black images.

[georgiapeach]

The last three teams flew in this afternoon at 1:45pm, their clue was to head to a wedding chapel on the Strip, walk in on a wedding taking place, and get the clue from the "King".  Once they arrived in the chapel, there was a couple set up to pretend to get married by Elvis, Elvis then gave them the final clue which was to make their way over to the MGM hotel at the other end of the Strip to win.  I have no proof.  You'll just have to take my word for it, a total stranger, that lives and works in sin city.   

Thank you, thank you very much.

Albuquerque? Is the only scheduled flight at 1:45 PM.

No international flights at all from 1-2PM.




The only International flight that I can find which is even close is this one:

LGW London VS 43  Virgin Atlantic Airways 2:10 PM (scheduled)   1:52 PM (actual arr time)  T-2  Landed
  On-time  744 

[apskip]

I can confirm that VS43 was the only flight from Europe arriving between noon and 3pm at 152pm. There were also 2 flights from Vancouver:
WS988 at 115pm
AC544 at 233pm

That's it for non-US originations.

VegasSinner, how can it be that teams were spotted on the Strip at approximately noon PDT yet were still on an airplane at the same time? I'd like your reconciliation of those two divergent data points.

[Mister RC]

Don't y'all read the spoilers??

Stage 1: Denial

That's right!  I'll believe it...when I see it! 


All joking aside, basically what I was referring to was the fact that based on the earlier seasons, people who've raced in their home city didn't win (Frank/Margarita, Tara/Wil, Brandon/Nicole, Colin/Christie).  IIRC, however, Chip/Kim, although residing the LA area at that point, were actually from the end city (even more so than the people they beat).

Anyway, as much as people would've been upset over Tiff/Maria not being able to take advantage of racing in a city where they're familiar with, they shouldn't be.  It wouldn't have been a guarantee.  Plus, they're more from Los Angeles than Vegas anyway.

[jerseydude]

The last three teams flew in this afternoon at 1:45pm, their clue was to head to a wedding chapel on the Strip, walk in on a wedding taking place, and get the clue from the "King".  Once they arrived in the chapel, there was a couple set up to pretend to get married by Elvis, Elvis then gave them the final clue which was to make their way over to the MGM hotel at the other end of the Strip to win.  I have no proof.  You'll just have to take my word for it, a total stranger, that lives and works in sin city.   

Thank you, thank you very much.

Albuquerque? Is the only scheduled flight at 1:45 PM.

No international flights at all from 1-2PM.




The only International flight that I can find which is even close is this one:

LGW London VS 43  Virgin Atlantic Airways 2:10 PM (scheduled)   1:52 PM (actual arr time)  T-2  Landed
  On-time  744 

Could he/she mean AROUND 1:45? Then that would mean that the flight From LAX might be the flight that they came on since it can in at 1:42? and the Albuquerque was at 1:35.

[Boingo]

It's not odd if you live here...it's actually full of fun, entertainment and excitement! 
That's probably why they chose Vegas for their final destination.
The last three teams flew in this afternoon at 1:45pm, their clue was to head to a wedding chapel on the Strip, walk in on a wedding taking place, and get the clue from the "King".  Once they arrived in the chapel, there was a couple set up to pretend to get married by Elvis, Elvis then gave them the final clue which was to make their way over to the MGM hotel at the other end of the Strip to win.  I have no proof.  You'll just have to take my word for it, a total stranger, that lives and works in sin city.   

Thank you, thank you very much.

Thanks to VegasSinner, this make my previous finding of a carema crew sighting at the Chapel of the Bells seem all that much more reasonable. 

[graytex]

I think it must be around 1:45pm...and was that the time they were expected to land or actually land or make it through customs, etc.  I'd definitely be stunned if they flew in on SWA.

[georgiapeach]

Here is the quote re the possible sighting:

Thanks for the welcome Peach! And I looked at my sister's facebook just now, it says she made the post about seeing the team at 2:34pm. I am in the eastern time zone. I dont know if how facebook timestamps posts from different time zones, would that mean she saw them at 11:34am Vegas time? hmmmm.... but that does fit with the two flights from ATL, especially the one that got in at 10:55am..

[VegasSinner]

Question, how come the leg looks so easy and located in just one place (The strip to be exact). (I mean, where;s the detour and the final roadblock?)? Usually, Final Legs are the most tense of all legs right?
[/quote]

I cannot answer that.  All I know is that they flew into Vegas and landed sometime between 1pm and 1:45pm... I don't know where they flew in from, (I had heard someone say Atlanta, but cannot confirm that one) they were instructed to go directly from McCarren airport to the chapel which is located in the downtown area.  It's only about a 30 minute drive, however if there is traffic or they get a unknowing cabbie, it could take 45 minutes.  ALL three teams arrived at the chapel at the SAME time and it was around 2:30 or so.  They all left the chapel within seconds of each other.  The clue that Elvis handed them said to go to the MGM, and that Wayne Newton would be involved.  I have no idea what they were to do at the hotel, or if there was a detour or roadblock after that. 

