Vegas Die Solution
The Solution...and the hidden dagger can be found...(not so fast)...
Occam's razor (or Ockham's razor) is the meta-theoretical principle that "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity" (entia non suntmultiplicandapraeternecessitatem) and the conclusion thereof, that the simplest solution is usually the correct one.
There is a dagger on the front cover. The primary murderess, Kathleen Sawyer, uses as her weapon of choice a dagger, and she is out for revenge.
Questor's Mantra: Nothing Is As It Seems
What historic characters used a dagger in their crimes, and were they revenge crimes? Revenge and political assassination are usually synonymous.
The fact that the author at every opportunity tried not to describe the dagger as a 'real' dagger; therefore, a supposition that it is indeed not a real dagger, but still it must have some resemblance to a real dagger. Several Questors picked up the idea that the dagger was 'silver'.
What is a dagger, or at least looks like a dagger but not a dagger?
Word play interests me, says the author. Vegas Die, like the mantra of Quest Mystery, holds several meanings; "to die" as in death, the plural of dice, a gaming term that fits the book's plot. Ironic, though used in sectional quotes, and references to fate, dice are not used at all in the story's casino plotting.
Red herrings mean 'false trails' and this is pointed out in the use of addresses. There are a lot of misleading directions, but usually they can be spotted quickly.
Phrases within the writing. Most Questors tore apart words like counting how many times various colors were used in the book, or focused on the numbers since they do seem to have some substance, even as red herrings or as inside jokes. Yet, a lot of phrases seemed odd or out of place, not just poorly written phraseology. Certain phrases were hard clues.
"Creativity is part of my psyche," explains author Stephen Grogan, "probably best instilled by being an only child where one had to create imaginary playmates and worlds of escape where daydreams led the good guys to fight heroic battles and after overcoming struggles win victory and capture the damsel's heart.
"It had to be in the 4th or 5th grade, the class assignment was to create half page folded book reports. Read the book, draw a cover, and explain in a sentence or two the gist of the story's plot. I turned in the most mini books and gained an A grade. Without the intrusive noise of brothers and sisters, reading filled in the hours of my downtime.
"Writing followed me throughout life, but, ego aside, a forward personality and leadership provided business opportunities versus a literary career. I lived in interesting times. In writing for the college newspaper, I became an editor. Writing summertime for the Denver Post, and I ended up a founder of the first underground newspaper in Denver. Going to summer school at Harvard, I gained an A- in Creative Writing and a C+ in Economics, a future tell perhaps.
"In my senior year of college at the University of Colorado I was awarded for graduate studies the Shubert Fellowship in Playwriting, but instead of a master's thesis for the stage, wrote my required project as a screenplay with the hope of Hollywood. Not to be.
"Between jobs in 1989 I become involved in the legalization of casino gaming in Colorado and start a gaming newsletter, later evolving to a national casino industry magazine. In an idea moment I feltcasino towns of Central City and Black Hawk could use some gimmick to bring more customers into their mountain towns. Since I had travelled the country watching the success of various marketing campaigns at casinos, I struck on the idea of a 'contest', a treasure hunt that would draw visitors. There is the creed from publishing experts: write what you know, and since I knew casino gaming, the business world, and enjoyed reading history, I wrote out my first fictional project.
"Rocky Mountain Die (word play on a John Denver song) told the story of a fictional old mining town, White Eagle, that seeks to legalize local casino gaming. The characters were townies I knew, a campaign consultant hired by the town, a bartender with deep mental issues, a lady Town Marshall, and a plot featuring an old miner's hidden treasure. The game had a real treasure hidden somewhere in the Colorado mountains, with clues hidden in antique blue bottles, meant to hold apothecary poison.
"In the 1990's, after a divorce, I moved to Nevada to continue in the casino entertainment industry, and re-married. "Rocky Mountain Die" went no further, and looking back the draft writing helped as a good first-start exercise. But somewhere, moving from IBM Selectric to Apple laptop and into WordPerfect, I had passed into the adult world of expostulation, serious at honing my craft, looking hard at what I created, working at storyline, grammar, and dialogue pacing.
"Looking back, I can't recall the exact stimulant to writing Vegas Die, or when I truly started it. Employment kept my daytime hours busy, so writing over a three year period at night, fighting to stay away from television (I am a TV addict and the battle is to develop my own creativity versus watching other talent).
"Write what you know. The Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, lived in my neighborhood and had the interesting back story of being a former defense attorney for mobsters. I had been involved in building casinos and had a past employment resume in the business world. And, history was always an interest of mine.
"To plotting, it is expected as the public norm that when writing about Las Vegas one has to exaggerate the tawdry side of Vegas. It would be an unbelievable premise to center a storyline around a simple home life in the suburbs of Las Vegas. To find that setting, visit Tulsa.
"In Vegas Die are all the Vegas characters one comes to expect, mobsters to showgirls, and murder is to many considered a norm to the city...except I added the ingredient of a real hidden treasure. I was aware of Kit William's artistically drawn English book, "Masquerade", the treasure hunt for the Golden Hare. But not being the artist, I had to hide clues in another manner.
"I think the evolution from Rocky Mountain Die to Vegas Die is the definition of what I have sub-titled, a Quest Mystery. The art invoked here is that the reader finishes Vegas Die and is satisfied with the mystery solved, never seeing that there is a deeper treasure hunt where the clues are hidden within the writing: not visible clues but subtlety to be found in numbers, phrases, symbols.
"Sadly, it has not come to pass where the national audience has yet to discover the Quest Mystery structuring and placed Vegas Die on a Best Sellers list. Happily, there are loyal fans that I am sincerely appreciative of and when all is revealed that they may accept as satisfactory and reasonable on how the answers unfold."
To date there has been first and second editions printed, with the second edition at a larger point size, spreading the manuscript to additional pages. No page numbers were used in clue formation, unlike in the author's second Quest Mystery, "Captain Cooked". Readers of the solution therefore will see corresponding pages to the 1st and 2nd editions for easy reference.
Telephone Numbers:
Chase's office telephone number is the actual Metro Police number, but the non-existent extension, 714, is the badge number of Detective Joe Friday of TV's Dragnet cop show. (Chapter 9, 1st-p.39, 2nd-p.41)
Continuing with the banter between Chase and Owen he responds with his telephone number, the area code for Mississippi where he had just left, then 634-5789, from an old Wilson Picket song. (Chapter 9, 1st-p.39, 2nd-p.41). In joke: lyrics: 'If you need a little lovin', call me'.
