rked, "I guess you and that deputy sheriff were right. It
takes an awful lot of lost money to keep all these places going."

Tiring of the neon wilderness they turned north on Main Street and
headed out toward Nellis Air Force Base. For a brief stretch the neon
glow faded, then resumed again as they reached North Las Vegas.

Suddenly Scotty pointed. "Hey! We're on another planet."

Rick stared. Towering into the sky was a huge, illuminated figure clad
in a spacesuit. The transparent helmet glowed red, then blue, green,
yellow, and finally red again. In one colossal hand was a supermodern
pistol. Colored flame spurted from the muzzle.

Rick laughed as he noticed another figure in front of the establishment.
"Look! He's got a pup."

Acting as a doorman was another figure, human size, clad in a similar
getup.

Across the building which served as a base for the giant spaceman was a
glowing sign:

THE SPACEMAN CASINO

"What say we drop in?" Scotty suggested.

"Sure," Rick replied, falling into the role of a science-fiction
spaceman. "We might pick up the latest gossip on that uranium strike on
Venus, or the discovery of live prodsponders on Mars."

Scotty swung into the parking lot. "Tell me, Space Commander, what are
prodsponders?"

"A subspecies of sponprodders. Your ignorance surprises me, Cadet
Scott."

"I haven't been to the inner planets for a week," Scotty apologized. "I
lose touch."

They walked across the driveway, noting that the customary shrubs and
plants were replaced here by artificial ones, made in a form that
represented someone's idea of what plants from other worlds must look
like. The effect was actually pretty good. The place had been built with
imagination.

The spacesuit-clad doorman nodded, and they saw that he was perspiring
freely inside the transparent helmet.

"Who ever heard of a non-airconditioned spacesuit?" Rick murmured. "Bet
he couldn't survive the Venus-Mercury run in that rig."

Inside were the inevitable slot machines, in banks of fifty or more.
Rick decided the objective must be one slot machine for each person in
town. Behind the slot machines were the dice layouts, roulette tables,
and blackjack tables.

Beyond the casino proper, however, was a pleasant lounge that included a
snack bar and tables for dining. The boys wandered over to the snack bar
and sat down on stools, looking around with appreciation. The walls were
decorated with murals--photographic repro