[north09]

You say you saw the three teams then? What did the other two look likes besides the father/son?

I'm downloading a map of the MGM right now. It could be useful in determining where at the hotel the race ended.

[VegasSinner]

For what it's worth, I took a look at the archived images of the MGM Grand webcam (it's Cam 2) http://www.earthcam.com/usa/nevada/lasvegas/# and I didn't see any sign of the racers, but that doesn't mean much. There's also a wedding chapel cam (cam 1) and it did show a couple of weddings, one with Elvis, but no racers there either. It did appear that the camera was off for a portion of the day and only showed black images.
[/quote]

There are over 80 wedding chapels on the Las Vegas Strip...that is not the one the teams came into.  And the cam of the MGM shows the walkway that connects the MGM, the Tropicana hotel and the NY NY hotels....it's outside the hotel, and is not the entrance where they would walk in.  Whatever they did at the MGM, I was hoping they'd make their way to the famous Las Vegas Sign on the outskirts of the city...that would make a great finale.

[VegasSinner]

If VegasSinner has it right (and it sounds possible), there was probably more to the stop at the wedding chapel than he described and they probably had another task before that. As I recall, it's not very far from McCarran Airport to the MGM so as described, it won't take long, although traffic will provide tension. I hope they do something outside of the city, maybe a bungee jump at Hoover Dam, or water ski on Lake Mead or even search for dead mobsters in the desert.   

They didn't go directly to the MGM from the airport....they went to the chapel from the airport.  The chapel is in the downtown area, a lot farther away.  Also take into consideration, the Strip is 5 miles long....then add 3 1/2 more to get to the downtown (Old Vegas) area.  I doubt if they'd let them bungee jump at the Dam with all the issues they've had, water skiing on the lake sounds more realistic, but not a big deal worthy of a reality show.  I can't wait to watch though.

[VegasSinner]

Thanks to VegasSinner, this make my previous finding of a carema crew sighting at the Chapel of the Bells seem all that much more reasonable. 


[/quote]


This is not the chapel they were in.  Sorry.

[VegasSinner]

You say you saw the three teams then? What did the other two look likes besides the father/son?

I'm downloading a map of the MGM right now. It could be useful in determining where at the hotel the race ended.

Supposed to be the "Sky Towers" at the MGM.  And Wayne Newton is appearing there this week...was told that he had something to do with the final race.

[georgiapeach]

Thank you VegasSinner!! That helps enormously! 

How sure are we that the MGM was the last task? Could that have been perhaps the last task IN Vegas?

I am still thinking something outside the city would make a great finale, maybe somewhere like Red Rocks Canyon?

Helicopter out somewhere...parachute in...run to your final task. Would work for me!  (THis is total peach fantasy here, btw... )

[VegasSinner]

Thank you VegasSinner!! That helps enormously! 

How sure are we that the MGM was the last task? Could that have been perhaps the last task IN Vegas?

I am still thinking something outside the city would make a great finale, maybe somewhere like Red Rocks Canyon?

Helicopter out somewhere...parachute in...run to your final task. Would work for me!  (THis is total peach fantasy here, btw... )

Could be the last task, don't know. The clue said take cabs and go to the MGM.  The hotel is one of the largest in the world, over 5000 rooms....very large, and very confusing getting around, also, there is several towers, and several enterances to the MGM so they'd have to figure out which one.

[Chateau d If]

Going with Vegassinner's arrival time window of between 1pm and 1:45pm I have a reasonable scenario from Prague



It starts with:  lets say teams are relesed from the final Pit Stop at the rather unexpected time of about 4:00 pm on Thursday August 6th.

Then they go to PRG seeking flights to Las Vegas.

Here is what they would find:

Best Flight

British Airways BA 857 leaving PRG at 6:40 pm and arriving LHR at 7:50 pm
or Czech Airlines OK 652 leaving PRG at 6:45 pm and arriving LHR at 8:05 pm
then
UA 929 leaving LHR at 7:45 am and arriving at Chicago ORD at 10:28 am
or AA 99  leaving LHR at 7:55 am and arriving at Chicago ORD at 10:20 am (I guess a 777 is faster than a 763)
then
UA 551 leaving ORD at 11:53 am and arriving LAS at 1:39 pm

Bottom line is that the best flight from PRG to LAS puts them there at 1:39 pm on Friday August 7th.

[VegasSinner]

Going with Vegassinner's arrival time window of between 1pm and 1:45pm I have a reasonable scenario from Prague



It starts with:  lets say teams are relesed from the final Pit Stop at the rather unexpected time of about 4:00 pm on Thursday August 6th.

Then they go to PRG seeking flights to Las Vegas.

Here is what they would find:

Best Flight

British Airways BA 857 leaving PRG at 6:40 pm and arriving LHR at 7:50 pm
or Czech Airlines OK 652 leaving PRG at 6:45 pm and arriving LHR at 8:05 pm
then
UA 929 leaving LHR at 7:45 am and arriving at Chicago ORD at 10:28 am
or AA 99  leaving LHR at 7:55 am and arriving at Chicago ORD at 10:20 am (I guess a 777 is faster than a 763)
then
UA 551 leaving ORD at 11:53 am and arriving LAS at 1:39 pm

Bottom line is that the best flight from PRG to LAS puts them there at 1:39 pm on Friday August 7th.