702/726-5000 a little harder to grasp but from the Glenn Miller song, Pennsylvania 6-5000. The original prefix would have been 736 but rang to a real number. (Chapter 30, 1st-p.131, 2nd-p.139).
Another song, "867-5309/Jenny". More inside humor, in the song telephone number coming off a bathroom wall in the song. (Chapter 48, 1st-p.225, 2nd -p.235)
For the Baker Street Irregular fans. Chase does a Codis search on McCombs and discovers 'a break-in of his apartment, 221 B Baker Avenue, in Biloxi, a couple of days before he left that State.' (Chapter 19, 1st-p.81, 2nd-p.85). This address in London is that of super sleuth Sherlock Holmes. A Questor might come to realize the author is using various literary tie-ins, and perhaps there might be others, but more subtle). And where do literary examples come from? Books? And where do books come from? Where does one find books?
Inside joke for Questors only: In the Acknowledgment page (1st-p.334, 2nd-p.348), The Author thanks his publisher, 'Only a few privileged will find a friend like Harvey', but misspells a word in the same paragraph, 'stewart' instead of 'steward'. Get it?
Addresses:
340-South Gold Ave. Author's home address is on Silver Ave. (Chapter 11, 1st-- p.50, 2nd -p.54)
--327 Scarlett Pisces Circle translates to 'red fish', meaning red herring, a false trail. (Chapter 36, 1st-p.169, 2nd-p.177)
Other addresses will later be discussed and will help in the narrowing of the geographic area of the search. Several Questors we know sought to map out the various 'real' address locations.
Hidden Meanings:
As to Owen's character and to what he would be facing, Owen travels from Biloxi to Las Vegas. He has a flat tire in Phobosville, Texas, a town which does not exist. Phobos in Greek mythology is the personification of fear and terror, an omen to Owen, further suggested by traveling through Truth and Consequences, New Mexico. Point: Phobos was the son of Ares, god of war and bloodlust.
There are four book sections, Part I - IV, but in only the first three (Part I- III) are found card suits at various chapter ends.
Questor Dr.Liebschen, a linguist, who used his expertise to tear apart all nuances of Vegas Die, divining clues by cryptologic assumptions which even staggered me as to possibilities the author had not even imagined. Quickly, he realized the card suits were basic 'Morse Code".
Look at chapters 28 to 41. At the end of these chapters, you find 6 sequences of suits. Each sequence has a diamond at its beginning and at its end. This is the case nowhere else and perhaps it says that these sequences go together.
Apart from the diamonds at each end, each sequence is made of clubs, spades and hearts. - There are never 2 clubs in a row. Therefore clubs could be separators. - You are left with smaller groups of 1 to 6 spades and hearts:
28: SHS - SSH
31: SHS - HSS - S
33: SSHHH
34: SHS - HH
38: HSSS SHSS
40: SSHHSS
- Search for "morse code" on google and you land on wikipedia where you see the morse table.
- Assume spade=dot, heart=dash, you get: 28:R-U 31:R-D-E 33:2 34:R-M 38:B-L 40:?
- The opposite, spade=dash, heart=dot, doesn't produce good results.
- From the story, diamonds are usually arranged to form long chains, like necklaces. This may be a hint to place these groups back to back.
- If you do that, the result sounds oddly like "are you ready to rumble?" doesn't it???
This refers to card suits found in Part II
Indeed it infers "Are you ready to rumble?" The signature phrase of Las Vegas boxing announcer, Michael Buffet.
Questor Clue Analysis:
MDC777: The volcano in front of the Mirage!
EditGuppy: Spent the day trying some stuff. No on Caesar shift of letters.No on Vigenere cipher.
Author Intention:
No direct clue. Sets the Vegas tone: are you ready to go and have excitement on your Questor search? Are you ready to rumble?
Part III
MDC777 wrote:
On Part 3 using dot for Spade and dash for Heart I get
MYOPIITWEAKDEATHWTOMELIKEUNWILINGSLEP
or
"My opiate weak death w(as) to me like unwilling sleep"
I think this clue refers to the Keats poem
"On seeing the Elgin Marbles"
My spirit is too weak--mortality
Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep,
And each imagin'd pinnacle and steep
Of godlike hardship, tells me I must die
Like a sick Eagle looking at the sky.
Yet 'tis a gentle luxury to weep
That I have not the cloudy winds to keep,
Fresh for the opening of the morning's eye.
Such dim-conceived glories of the brain
Bring round the heart an undescribable feud;
So do these wonders a most dizzy pain,
That mingles Grecian grandeur with the rude
Wasting of old Time--with a billowy main--
A sun--a shadow of a magnitude.
Questor Clue Analysis:
MDC777:So how does Grecian grandeur and Elgin Marbles tie in with "R U RDE 2 RMBL?"
The statue holding the cup is the God Bacchus which is mentioned on pg199. He is also part of the Elgin marbles.
It seems like a "rumble" to me at the end.
Czshredd: Well, there's the Greek Isles, various Greek restaurants and a Greek Orthodox Church.
Author Intention: A real clue...Elgin Marbles...statues...a statue is featured prominently on page 9 (first and second edition), page 71 first edition (p.75 second edition), and in Chapter 61, "Shoot Out in the Garden of Allah". The hint: look for statues in the book and in Vegas proper. Several red and black dagger clues were found at statues. Are not statues 'art'? Where might you find art? [see Red and Black Daggers]
Part I
The Morse Code in this section turned out to be the most difficult and no one guessed. Each code listed at a chapter's end were either letters or numbers, and when I laid it out to a puzzle as I had in mind having once seen Dr. Spock of Star Trek play three dimensional chess, and more so, as in the newspaper game section, a word jumble. A word Rubik's cube. Here are the letters/numbers then how they were laid out.
Author's Intention: Not a direct clue but those who solved the puzzle would receive a Quest Mystery t-shirt.
Red and Black Daggers
Red
Red Daggers, a red fish stabbed by a knife, were created and placed around town to offer a mini-contest to keep Questor's interest involved against the waning excitement of the initial launch of the book's central treasure hunt.
