VegasChatter

We first saw these signs back in August. And, we first thought it was a movie set. Maybe a commercial? A gimmick for a convention? An inside joke? A secret way to indicate parking for fire or safety vehicles? Security? High level executives? High rollers? An art project? All we know, is the spaces are still there. And, we have never seen anyone park there.

Six self-parking spaces on level 2E. All reserved for Howard Hughes. Not four spaces. Or ten. Oh, it's bothering us.

The Howard Hughes Corporation still exists, but we doubt this is an obscure corporate perk. The Venetian sits on the former Sands Hotel, bought for $23 million in the 60s by, yep, Howard Hughes. Maybe a coincidence. We've checked with the Venetian, but the folks we contacted kindly told us they weren't aware of this parking section. We think we've just not found the right person to ask. So, if you have any ideas, do let us know.

In the meantime, we defer to arch detective Sherlock Holmes for our current theory. His advice: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Which leads us to our only logical conclusion. The 106-year-old Howard Hughes did not die in 1976, but is alive, well and a very valued Venetian customer. And, if he's available for an interview, he knows how to contact us.

11.30 Update: Please read the comments for the answer to this mystery. Spoiler alert: Hughes is not still alive.