Makes sense, but I did hear someone say they were coming in from Atlanta of all places....I cannot confirm that though, and could be wrong. 

[Chateau d If]

Well, we know that an advanced wave of production did come through ATL.    

[Mister RC]

I am still thinking something outside the city would make a great finale, maybe somewhere like Red Rocks Canyon?

That's what I'm thinking as well.  Having the finish mat at the hotel would be nice, at the top/indoors.  I think it would be the first time the race ended indoors.  I guess that would be a nice way to keep it quiet.  OTOH, it's too risky and isn't common.  But somewhere outside the city would make more sense, I have to agree.  Red Rocks would be typical/ideal, as mentioned.

[north09]

I would love to see the finish line to be inside a tower overlooking the strip. However, I looked the Sky Tower up online. It's just a bunch of expensive lofts. My thought is that if this was indeed the race that VegasSinner saw, and not a decoy run, then this might be a task which requires the teams to search the rooms for their next clue, which instructs them to make their final run to the finish line somewhere off the strip.

[RealityFanWA]

You guys are so good at this!

[Plaidmoon]

For what it's worth, I took a look at the archived images of the MGM Grand webcam (it's Cam 2) http://www.earthcam.com/usa/nevada/lasvegas/# and I didn't see any sign of the racers, but that doesn't mean much. There's also a wedding chapel cam (cam 1) and it did show a couple of weddings, one with Elvis, but no racers there either. It did appear that the camera was off for a portion of the day and only showed black images.


There are over 80 wedding chapels on the Las Vegas Strip...that is not the one the teams came into.  And the cam of the MGM shows the walkway that connects the MGM, the Tropicana hotel and the NY NY hotels....it's outside the hotel, and is not the entrance where they would walk in.  Whatever they did at the MGM, I was hoping they'd make their way to the famous Las Vegas Sign on the outskirts of the city...that would make a great finale.

I could have been more descriptive. I don't know the layout or surroundings of the MGM Grand hotel at all, but it was clear that it wasn't a very good angle to see much except that walkway. I thought it was some kind of cafe or restaurant with a view out on to the sidewalk. It was a real long shot, but I had already searched for webcams in Las Vegas and remembered that the MGM had one when you mentioned it.

I also knew that the wedding chapel cam was an even longer shot. I didn't know there were 80 wedding chapels but I would have guessed dozens. I only checked it out since I was already at the web page. I also figured that the chances of them leaving the cam on while the Amazing Race was there was poor. I didn't expect to find anything, but it didn't get my attention slightly when it was showing black frames. However, I figured that The Amazing Race would have booked the whole day or even a couple of days) and had a lot more equipment in place.  Thus, the other weddings were a sign that they hadn't been there.

I agree, the Las Vegas sign would have been a great finish location and totally in keeping with the use of iconic locations and themes for the cities they visit. You mentioned Wayne Newton and he sounds exactly like the type of iconic Las Vegas entertainer they'd like to have involved in someway.

I wasn't meaning to suggest that your information was wrong or incorrect. I think your information, which appears to be second hand (or maybe you were there and want it to look that way), sounds accurate or 98% accurate with a few minor details that might be slightly off (the exact time, whether there was another detour or roadblock before or after the places you know about, etc.)

Plaidmoon

[Plaidmoon]

If VegasSinner has it right (and it sounds possible), there was probably more to the stop at the wedding chapel than he described and they probably had another task before that. As I recall, it's not very far from McCarran Airport to the MGM so as described, it won't take long, although traffic will provide tension. I hope they do something outside of the city, maybe a bungee jump at Hoover Dam, or water ski on Lake Mead or even search for dead mobsters in the desert.   

They didn't go directly to the MGM from the airport....they went to the chapel from the airport.  The chapel is in the downtown area, a lot farther away.  Also take into consideration, the Strip is 5 miles long....then add 3 1/2 more to get to the downtown (Old Vegas) area.  I doubt if they'd let them bungee jump at the Dam with all the issues they've had, water skiing on the lake sounds more realistic, but not a big deal worthy of a reality show.  I can't wait to watch though.

I was being kind of silly with those suggestions. They did a bungee jump from a dam last season, so they wouldn't do that again. Possibly they could go down inside the dam among the power turbines and do something. Even taking the stairs instead of the elevator might make it a physical challenge. I really can't see them water skiing or looking for dead mobsters. Las Vegas would rather not have mobsters brought up on the show in any form, dead or alive.

As for the distances involved, I forgot that Las Vegas is laid out on a big scale and distances are greater than they seem. I've tried walking between casinos and learned why cabs are a useful service.  Still, when they finished in Portland, they went to a location 20 or 30 miles south (the rope bridge) and another 30 or so miles east of downtown Portland (the zip line on the Bridge of the Gods). The distances involved in las Vegas don't seem long enough for a finale, but I suspect there was another task that may have made up for that. Others have mentioned a few ideas. I like the idea of Death Valley, but that's probably too far away and would take most of the day to get there and back to Las Vegas.