Red daggers were hidden, five of them with numbers and letters. Any red daggers without numbers and letters signified a false trail or location, and there were several of those put around town. Surprising, two days after this mini-hunt was announced, four of the five daggers were found, showing the intensity of Questors to the in-field hunt. The 5th red dagger was found and the Questor received $500 for naming all five locations. Each red dagger was tied to a location found in the book, and hence the rapidity in discovery. Although red daggers were meant to be false leads as to finding the prize dagger's location, still, the mantra of 'nothing is as it seems', made arranging all daggers together yield a valuable central clue.
Most of the red daggers were easy to spot on nearby curbs. More difficult, the one at the Italian American Restaurant was on a lamp post stand in the parking lot.
Using a basic substitution for the alphabet, 1 becoming A, etc. one had the following letters: A, D, I, V, D and re-arranged could come up with the name "David". What David is associated with a dagger? More later.
Black
The black daggers were at locations found in the book, most which were related 'statues'. The black daggers are tied to the Sands napkin found at the back of the book. No main clue linked to the Sands Hotel/Casino. Again, keep in mind the concept of 'phrases'. Allusions perhaps may suggest a secondary meaning.
First black dagger found by an out-of-state Questor to be at the airport, the bucking bronco statue, referred to in the book, "of a glazed rainbow bucking bronco, rearing in arch, ready to airborne a shoot 'em up cowboy.' (Chapter 54, 1st edition, p 251, 2nd -p.261)
It was the intention of Questors to put the black daggers in some semblance of order, but it still might be confusing, unless you stood back, and started seeing there could be a pattern versus the words having a direct code significance. [see photo locations of some of the daggers at the end]
Geographical Limitations
At the beginning the dagger was hidden somewhere within the Vegas Valley, which could include North Las Vegas and Henderson. Several Questors even made guesses of mountain locations. Within the book, there were several ways to limit the areas of the search.
The large view: There was the name of an author indirectly mentioned in the book. Building the Magnum Casino the company was called Clive & Sons Construction (Chapter 31,1st--p.135, 2nd-p.143. I was hoping that Questors might start realizing all phrases and names might have a meaning and/or red herrings, so all things must be put to the test. How many 'Clives' do you know? If you thought in terms of 'literary' tie-ins, one apparent name is adventure author Clive Cussler. Focusing on this author and one finds 'dirk' and 'pitted'-looking (page 51).Cussler's hero is Dirk Pitt.
Word plays on Cussler books - page 325 'Absolute shock wave(d) through his body'[Shock Wave is the book] which now if one goes off and reads that book and finds out there is likewise clues leading to a discovery, then one might have picked up on page 169...'the three investigators were data-frazzled, having traipsed computer files from a-zoid to z-zium.' Why write that strangeness? The words morph into traipsed-zoid, trapezoid, trapezium.
Chapter 58, 1st-p.282, 2nd-p.295, refers to 'running an acoustic configuration of take-offs' which is found in Shock Wave with a map of a trapezoid. How does one lay out a trapezoid, but with 'coordinating points', or in this case 'addresses'. Four addresses in Vegas Die can be laid out to form a trapezoid, of which one makes an X to the center point, closes in on the dagger location.
Another limiting factor: birthdays of the Mayor's two grandchildren. 'October second. November ninth.' (Chapter 60,1st-p.293, 2nd-p.305)Translating the dates into numbers, and if you put 89 in front of those numbers,10-2, 11-9 you gain Vegas zip codes, 89102 and 89119--greatly narrowing the scope of the search.
And, the author thought this might be too obvious, but again when something is mentioned and it seems too specific to a location but is out of place in the broader scheme, then indeed it might bear merit.
Jackson Flynn gives Owen his next job assignment: "While you're down there, a Native American tribe is seeking a casino management team. Check them out. Somewhere east of Escondido." (Chapter 62, 1st-p.303; 2nd-p.317)
There is an Escondido street in Las Vegas, north to south, and not very long, and if one were to drive it, they would go right by the building housing the hidden dagger and the mental light bulb would click on.
Finally, there are Questors who analyzed every name, numerical digit, and all locations mentioned in the plotted story. But not one did so for the entire book, either the Publisher's Intro or the Acknowledgment Page at the back. (1st-p.333, 2nd-p.347) One location in the Acknowledgment page is the location where the dagger is hidden.
The simplest solution is usually the correct one.
In history, what are the most remembered assassinations using a dagger? Caesar and Brutus definitely, maybe Lincoln with Booth (he used a dagger), but how about, that of Jean-Paul Marat, the French Revolutionary stabbed with a dagger in his bathtub.
'He swore aloud for a better death. Why hadn't Angelo stabbed him? His tormentor had that extra ceremonial knife. Why here, why not in a warm bath, let him bleed out to a fuzzy, forever sleep?'(Chapter 57,1st -p. 273 and 2nd --p.286). Who had been killed with a dagger in a bathtub? Marat.
If you were looking for something about Marat where would you find it (other than online)?
In a library, and outside of a biographical study, the most readily image is depicted in 'artwork', the most famous, La Mort de Marat,
Clue: The numbers in this part looked like dates, especially if one figure out that '1947B' was the Birth date of the author. And 1748 - 1825 might be a life span. Who lived during this time, and what event with a dagger transpired between these dates, more particularly around 1793?
The reason the black daggers were more critical and harder to find than red daggers was because when laid out properly in the correct sequence, someone could decipher the nuances, a library book shelving code, which would lead a Questor directly to a particular book, and a specific page in that book where a dagger had been placed. During the contest we announced that we had revised the Napkin Code, which were named for characters in book.
Book Identification Number: ISBN -- 0810934469
Added later
Library Identification and location
N
5300
J.3
2001
Stack 38 between
The dagger is a laminated bookmark from the cover of Vegas Die, hidden in the Clark County Library in a book entitled History of Art by H.W. Janson (Sixth Edition -2001-- ISBN: 0810934469) on page 643, the artwork, 1793, 'The Death of Marat' by Jaques-Louis David (1748-1825) Library Code (N 5300.J.3 2001)
Reverse side of Vegas Die bookmark
Each week the author would go to the library to make certain the bookmark was in place.
There are actually four dagger bookmarks placed in the library. Since the 'dagger' was first hidden, the library also added another of the same book into Reference (REF), so that additional black dagger clues had to be placed around the valley.
The author then placed one bookmarks at the area where the book would be located, up under the shelf or on the back shelf in case by chance the main stack book was checked out. The Reference Book could not be checked out. That library code was: REF N 5300 J3.
