What Plummets In Vegas, Stays In Vegas

John and Mike explained what happened (paraphrasing):

John: We had come out of the bicycle convention and we were walking on the sidewalk on The Strip in front of the Wynn Casino, when we looked up at the escalators people use to get to the pedestrian walkway across The Strip. There was this guy, probably a fellow biker, about 20 years old, who was going up the escalator, but on the outside: his hands were on the rail, but he was stepping along the outer metal flange. I looked away briefly, then *bang!* he fell from the top, 20 feet onto the sidewalk, right in front of us.

Mike: He fell on his side. He didn't move at all for at least 20, maybe 30 seconds, until he started moaning slightly, as his friends gathered around.

John: If we had been back in Oklahoma City, I would have rushed over and said "Oh my God! What happened? Can we help?" But here in Las Vegas, you wonder if this sort of thing is normal, people falling from great heights onto the sidewalk. So, we stepped past and let his friends call the ambulance.

So, what happened? Looking at the top of the escalator, at where the plexiglass barrier would prevent you from continuing further, it would seem like child's play to simply push oneself up and over the handrail and jump back onto the escalator. But if one hesitates, for whatever reason, then you have to start moving your hands over each other, interweaving them, to continually maintain contact with the handrail. It would be be altogether too easy to let go of the handrail altogether for an instant, and if one's weight is also back - if one isn't already standing erect - then you'll fall!

I can see the temptation. It looks SO easy! Looks may be deceptive in this case, however. Not the first time in Las Vegas that looks deceived.