Plaidmoon

[puddin]

a tweet sighting

I made a research tonight to make sure i was right and yes I am!iT was their last day of filming-aug 7th.
about 10 hours ago from web 

  the 3rd guy was carrying their other stuff. didn't realize until they were gone. it was The Amazing Race 15 as I told my hubby & he agreed.
about 10 hours ago from web   

  2 men running on both green shirt,1 guy has a pink hair.2 men follwed them w/ big camera & a sound microphone. didn't see the 3rd guy..
about 10 hours ago from web   

  we're on our car nfront of Paris las Vegas H&C lobby stucked by the traffic,2 men running behind our car follwed by 2 men...
about 11 hours ago from web   

  i saw the amazing race 15 in vegas ,aug 7th
about 11 hours ago from web

http://twitter.com/iamagnest

[VegasSinner]

You say you saw the three teams then? What did the other two look likes besides the father/son?

It was very hard to tell, they arrived all at the same time, so very unclear who is teamed up with who.  There were four Males, and two females, one was black.
I think was a Male/Male team, then a Male/Female team, and a Male/Black Female Team, but not totally sure.

[puddin]

It was very hard to tell, they arrived all at the same time, so very unclear who is teamed up with who.  There were four Males, and two females, one was black.
I think was a Male/Male team, then a Male/Female team, and a Male/Black Female Team, but not totally sure.

You would def recognize the Harlem Globe Trotters right? Or team pink hair?
And yay to two couples in the final 3! Cheyne/Meg and Erika/Brian 

eta: our final 5 per witness's

Cheyne/Meg





Ericka and Brian


 pink hair

males in orange

Globe Trotters

[Mister RC]

So maybe Harlem was running a decoy after all.  Or not, but per someone's speculation on how calm they were at one point, maybe they were out, but either way...

And while it isn't surprising to see one of two teams out pre-F3 between Harlem and Orange (what some will call the strongest two teams pre-race), to have them both out would have people jumping for joy.

Pretty shocking though and I'm interested in knowing what happened.  Probably the U-Turn doing its job while once again surfacing in the penultimate leg, soon after a round of bunching and the aftermath.  It'll be a surprise to some when it plays out, considering the fact that, IMO, Harlem and the Orange were too much for Tiff/Maria (and everyone else before them) to handle.  And hopefully they didn't win leg after leg before their fall.

But really, Brian/Erika and Cheyne/Meg could be the AR 15 dominating teams on the show, not just in the end, but throughout.  This is really good; thanks Vegas Sinner!!  IMON, having Brian/Erika and Cheyne/Meg in the F3, with the Father/Son duo as the third team kills any discussion on how it's unfair to have Alpha Males in the race as if it's a given that they're going to win.

[puddin]

 

The “Race” is on: CBS’ Emmy-winning “The Amazing Race” doesn’t start its 15th run until Sept. 26, but the round-the-world reality series hit Southern Nevada last week for the season finale.
  The WRP Group (short for Worldrace Productions, we presume) pulled a Clark County film permit to shoot Aug. 6-8 at McCarran Airport and at various Strip locations, including a pedestrian bridge and the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign.
  According to the Internet’s Reality Fan Forum, the final leg of the show’s international odyssey stretches from Prague to Las Vegas. (Interim stops include Tokyo, Dubai and Stockholm, online posters report.)
  The show’s message board included an e-mail last week from the “TAR detective team,” who had “excellent reason" to believe the finale leg was “in or near Las Vegas,” with possible “tasks in the desert” as part of the climactic episode.

source

[Slowhatch]

  Nice. It would be interesting to know the "various Strip locations." I have no experience with that office, so I don't know how friendly they are to public record requests (they obviously supplied something to the reporter). "tasks in the desert"--back to Pahrump, perhaps?

[puddin]

Nice. It would be interesting to know the "various Strip locations." I have no experience with that office, so I don't know how friendly they are to public record requests (they obviously supplied something to the reporter). "tasks in the desert"--back to Pahrump, perhaps?

We were looking in the wrong desert  ! We were close though with the Mojave dang it! And this before the race officially started.

[kittygoesmeow]

Here is what Google Maps tells me:

McCarran Airport to Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign: 4.4 miles
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign to MGM Grand: 2.0 miles
MGM Grand to Caesar's Palace (rumored finish line, right?): 1.3 miles

Just going off of what has been brought up as stops along the way. Since we don't know what chapel they were at (and they seemed to go to the MGM from there) I threw in a few different options.

[georgiapeach]

Wait a sec...the tasks in the desert? They are quoting me...

[puddin]

Wait a sec...the tasks in the desert? They are quoting me...

  A little devil leaked the info from us to the lvrj but it wasn't me

[Plaidmoon]

Nice. It would be interesting to know the "various Strip locations." I have no experience with that office, so I don't know how friendly they are to public record requests (they obviously supplied something to the reporter). "tasks in the desert"--back to Pahrump, perhaps?