On entering the library, on the right hand side of the building is a quote on a post: "May peace prevail on earth', an awkward phrase used by the Mayor. (Chapter 59, 1st-p.285; 2nd-p.297)
A Questor discovering the bookmark would know what it was, would have contacted the website, and would have been awarded the prize. On the reverse side there was a miniature dagger that looked 'silver', copied on silver paper. Any stranger who found the bookmark would have not known what to do, as one of the requirements as the final qualifying test to a true Questor (found on the reverse side of the bookmark) was to contact the publisher knowing the ISBN of Vegas Die and at least one black dagger clue (the latter posted to the Quest Mystery website).
Many Questors guessed at general addresses, but merely guessing the front of the library would not have been accepted, and no one did so. One Questor queried with several general locations around the city, and listed 'library,' but not more specific. Another time, the same Questor stated: 'Lot's of clues to poets and authors. So possibly the "dagger" is in a bookstore or art gallery. Maybe even a book or painting that you created. That's really all I got. I could email you random locations but that doesn't seem to me like playing fair. We should be able to find it and go get it.' (See the website Forum for the more interesting Questor guesses)
Had anyone said 'is it in the Clark County Library?', the author would have said 'yes', but the search solution still had to be within 15 feet of the location. Once the library would have been discovered, then for long distant Questors, and thereby reported to all, there might have been more leeway to help describe the library layout, and answer any general queries more specifically. The author and publisher always felt the dagger would be located, that a Questor would eventually figure out the art-dagger-literary angle and search out a Marat connection in the library, and there are only one or two books which have this specific dagger killing depiction.
The author has created another Questor adventure called "Captain Cooked" by S.P. Grogan, published in July, available on Amazon and as an e-book. This time an actual Questor tourist visit is required to the Big Island of Hawai'i. Still, an armchair Questor might figure out the location of the prize (a Hawaiian War Club, a starting value of $5,000), when all the clues using GPS, and secreted in seven ammunition boxes, would be posted on the website upon discovery. This book was written on the assumption that a large group of Geocachers tourists would spend time scouring the island. But with the book out six months we are finding that the tourists on their arrival, go to Geocaching.com and look for the basic 3 locations, and don't go and buy the book until they leave the island! And therefore missing the other 4 locations scattered around the island. A portion of the proceeds of this book's sale go to the Big Island Food bank program.
Vegas Die though not published by a New York publishing house did remarkably well, selling over 10,000 copies. The story won an award for best regional fiction. Book sales were most productive when the author spent his Sunday mornings selling travelers at the Las Vegas McCarran airport (see Grogan's "The Book Signing" short story, available on Amazon). So, we are pleased that Vegas Die travelled to the far corners of the globe.
There are mixed feelings about the concept of the Quest Mystery™ treasure hunt. On the negative side, the author and publisher felt that there would be a greater national following of the treasure hunt, that a wider audience of inquisitives would have jumped in, and book sales would have increased. As it was, the national treasure and prize hunter market seems to be limited. In the future, a greater national marketing campaign needs to be put in place. On the positive side, the author made friends and enjoyed meetings and social exchanges with Questors.
Beyond Vegas Die and Captain Cooked will there be another Quest Mystery? The author needs feedback from Questors, good or bad input. The author is writing a sequel to Vegas Die, but the key to the next Quest Mystery: is it an entertaining treasure hunt with clues that logically lead to the prize. There was frustration with some Questors who, after two years, felt the author and game was at fault since they had not readily uncovered the solution. That will always be a speculation and debate to those who were not the discoverers. Indeed, the mystery and clues must be plotted in the best possible manner to make the Quest Mystery a true hunt, and not a prize found overnight as basically were the red daggers. And since this was the author's first attempt at treasure hunt creation, it is anticipated skill and improvement will come with any future creation, and for the fun of that a Quest would become more intricate, encased with wiser stealth.
Thank you for being a Questor and enjoying Vegas Die. It is the belief of the author you participated in something historic in the literary field, and he is grateful for your participation.
Keep on Questing,
S.P. Grogan
December 14, 2010
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From the Publisher:
Want to have your own 'dagger'? Send $2.50 via PayPal to the publisher and you will receive a laminated Vegas Die bookmark, exactly what was hidden in the Clark County Library, but this book mark specially numbered and autographed by the author.
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Dagger Locations (not all listed)
CD - 446 His mind twisted and pulled, torn asunder between two pairs of powered stallions, continents apart, but near enough, one for each wrenching limb.[ -1st- page 209, Chapter 44, 2nd-pg. 219]
Two pairs of horses, one pair at Chinese fusion restaurant, P.F. Changs, Rampart and Charleston Blvds, the other pair at Queens Ridge homes, further down Charleston Blvd.-Black Dagger half way between both locations as well at base of P.F. Chang horse statues.
S-093 located at new Las Vegas Metro Police Building, under construction
PD N53 Treasures Gentlemans Club - statuary located here, but daggers located in two locations at front of building
Simple Truths
Occam's razor (or Ockham's razor) is the meta-theoretical principle that "entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity" (entia non suntmultiplicandapraeternecessitatem) and the conclusion thereof, that the simplest solution is usually the correct one.
There is a dagger on the front cover. The primary murderess, Kathleen Sawyer, uses as her weapon of choice a dagger, and she is out for revenge.
Questor's Mantra: Nothing Is As It Seems
What historic characters used a dagger in their crimes, and were they revenge crimes? Revenge and political assassination are usually synonymous.
a.) Vegas Die was released on the Ides of March (15th of March) a clear hint to the murder of Julius Caesar, but only a tie in to the 'dagger used' than a Caesar implication. Many Questors sought the dagger at the Caesar's Hotel & Casino.
b.) In the assassination of President Lincoln, Booth used both derringer and dagger. (Thomas Paine with large knife later that night attacks Secretary of State Seward)
c.) What other historical political assassination using a dagger stands out?
What does the dagger look like?
The fact that the author at every opportunity tried not to describe the dagger as a 'real' dagger; therefore, a supposition that it is indeed not a real dagger, but still it must have some resemblance to a real dagger. Several Questors picked up the idea that the dagger was 'silver'.
What is a dagger, or at least looks like a dagger but not a dagger?
