Zip lines between Luxor and Excalibur waiting on federal OK

By Joe Schoenmann

Sunday, April 1, 2012 | 2 a.m.

The snail’s pace at which some federal agencies move — in this case the Federal Aviation Administration — is holding up plans for a series of recreational zip lines planned to run between the Luxor and Excalibur on the Strip.

What’s a zip line?

Zip lines are a cable-and-pulley system mounted above the ground that allows thrill seekers to, well, zip down the cable. That’s it, essentially. This device offering a sort-of “Mission: Impossible”-esque trip is sometimes called the flying fox, a zip wire, aerial ropeslide or death slide.

Death slide?

We paused on that nickname, too, when we ran across it on the interwebs. But considering that we took a zip line ride on a rusty cable attached to the Great Wall of China and lived to tell about it, it’s probably a good bet that safety standards on the Strip will be more stringent.

Where would these zip lines go?

Remarkably, one of them would begin at what appears to be the top of the Luxor pyramid. (Take a look at photos of the drawings accompanying this story.) The pyramid is 350 feet tall, and plans call for a maximum height for the zip lines of 339.1 feet.

Plans call for four routes, each consisting of four cables:

• One runs from the northeast entrance of Excalibur northeast 500 feet to the roof of the pedestrian walkway at the southwest corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard.

• A second line will start at the top of the Luxor and run northeast for 950 feet to the southwest corner of the Excalibur roof.

• A third will start on Excalibur’s roof in the southwest corner of the resort and run 340 feet to a platform at the northwest corner of the Luxor’s east tower.

• The fourth will be 1,440 feet long, running from a platform on the southeast corner of the east Luxor tower to the roof of the tram station for the Excalibur.

A nice quick way to get from casino to casino. When do we get to ride?

According to a request by Ramparts Inc. for a holdover permit with the county Planning Commission, FAA approval is still needed because of the proposed lines’ proximity to McCarran International Airport.

Shouldn’t it be a relatively easy decision, given the Luxor and Excalibur are both already standing and the zip line folks are merely proposing to stretch lines between them?

We don’t know the answer. And the federal agencies considering that question often seem to operate on the whim and whimsy of some cog in the machine. Stay tuned.

•••

It looks like charges might be coming for Henderson Police Sgt. Brett Seekatz, who kicked motorist Adam Greene in the head as Greene was being subdued by five other officers and suffering a diabetic episode.

District Attorney Steve Wolfson originally said he would not charge Seekatz because he didn’t believe it would stand up in court. But during an interview more than a week ago on KNPR, Wolfson said new information had led him to reconsider his decision to not charge Seekatz.

Greene was never charged with a crime after he was stopped for driving erratically in October 2010. He and his wife received a settlement from Henderson for about $260,000, with another $35,000 from the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Has Wolfson made a decision yet?

Not yet, but he is about to. Wolfson told the Sun he will have an answer this week on whether charges will be filed against Seekatz.