Since the beginning location was tipped off by finding the filmimg permit for the Los Angeles River, I've tried digging around the Nevada Film Commission, the Las Vegas and Nevada government websites and now the Clark County government website (didn't think of them earlier) and I can't find any online records of filming locations or street closures.  I'm not saying the information isn't there somewhere, but I couldn't find it.    It would certainly help identify what the detour and roadblock might have been.

Since we've more or less confirmed that filming was done at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, I'll point out that there isn't much there except the sign and it's in the median of a busy highway. See http://lasvegassignphotos.com/ for some photos of the sign. A few show the surroundings. My suspicion is that Phil probably did a stand up to introduce the location once the racers opened the envelopes and learned the final location. I expect that no detour or roadblock took place there - possibly that could have been the location of the first clue box.



Plaidmoon

[Chateau d If]

... at McCarran Airport and at various Strip locations, including a pedestrian bridge and the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign.

They really like pedestrian bridges don't they:

Sao Paulo
all stars just before the cookies
more ... ?

[Squall]

Nice. It would be interesting to know the "various Strip locations." I have no experience with that office, so I don't know how friendly they are to public record requests (they obviously supplied something to the reporter). "tasks in the desert"--back to Pahrump, perhaps?

Since the beginning location was tipped off by finding the filmimg permit for the Los Angeles River, I've tried digging around the Nevada Film Commission, the Las Vegas and Nevada government websites and now the Clark County government website (didn't think of them earlier) and I can't find any online records of filming locations or street closures.  I'm not saying the information isn't there somewhere, but I couldn't find it.    It would certainly help identify what the detour and roadblock might have been.

Since we've more or less confirmed that filming was done at the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, I'll point out that there isn't much there except the sign and it's in the median of a busy highway. See http://lasvegassignphotos.com/ for some photos of the sign. A few show the surroundings. My suspicion is that Phil probably did a stand up to introduce the location once the racers opened the envelopes and learned the final location. I expect that no detour or roadblock took place there - possibly that could have been the location of the first clue box.



Plaidmoon

Well i agree with you about that the vegas sign was probably a stand up; but usually when Phil does a stand up for the final clue; its usually kind of done at the finish line. I suspect a detour or roadblock stand up because usually TAR tries to do those type of stand ups in front of monuments or other good areas (or occasionally at/near the actual area of a task)

(BTW you all rock here; long time lurker, first time poster)

[georgiapeach]

to RFF Squall!!

[Squall]

to RFF Squall!!

Thank you. I've been a TAR fan since Season 2 episode 4. 

[gingerman28]

It still bothers me that the only teams which have been actually spotted and filmed in Sin City are the two teams we think are active (very active) decoy teams: The Globetrotters and Father/Son with the green shirts and pink hair.  Where are the final three teams?  Nobody has at least a phone pix?

VegasSinner at first says that "three teams" arrive together at the Airport and later at the wedding chapel, but does not describe the teams until much later.  He does not say that he has actually seen them.  And it would be easy to just describe the remaining teams just by reading the RFF threads. And he does include as one of the three teams at the chapel one of the decoys, the Father/Son team .

And wouldn't it be a sketch to have the final tasks somehow related to CBS's most popular drama series: CSI  which is also set in Las Vegas?

[puddin]

And he does include as one of the three teams at the chapel one of the decoys, the Father/Son team .

I know of no such post where VegasSinner describes the the Father/Son team at the chapel , where are you reading this Gman?

[gingerman28]

The Father/Son team was mentioned as being at the chapel in posts #47 (8/9) and which he quotes northO's post of #35 (8/8)  and seems to agree with the fact that F/S were at the chapel.

[puddin]

Gman the quote was North's not VegasSinners

You say you saw the three teams then? What did the other two look likes besides the father/son?

I'm downloading a map of the MGM right now. It could be useful in determining where at the hotel the race ended.

You say you saw the three teams then? What did the other two look likes besides the father/son?

It was very hard to tell, they arrived all at the same time, so very unclear who is teamed up with who.  There were four Males, and two females, one was black.
I think was a Male/Male team, then a Male/Female team, and a Male/Black Female Team, but not totally sure.

[Chateau d If]

I remember when these posts went up and feared that it would spawn confusion   

Nobody should write:  "You say you saw the three teams then? What did the other two look likes besides the father/son?"  without reference to the original post.  Because VegasSinner never did say anything about the Father/Son team.  The sentence causes the misinterpretation that VegasSinner talked about the Father/Son team when it never happened. 

And just because VegasSinner did not correct the erroneous assumption does not mean they agree to it.

[georgiapeach]

Exactly.

VegasSinner has been nothing but helpful. What she said is clear. She never said anything about the father/son or seeing the Harlems.

It was very hard to tell, they arrived all at the same time, so very unclear who is teamed up with who.  There were four Males, and two females, one was black.
I think was a Male/Male team, then a Male/Female team, and a Male/Black Female Team, but not totally sure.