Writing Habits
Word play interests me, says the author. Vegas Die, like the mantra of Quest Mystery, holds several meanings; "to die" as in death, the plural of dice, a gaming term that fits the book's plot. Ironic, though used in sectional quotes, and references to fate, dice are not used at all in the story's casino plotting.
Red herrings mean 'false trails' and this is pointed out in the use of addresses. There are a lot of misleading directions, but usually they can be spotted quickly.
Phrases within the writing. Most Questors tore apart words like counting how many times various colors were used in the book, or focused on the numbers since they do seem to have some substance, even as red herrings or as inside jokes. Yet, a lot of phrases seemed odd or out of place, not just poorly written phraseology. Certain phrases were hard clues.
Writing Background
"Creativity is part of my psyche," explains author Stephen Grogan, "probably best instilled by being an only child where one had to create imaginary playmates and worlds of escape where daydreams led the good guys to fight heroic battles and after overcoming struggles win victory and capture the damsel's heart.
"It had to be in the 4th or 5th grade, the class assignment was to create half page folded book reports. Read the book, draw a cover, and explain in a sentence or two the gist of the story's plot. I turned in the most mini books and gained an A grade. Without the intrusive noise of brothers and sisters, reading filled in the hours of my downtime.
"Writing followed me throughout life, but, ego aside, a forward personality and leadership provided business opportunities versus a literary career. I lived in interesting times. In writing for the college newspaper, I became an editor. Writing summertime for the Denver Post, and I ended up a founder of the first underground newspaper in Denver. Going to summer school at Harvard, I gained an A- in Creative Writing and a C+ in Economics, a future tell perhaps.
"In my senior year of college at the University of Colorado I was awarded for graduate studies the Shubert Fellowship in Playwriting, but instead of a master's thesis for the stage, wrote my required project as a screenplay with the hope of Hollywood. Not to be.
"Between jobs in 1989 I become involved in the legalization of casino gaming in Colorado and start a gaming newsletter, later evolving to a national casino industry magazine. In an idea moment I feltcasino towns of Central City and Black Hawk could use some gimmick to bring more customers into their mountain towns. Since I had travelled the country watching the success of various marketing campaigns at casinos, I struck on the idea of a 'contest', a treasure hunt that would draw visitors. There is the creed from publishing experts: write what you know, and since I knew casino gaming, the business world, and enjoyed reading history, I wrote out my first fictional project.
"Rocky Mountain Die (word play on a John Denver song) told the story of a fictional old mining town, White Eagle, that seeks to legalize local casino gaming. The characters were townies I knew, a campaign consultant hired by the town, a bartender with deep mental issues, a lady Town Marshall, and a plot featuring an old miner's hidden treasure. The game had a real treasure hidden somewhere in the Colorado mountains, with clues hidden in antique blue bottles, meant to hold apothecary poison.
"In the 1990's, after a divorce, I moved to Nevada to continue in the casino entertainment industry, and re-married. "Rocky Mountain Die" went no further, and looking back the draft writing helped as a good first-start exercise. But somewhere, moving from IBM Selectric to Apple laptop and into WordPerfect, I had passed into the adult world of expostulation, serious at honing my craft, looking hard at what I created, working at storyline, grammar, and dialogue pacing.
Vegas Die
"Looking back, I can't recall the exact stimulant to writing Vegas Die, or when I truly started it. Employment kept my daytime hours busy, so writing over a three year period at night, fighting to stay away from television (I am a TV addict and the battle is to develop my own creativity versus watching other talent).
"Write what you know. The Mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, lived in my neighborhood and had the interesting back story of being a former defense attorney for mobsters. I had been involved in building casinos and had a past employment resume in the business world. And, history was always an interest of mine.
"To plotting, it is expected as the public norm that when writing about Las Vegas one has to exaggerate the tawdry side of Vegas. It would be an unbelievable premise to center a storyline around a simple home life in the suburbs of Las Vegas. To find that setting, visit Tulsa.
"In Vegas Die are all the Vegas characters one comes to expect, mobsters to showgirls, and murder is to many considered a norm to the city...except I added the ingredient of a real hidden treasure. I was aware of Kit William's artistically drawn English book, "Masquerade", the treasure hunt for the Golden Hare. But not being the artist, I had to hide clues in another manner.
"I think the evolution from Rocky Mountain Die to Vegas Die is the definition of what I have sub-titled, a Quest Mystery. The art invoked here is that the reader finishes Vegas Die and is satisfied with the mystery solved, never seeing that there is a deeper treasure hunt where the clues are hidden within the writing: not visible clues but subtlety to be found in numbers, phrases, symbols.
"Sadly, it has not come to pass where the national audience has yet to discover the Quest Mystery structuring and placed Vegas Die on a Best Sellers list. Happily, there are loyal fans that I am sincerely appreciative of and when all is revealed that they may accept as satisfactory and reasonable on how the answers unfold."
Pagination
To date there has been first and second editions printed, with the second edition at a larger point size, spreading the manuscript to additional pages. No page numbers were used in clue formation, unlike in the author's second Quest Mystery, "Captain Cooked". Readers of the solution therefore will see corresponding pages to the 1st and 2nd editions for easy reference.
Dispensing with the fun stuff first
Telephone Numbers:
Chase's office telephone number is the actual Metro Police number, but the non-existent extension, 714, is the badge number of Detective Joe Friday of TV's Dragnet cop show. (Chapter 9, 1st-p.39, 2nd-p.41)
Continuing with the banter between Chase and Owen he responds with his telephone number, the area code for Mississippi where he had just left, then 634-5789, from an old Wilson Picket song. (Chapter 9, 1st-p.39, 2nd-p.41). In joke: lyrics: 'If you need a little lovin', call me'.
702/726-5000 a little harder to grasp but from the Glenn Miller song, Pennsylvania 6-5000. The original prefix would have been 736 but rang to a real number. (Chapter 30, 1st-p.131, 2nd-p.139).
Another song, "867-5309/Jenny". More inside humor, in the song telephone number coming off a bathroom wall in the song. (Chapter 48, 1st-p.225, 2nd -p.235)
For the Baker Street Irregular fans. Chase does a Codis search on McCombs and discovers 'a break-in of his apartment, 221 B Baker Avenue, in Biloxi, a couple of days before he left that State.' (Chapter 19, 1st-p.81, 2nd-p.85). This address in London is that of super sleuth Sherlock Holmes. A Questor might come to realize the author is using various literary tie-ins, and perhaps there might be others, but more subtle). And where do literary examples come from? Books? And where do books come from? Where does one find books?