[Hooky]

Exactly.

VegasSinner has been nothing but helpful. What she said is clear. She never said anything about the father/son or seeing the Harlems.

It was very hard to tell, they arrived all at the same time, so very unclear who is teamed up with who.  There were four Males, and two females, one was black.
I think was a Male/Male team, then a Male/Female team, and a Male/Black Female Team, but not totally sure.

Sorry for possibly asking a dumb question ('cause I have a lot of catching up to do!), but this means we don't know the exact F3 teams, right? Or do we?

[puddin]

Exactly.

VegasSinner has been nothing but helpful. What she said is clear. She never said anything about the father/son or seeing the Harlems.

It was very hard to tell, they arrived all at the same time, so very unclear who is teamed up with who.  There were four Males, and two females, one was black.
I think was a Male/Male team, then a Male/Female team, and a Male/Black Female Team, but not totally sure.

Sorry for possibly asking a dumb question ('cause I have a lot of catching up to do!), but this means we don't know the exact F3 teams, right? Or do we?

Brian & Ericka Meghan & Cheyne and insert Male/Male team with good odds that its Zev & Justin Dan & Sam as the majority believes that the Globe Trotters and Father/Son are running decoy in Vegas <<< with all 5 teams already spoiled as our final 5

[Hooky]

Exactly.

VegasSinner has been nothing but helpful. What she said is clear. She never said anything about the father/son or seeing the Harlems.

It was very hard to tell, they arrived all at the same time, so very unclear who is teamed up with who.  There were four Males, and two females, one was black.
I think was a Male/Male team, then a Male/Female team, and a Male/Black Female Team, but not totally sure.

Sorry for possibly asking a dumb question ('cause I have a lot of catching up to do!), but this means we don't know the exact F3 teams, right? Or do we?

Brian & Ericka Meghan & Cheyne and insert Male/Male team with good odds that its Zev & Justin as the majority believes that the Globe Trotters and Father/Son are running decoy in Vegas <<< with all 5 teams already spoiled as our final 5

Thanks, puddin.

[VegasSinner]

Hey, thanx Peach!  I tried to explain as best as I could.
And, since my last post, I confirmed with my friend that works
at the MGM hotel, the teams definately headed there from
the chapel.

Exactly.

VegasSinner has been nothing but helpful. What she said is clear. She never said anything about the father/son or seeing the Harlems.

It was very hard to tell, they arrived all at the same time, so very unclear who is teamed up with who.  There were four Males, and two females, one was black.
I think was a Male/Male team, then a Male/Female team, and a Male/Black Female Team, but not totally sure.

[puddin]

Thanks again VegasSinner 

[VegasSinner]

Thanks again VegasSinner 

My Pleasure.  I seen that the teams were announced...can't wait for the show to start!

[Neobie]

Not in a really good place to post, but here's just a little additional information on Vegas:

Passed by the Hollywood Chapel and the previously mentioned Chapel of the Bells on the Strip, negative response from both. The gentleman at the Chapel of the Bells says he recalls a production crew about a month and a half back (filming both outside and inside the chapel), but later adds that it was probably for a poker advertisement.

Checked with a few security officers at the MGM, they genuinely seem not to know anything about the filming of a reality show. The concierge says they get lots of film crews around and can't tell for sure, but suggests the CBS Television City if it's The Amazing Race is passing through.

And Boingo and Chateau have got it, the shots are taken in the spots they said they were on the north side of the Rialto Bridge...

[georgiapeach]

Neobie, you get around!!

AND A BIG WELCOME TO THE USA!!! We are thrilled to have you on this side of the world for awhile!

[VegasSinner]

Not in a really good place to post, but here's just a little additional information on Vegas:

Passed by the Hollywood Chapel and the previously mentioned Chapel of the Bells on the Strip, negative response from both. The gentleman at the Chapel of the Bells says he recalls a production crew about a month and a half back (filming both outside and inside the chapel), but later adds that it was probably for a poker advertisement.

Chapel where Elvis lives.   lol

[walkingpneumonia]

Not in a really good place to post, but here's just a little additional information on Vegas:

Passed by the Hollywood Chapel and the previously mentioned Chapel of the Bells on the Strip, negative response from both. The gentleman at the Chapel of the Bells says he recalls a production crew about a month and a half back (filming both outside and inside the chapel), but later adds that it was probably for a poker advertisement.

Chapel where Elvis lives.   lol

Hmmm, if I was looking for Elvis - I'd go to Graceland... :elvis:

http://www.gracelandchapel.com

[Chateau d If]

I know there are several Elvis wedding places but I 'm going to put this one out as the one:  Graceland Chapel




Its location:

619 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89101

Google maps says it is 14 min from the airport

The flight from Chicago UA 551 (fastest route from Prague) landed at 2:07 pm.  If things going likitysplit then I can see them getting up to this chapel by about 2:30 pm.   

Maybe I guessed right!

[VegasSinner]

I know there are several Elvis wedding places but I 'm going to put this one out as the one:  Graceland Chapel




Its location:

619 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89101

Google maps says it is 14 min from the airport

The flight from Chicago UA 551 (fastest route from Prague) landed at 2:07 pm.  If things going likitysplit then I can see them getting up to this chapel by about 2:30 pm.   

Maybe I guessed right!

You are correct!!

[puddin]

Thanks VegasSinner!  Good job as always Chateau 

[apskip]

I know there are several Elvis wedding places but I 'm going to put this one out as the one:  Graceland Chapel




Its location:

619 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89101

Google maps says it is 14 min from the airport

The flight from Chicago UA 551 (fastest route from Prague) landed at 2:07 pm.  If things going likitysplit then I can see them getting up to this chapel by about 2:30 pm.   

Maybe I guessed right!

I agree that UA551 landed at 207pm on August 7. Now the people who think that anyone can get to a taxi with camera/sound equipment checked, drive an average 14 minutes to the Strip through afternoon traffic and reach the Graceland Chapel in 23 minutes please raise your hand. They would be lucky to get it done in 53 minutes UNLESS WRP provided 3 more camera/sound crews so teams did not have to wait for the ones following them on the plane to get checked equipment. That is the only way that 23 minutes would be conceivable.

[Chateau d If]

I know!  Sometimes it takes more than 23 min to just off the plane.  But what other option is there?

The 2:30 pm time is also a rough remembrance.  So you could conceivable tack on 10 min of uncertainty to the 23 min.  Does 33 min sound better?

[alittlebird]

If you keep off the strip, 23 minutes is possible.

[VegasSinner]

I agree that UA551 landed at 207pm on August 7. Now the people who think that anyone can get to a taxi with camera/sound equipment checked, drive an average 14 minutes to the Strip through afternoon traffic and reach the Graceland Chapel in 23 minutes please raise your hand. They would be lucky to get it done in 53 minutes UNLESS WRP provided 3 more camera/sound crews so teams did not have to wait for the ones following them on the plane to get checked equipment. That is the only way that 23 minutes would be conceivable.
[/quote]

Not possible at all!  There is too much traffic here every day/every hour on and around the airport and the strip.  An hour at least from plane to chapel, with or without camera crews.

[Slowhatch]

FlightAware has 551 landing at 14:01. Did I read it wrong? Or are there better sources available?

[georgiapeach]

This is what flightstats has:

[alittlebird]

Note: Taxis are usually easier to get at Terminal 2. 

And I have personally driven all the way downtown from the airport in under 30 minutes.

[georgiapeach]

I am starting to think we may need a different flight.

[VegasSinner]

Note: Taxis are usually easier to get at Terminal 2. 

And I have personally driven all the way downtown from the airport in under 30 minutes.

I've lived here all my life, and on a Friday afternoon...waaaaaaay too much traffic.  lol

[alittlebird]

Friday?

[apskip]

 I expect that World Race Productions has edicted that all teams take the same flight combination from among these 4 flight combinations to get from Prague to Las Vegas:

Leaving Prague at either 1550 or 1625 and going nonstop to Paris-CDG on CSA 4766 or AF4907 or their codeshare equivalents and arriving at 1735 or 1815
Connecting at CDG to AF8 or several codeshare equivalents to go nonstop to JFK, departing 1910 arriving 2110. Then for most cases there is an overnight transfer to Newark, followed by an early morning departure from Newark to various places. Having to transfer from JFK to EWR in the middle of the night on a bus is cruel and unusual punishment, so whether teams are required to do that depends on WRP's view of this (diabolical sneaky way of tiring teams out or not).

Here is the list of airport codes in alphabetical order for the codes (not the cities), the flights taken to get to them and the connecting flight from there to Las Vegas for those connecting cities that arrive from 1pm to 130pm on Friday August 7:

CLT - dep. EWR UA1581 0545 0646  to  US1789 1120 1258 (actual arrivla 8/7 was early at 1231)

IAH - dep. EWR CO611 0545 0812  to  CO197 1150 1307 (actual arrival 8/7 was 1304)

MSP - dep. EWR DL2721 0606 0811  to  DL 2726 1150 1322 (actual arrival 8/7 was 1351)

The one that does not use the PRG to CDG to JFK connection are:

SEA - PRG FRA LH5261 1335 1505  to  FRA SFO LH9186 1725 1953  to  SFO SEA UA52 UA52 2245 0045  to  SEA LAS AS604 1040 1307 (actual arrival 8/7 was 1258)

[Chateau d If]

Apskip, You have two different flight numbers and takeoff times for your PRG to FRA.  I suspect the one you meant is LH 3261 taking off at 1:55 pm.

I'm having trouble believing that teams would take those flights because if they were to just sit and wait around a few hours at Prague's airport then they could take a flight sequence that lands them at Las Vegas faster than any of your flights!  

As Neobie has already pointed out there is this faster flight sequence to take starting on August 6th:

OK 702 to Madrid, 2005-2255
IB 6401 to Mexico City, 0120-0605
MX 990 to Las Vegas, 0710-0900

So why would they choose a slower flight?  