Inside joke for Questors only: In the Acknowledgment page (1st-p.334, 2nd-p.348), The Author thanks his publisher, 'Only a few privileged will find a friend like Harvey', but misspells a word in the same paragraph, 'stewart' instead of 'steward'. Get it?
Addresses:
340-South Gold Ave. Author's home address is on Silver Ave. (Chapter 11, 1st-- p.50, 2nd -p.54)
--327 Scarlett Pisces Circle translates to 'red fish', meaning red herring, a false trail. (Chapter 36, 1st-p.169, 2nd-p.177)
Other addresses will later be discussed and will help in the narrowing of the geographic area of the search. Several Questors we know sought to map out the various 'real' address locations.
Hidden Meanings:
As to Owen's character and to what he would be facing, Owen travels from Biloxi to Las Vegas. He has a flat tire in Phobosville, Texas, a town which does not exist. Phobos in Greek mythology is the personification of fear and terror, an omen to Owen, further suggested by traveling through Truth and Consequences, New Mexico. Point: Phobos was the son of Ares, god of war and bloodlust.
Card Suits Decoded
There are four book sections, Part I - IV, but in only the first three (Part I- III) are found card suits at various chapter ends.
Questor Dr.Liebschen, a linguist, who used his expertise to tear apart all nuances of Vegas Die, divining clues by cryptologic assumptions which even staggered me as to possibilities the author had not even imagined. Quickly, he realized the card suits were basic 'Morse Code".
Look at chapters 28 to 41. At the end of these chapters, you find 6 sequences of suits. Each sequence has a diamond at its beginning and at its end. This is the case nowhere else and perhaps it says that these sequences go together.
Apart from the diamonds at each end, each sequence is made of clubs, spades and hearts. - There are never 2 clubs in a row. Therefore clubs could be separators. - You are left with smaller groups of 1 to 6 spades and hearts:
28: SHS - SSH
31: SHS - HSS - S
33: SSHHH
34: SHS - HH
38: HSSS SHSS
40: SSHHSS
- Search for "morse code" on google and you land on wikipedia where you see the morse table.
- Assume spade=dot, heart=dash, you get: 28:R-U 31:R-D-E 33:2 34:R-M 38:B-L 40:?
- The opposite, spade=dash, heart=dot, doesn't produce good results.
- From the story, diamonds are usually arranged to form long chains, like necklaces. This may be a hint to place these groups back to back.
- If you do that, the result sounds oddly like "are you ready to rumble?" doesn't it???
This refers to card suits found in Part II
Indeed it infers "Are you ready to rumble?" The signature phrase of Las Vegas boxing announcer, Michael Buffet.
Questor Clue Analysis:
MDC777: The volcano in front of the Mirage!
EditGuppy: Spent the day trying some stuff. No on Caesar shift of letters.No on Vigenere cipher.
Author Intention:
No direct clue. Sets the Vegas tone: are you ready to go and have excitement on your Questor search? Are you ready to rumble?
Part III
MDC777 wrote:
On Part 3 using dot for Spade and dash for Heart I get
MYOPIITWEAKDEATHWTOMELIKEUNWILINGSLEP
or
"My opiate weak death w(as) to me like unwilling sleep"
I think this clue refers to the Keats poem
"On seeing the Elgin Marbles"
My spirit is too weak--mortality
Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep,
And each imagin'd pinnacle and steep
Of godlike hardship, tells me I must die
Like a sick Eagle looking at the sky.
Yet 'tis a gentle luxury to weep
That I have not the cloudy winds to keep,
Fresh for the opening of the morning's eye.
Such dim-conceived glories of the brain
Bring round the heart an undescribable feud;
So do these wonders a most dizzy pain,
That mingles Grecian grandeur with the rude
Wasting of old Time--with a billowy main--
A sun--a shadow of a magnitude.
Questor Clue Analysis:
MDC777:So how does Grecian grandeur and Elgin Marbles tie in with "R U RDE 2 RMBL?"
The statue holding the cup is the God Bacchus which is mentioned on pg199. He is also part of the Elgin marbles.
It seems like a "rumble" to me at the end.
Czshredd: Well, there's the Greek Isles, various Greek restaurants and a Greek Orthodox Church.
Author Intention: A real clue...Elgin Marbles...statues...a statue is featured prominently on page 9 (first and second edition), page 71 first edition (p.75 second edition), and in Chapter 61, "Shoot Out in the Garden of Allah". The hint: look for statues in the book and in Vegas proper. Several red and black dagger clues were found at statues. Are not statues 'art'? Where might you find art? [see Red and Black Daggers]
Part I
The Morse Code in this section turned out to be the most difficult and no one guessed. Each code listed at a chapter's end were either letters or numbers, and when I laid it out to a puzzle as I had in mind having once seen Dr. Spock of Star Trek play three dimensional chess, and more so, as in the newspaper game section, a word jumble. A word Rubik's cube. Here are the letters/numbers then how they were laid out.
Author's Intention: Not a direct clue but those who solved the puzzle would receive a Quest Mystery t-shirt.
Red and Black Daggers
Red
Red Daggers, a red fish stabbed by a knife, were created and placed around town to offer a mini-contest to keep Questor's interest involved against the waning excitement of the initial launch of the book's central treasure hunt.
Red daggers were hidden, five of them with numbers and letters. Any red daggers without numbers and letters signified a false trail or location, and there were several of those put around town. Surprising, two days after this mini-hunt was announced, four of the five daggers were found, showing the intensity of Questors to the in-field hunt. The 5th red dagger was found and the Questor received $500 for naming all five locations. Each red dagger was tied to a location found in the book, and hence the rapidity in discovery. Although red daggers were meant to be false leads as to finding the prize dagger's location, still, the mantra of 'nothing is as it seems', made arranging all daggers together yield a valuable central clue.
| Dagger Code | Location | Book Tie-in |
| 1 | Eastern & Charleston | fictional home of Cassandra Jewelry Emporium |
| 4 | Flamingo Hotel | Bugsy Siegel statue |
| 9 | Neon Boneyard | Owen trapped in dumpster |
| 22 | Italian American Restaurant | Angelo Corallo plays cards here |
| D | Four Queens-Hugo's Restaurant | Mayor and cronies hang-out |
Most of the red daggers were easy to spot on nearby curbs. More difficult, the one at the Italian American Restaurant was on a lamp post stand in the parking lot.