[apskip]

Chateau,

You are quite aware of the fact that WRP creates situations where the time of release from the pit stop can create environments for teams to make suboptimal flight decisions. TK and Rachel in AR12 were famous for that.

However, the main reason why teams would not get on the latest and quickest set of flights is lack of knowledge by either a travel agent, airline ticketing agent or racer. If you ask for the schedules for PRG LAS, you would get an array that most certainly does not include any of my flights and also not yours. That is no surprise since we developed them by leg by leg to get the best possible results. Airlines reservations systems do not always do that, particularly if 3 or 4 legs are required or if it is not a "normal" way of going from point a to point B. It would be easy for teams to take a less than optimal routing/schedule.

On the specifics of Madrid to Mexico City, the array of alernative flights offers me these:

IB6403 1250 1805
AM002/UX3221 1430 1945
MX1587 1510 2050

There is no mention of any IB6401, although it is obviously close to a real flight number for a different time.

When I check the Iberia Airlines timetable, there is no mention of IB6401. The only Iberia plane which landed in Mexico City yesterday, a Friday, was IB6403. However, it is possible that IB6401 was terminated between 8/7/09 and 10/2/09. In fact, Flightstats does indicate that flight for departure from MAD 0120 and arrival in Mexico City 0616.

So, you have an obscure though real flight and an obscure route. How could people miss it? Easily. I did and I did an exhaustive serach of the US and Canadian largest airports but never gave any thought to whether major Mexican airports should be included. Why would a travel agent think of it?

I am not about to toss my above routings and schedules just because they are not the absolute best. We will see what actually happens. The latest departure I was able to develop was 1625. If it turns out that the pit stop release was after 1530 and before 1900 , then the only possible alternative will be your routing.

[georgiapeach]

Remember too that last season the routing was pre decided. While the racers were not aware of it, when they requested a flight to Hawaii, the booking agents ALREADY had their names on the list. Suggesting to me that even if there was a team who discovered a better flight...chances are good they would not have been able to take it.

[theschnauzers]

I would think, or at least hope, that teams would try to get the fastest possible connection that allows them to clear US customs before they reached Las Vegas.  Is there anything that fits that scenario and gives the teams time to get to where and when they were seen in Las Vegas?

[apskip]

the schnauzers,

Sure, they is about a dozen flight combination that all have one thing in common:
they depart from Prague on August 6 in the MORNING and they arrive Las Vegas before midnight.
Since those did not fit the parameters I was using (arrival between 10am and 2pm August 7), I discarded them. If a flight arrived before 10am, like MX990 from Mexico City, I ignored it but I can tell you that there was only the one through JFK transferring to Newark, then goign Newark nonstop to Lsa Vegas that I recall doing the same.

[puddin]

[apskip]

It is clear that the ep. 11 finish time for Brain/Ericka is in the dawn of Aug. 6. I am going to guess that with sunrise at 536am they finished around 5am. With a 8 hour pit stop, they would release at 1pm. Getting to the Prague airport 6 miles from downtown wouild take maybe 20 minutes at that time of day. With an allowance of 1 hour for getting tickets, through security and boarding, they could get a flight after about 1420. I expect that World Race Productions has edicted that all teams take the same flight combination from among these 4 flight combinations to get from Prague to Las Vegas:

Leaving Prague at either 1550 or 1625 and going nonstop to Paris-CDG on CSA 4766 or AF4907 or their codeshare equivalents and arriving at 1735 or 1815
Connecting at CDG to AF8 or several codeshare equivalents to go nonstop to JFK, departing 1910 arriving 2110, then an overnight transfer to Newark, followed by an early morning departure from Newark to various places. Having to transfer from JFK to EWR in the middle of the night on a bus is cruel and unusual punishment, so whether teams are required to do that depends on WRP's view of this (diabolical sneaky way of tiring teams out or not)

Here is the list of airport codes in alphabetical order for the codes (not the cities), the flights taken to get to them and the connecting flight from there to Las Vegas:

CLT - dep. EWR UA1581 0545 0646  to  US1789 1120 1258 (actual arrival was early at 1231)


IAH - dep. EWR CO611 0545 0812  to  CO197 1150 1307 (actual arrival was 1304)

MSP - dep. EWR DL2721 0606 0811  to  DL 2726 1150 1322 (actual arrival was late at 1351)


The rest that do not use to PRG to CDG to JFK connection are:

SEA - PRG FRA LH5261 1335 1505  to  FRA SFO LH9186 1725 1953  to  SFO SEA UA52 UA52 2245 0045  to  SEA LAS AS604 1040 1307 (actual arrival was 1258)

I know that Chateau thinks the quickest route through Mexico City is the way to go, but my perspective is obviously different. We'll see in one week if either of us is right.

[Chateau d If]

Mexico City?

No.  Read what is in the timeline table:  For August 7th

Neobie's Prague to Frankfurt, LH 3267: 0600-0710 then Frankfurt to Chicago, UA 945: 0825-1033 then Chicago to Las Vegas, UA 551: 1153-1339

And until something better comes along, that's what I will stick with, thank you very much.