Using a basic substitution for the alphabet, 1 becoming A, etc. one had the following letters: A, D, I, V, D and re-arranged could come up with the name "David". What David is associated with a dagger? More later.
Black
The black daggers were at locations found in the book, most which were related 'statues'. The black daggers are tied to the Sands napkin found at the back of the book. No main clue linked to the Sands Hotel/Casino. Again, keep in mind the concept of 'phrases'. Allusions perhaps may suggest a secondary meaning.
First black dagger found by an out-of-state Questor to be at the airport, the bucking bronco statue, referred to in the book, "of a glazed rainbow bucking bronco, rearing in arch, ready to airborne a shoot 'em up cowboy.' (Chapter 54, 1st edition, p 251, 2nd -p.261)
| Corrello | C | 081 | bucking bronco at airport | |
| Scarpitti | S | 093 | new police station | |
| Chunky DiManna | CD | 446 | ||
| Bluestein | ||||
| Campi | C | 9 | Gordon Biersch Restaurant | |
| Angelo Corrello | AC | N-NA | ||
| Pauli DiManna | PD | N53 | ||
| Owen McCombs | OMc | 643pg | ||
| Chase Taggart | CT | Shlf 38 | ||
| Stephen Grogan | SPG | REF |
It was the intention of Questors to put the black daggers in some semblance of order, but it still might be confusing, unless you stood back, and started seeing there could be a pattern versus the words having a direct code significance. [see photo locations of some of the daggers at the end]Geographical Limitations
At the beginning the dagger was hidden somewhere within the Vegas Valley, which could include North Las Vegas and Henderson. Several Questors even made guesses of mountain locations. Within the book, there were several ways to limit the areas of the search.
The large view: There was the name of an author indirectly mentioned in the book. Building the Magnum Casino the company was called Clive & Sons Construction (Chapter 31,1st--p.135, 2nd-p.143. I was hoping that Questors might start realizing all phrases and names might have a meaning and/or red herrings, so all things must be put to the test. How many 'Clives' do you know? If you thought in terms of 'literary' tie-ins, one apparent name is adventure author Clive Cussler. Focusing on this author and one finds 'dirk' and 'pitted'-looking (page 51).Cussler's hero is Dirk Pitt.
Word plays on Cussler books - page 325 'Absolute shock wave(d) through his body'[Shock Wave is the book] which now if one goes off and reads that book and finds out there is likewise clues leading to a discovery, then one might have picked up on page 169...'the three investigators were data-frazzled, having traipsed computer files from a-zoid to z-zium.' Why write that strangeness? The words morph into traipsed-zoid, trapezoid, trapezium.
Chapter 58, 1st-p.282, 2nd-p.295, refers to 'running an acoustic configuration of take-offs' which is found in Shock Wave with a map of a trapezoid. How does one lay out a trapezoid, but with 'coordinating points', or in this case 'addresses'. Four addresses in Vegas Die can be laid out to form a trapezoid, of which one makes an X to the center point, closes in on the dagger location.
Northern Coordinate Points
Chapter 50, 1st-p232,2nd-
Pecos Road & 215 Bruce Parkway
Chapter 53, 1st-p.247, 2nd-
Buffalo & Cedar Gulf Ave. (N. of Centennial Highway)
Southern Coordinate Points
Fort Apache & West Torino Avenue
Chapter 5, 1st-2nd-p.17
Tyler Ridge Ave. & Palmas Entrada (S. of 215 & W. of 95)
Another limiting factor: birthdays of the Mayor's two grandchildren. 'October second. November ninth.' (Chapter 60,1st-p.293, 2nd-p.305)Translating the dates into numbers, and if you put 89 in front of those numbers,10-2, 11-9 you gain Vegas zip codes, 89102 and 89119--greatly narrowing the scope of the search.
And, the author thought this might be too obvious, but again when something is mentioned and it seems too specific to a location but is out of place in the broader scheme, then indeed it might bear merit.
Jackson Flynn gives Owen his next job assignment: "While you're down there, a Native American tribe is seeking a casino management team. Check them out. Somewhere east of Escondido." (Chapter 62, 1st-p.303; 2nd-p.317)
There is an Escondido street in Las Vegas, north to south, and not very long, and if one were to drive it, they would go right by the building housing the hidden dagger and the mental light bulb would click on.
Finally, there are Questors who analyzed every name, numerical digit, and all locations mentioned in the plotted story. But not one did so for the entire book, either the Publisher's Intro or the Acknowledgment Page at the back. (1st-p.333, 2nd-p.347) One location in the Acknowledgment page is the location where the dagger is hidden.
And the Dagger is hidden...
The simplest solution is usually the correct one.
In history, what are the most remembered assassinations using a dagger? Caesar and Brutus definitely, maybe Lincoln with Booth (he used a dagger), but how about, that of Jean-Paul Marat, the French Revolutionary stabbed with a dagger in his bathtub.
'He swore aloud for a better death. Why hadn't Angelo stabbed him? His tormentor had that extra ceremonial knife. Why here, why not in a warm bath, let him bleed out to a fuzzy, forever sleep?'(Chapter 57,1st -p. 273 and 2nd --p.286). Who had been killed with a dagger in a bathtub? Marat.
If you were looking for something about Marat where would you find it (other than online)?
In a library, and outside of a biographical study, the most readily image is depicted in 'artwork', the most famous, La Mort de Marat,
painted in 1793(Chapter 53, 1st -p-247; 2nd-p. 257)
by Jacques-Louis David (See Red Daggers)
born1748 - died 1825. (Chapter 53, 1st-p.246; 2nd-p. 257)
Clue: The numbers in this part looked like dates, especially if one figure out that '1947B' was the Birth date of the author. And 1748 - 1825 might be a life span. Who lived during this time, and what event with a dagger transpired between these dates, more particularly around 1793?
The reason the black daggers were more critical and harder to find than red daggers was because when laid out properly in the correct sequence, someone could decipher the nuances, a library book shelving code, which would lead a Questor directly to a particular book, and a specific page in that book where a dagger had been placed. During the contest we announced that we had revised the Napkin Code, which were named for characters in book.
| CO 1 | C - 081 | Bucking Bronco |
| S | S - 093 | New Police Station |
| CD 621 | CD 446 | P.F.Changs |
| C | C - 9 | Gordon Biersch Restaurant |
Book Identification Number: ISBN -- 0810934469
| AC_L-__ | AC N-NA | Old Stardust Casino location |
| PD N 52 | PD N53 | Treasures Gentleman's Club |
| ?00.J | 00.J3 | Luxor |
Added later
| OMcC | 643 pg | New City Hall |
| CT | Shlf 38 | Clark County Library |
| SPG | REF | Publisher's mailing address location |
The Location
Library Identification and location
N
5300
J.3
2001
Stack 38 between
The dagger is a laminated bookmark from the cover of Vegas Die, hidden in the Clark County Library in a book entitled History of Art by H.W. Janson (Sixth Edition -2001-- ISBN: 0810934469) on page 643, the artwork, 1793, 'The Death of Marat' by Jaques-Louis David (1748-1825) Library Code (N 5300.J.3 2001)
Reverse side of Vegas Die bookmark
Each week the author would go to the library to make certain the bookmark was in place.
There are actually four dagger bookmarks placed in the library. Since the 'dagger' was first hidden, the library also added another of the same book into Reference (REF), so that additional black dagger clues had to be placed around the valley.
The author then placed one bookmarks at the area where the book would be located, up under the shelf or on the back shelf in case by chance the main stack book was checked out. The Reference Book could not be checked out. That library code was: REF N 5300 J3.
On entering the library, on the right hand side of the building is a quote on a post: "May peace prevail on earth', an awkward phrase used by the Mayor. (Chapter 59, 1st-p.285; 2nd-p.297)
A Questor discovering the bookmark would know what it was, would have contacted the website, and would have been awarded the prize. On the reverse side there was a miniature dagger that looked 'silver', copied on silver paper. Any stranger who found the bookmark would have not known what to do, as one of the requirements as the final qualifying test to a true Questor (found on the reverse side of the bookmark) was to contact the publisher knowing the ISBN of Vegas Die and at least one black dagger clue (the latter posted to the Quest Mystery website).
Did anyone come close?
Many Questors guessed at general addresses, but merely guessing the front of the library would not have been accepted, and no one did so. One Questor queried with several general locations around the city, and listed 'library,' but not more specific. Another time, the same Questor stated: 'Lot's of clues to poets and authors. So possibly the "dagger" is in a bookstore or art gallery. Maybe even a book or painting that you created. That's really all I got. I could email you random locations but that doesn't seem to me like playing fair. We should be able to find it and go get it.' (See the website Forum for the more interesting Questor guesses)
Had anyone said 'is it in the Clark County Library?', the author would have said 'yes', but the search solution still had to be within 15 feet of the location. Once the library would have been discovered, then for long distant Questors, and thereby reported to all, there might have been more leeway to help describe the library layout, and answer any general queries more specifically. The author and publisher always felt the dagger would be located, that a Questor would eventually figure out the art-dagger-literary angle and search out a Marat connection in the library, and there are only one or two books which have this specific dagger killing depiction.
Captain Cooked
The author has created another Questor adventure called "Captain Cooked" by S.P. Grogan, published in July, available on Amazon and as an e-book. This time an actual Questor tourist visit is required to the Big Island of Hawai'i. Still, an armchair Questor might figure out the location of the prize (a Hawaiian War Club, a starting value of $5,000), when all the clues using GPS, and secreted in seven ammunition boxes, would be posted on the website upon discovery. This book was written on the assumption that a large group of Geocachers tourists would spend time scouring the island. But with the book out six months we are finding that the tourists on their arrival, go to Geocaching.com and look for the basic 3 locations, and don't go and buy the book until they leave the island! And therefore missing the other 4 locations scattered around the island. A portion of the proceeds of this book's sale go to the Big Island Food bank program.Conclusion
Vegas Die though not published by a New York publishing house did remarkably well, selling over 10,000 copies. The story won an award for best regional fiction. Book sales were most productive when the author spent his Sunday mornings selling travelers at the Las Vegas McCarran airport (see Grogan's "The Book Signing" short story, available on Amazon). So, we are pleased that Vegas Die travelled to the far corners of the globe.
There are mixed feelings about the concept of the Quest Mystery™ treasure hunt. On the negative side, the author and publisher felt that there would be a greater national following of the treasure hunt, that a wider audience of inquisitives would have jumped in, and book sales would have increased. As it was, the national treasure and prize hunter market seems to be limited. In the future, a greater national marketing campaign needs to be put in place. On the positive side, the author made friends and enjoyed meetings and social exchanges with Questors.
Beyond Vegas Die and Captain Cooked will there be another Quest Mystery? The author needs feedback from Questors, good or bad input. The author is writing a sequel to Vegas Die, but the key to the next Quest Mystery: is it an entertaining treasure hunt with clues that logically lead to the prize. There was frustration with some Questors who, after two years, felt the author and game was at fault since they had not readily uncovered the solution. That will always be a speculation and debate to those who were not the discoverers. Indeed, the mystery and clues must be plotted in the best possible manner to make the Quest Mystery a true hunt, and not a prize found overnight as basically were the red daggers. And since this was the author's first attempt at treasure hunt creation, it is anticipated skill and improvement will come with any future creation, and for the fun of that a Quest would become more intricate, encased with wiser stealth.
Thank you for being a Questor and enjoying Vegas Die. It is the belief of the author you participated in something historic in the literary field, and he is grateful for your participation.
Keep on Questing,
S.P. Grogan
December 14, 2010
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From the Publisher:
Want to have your own 'dagger'? Send $2.50 via PayPal to the publisher and you will receive a laminated Vegas Die bookmark, exactly what was hidden in the Clark County Library, but this book mark specially numbered and autographed by the author.
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Dagger Locations (not all listed)
CD - 446 His mind twisted and pulled, torn asunder between two pairs of powered stallions, continents apart, but near enough, one for each wrenching limb.[ -1st- page 209, Chapter 44, 2nd-pg. 219]
Two pairs of horses, one pair at Chinese fusion restaurant, P.F. Changs, Rampart and Charleston Blvds, the other pair at Queens Ridge homes, further down Charleston Blvd.-Black Dagger half way between both locations as well at base of P.F. Chang horse statues.
S-093 located at new Las Vegas Metro Police Building, under construction
PD N53 Treasures Gentlemans Club - statuary located here, but daggers located in two locations at front of building