Story Archive

One Time Around

“Please put all cigarettes out and put all clothes back on,” came the announcement over the intercom on the High Roller, the world’s largest Ferris Wheel, in Las Vegas, Nev. Each cabin on the 550-foot-diameter observation wheel can accommodate up to 40 passengers, but Cabin 16 only had two: a man and a woman who had undressed and were having sex, and (gasp!) apparently smoking on the attraction. With the request over the intercom the couple paused, but then went right back to it. “The guests in Cabin 15 not only noticed but were video recording the acts” with their cell phones, the police report notes. By the time the half-hour ride was over, the couple’s ride was over too — they were fully clothed. Chloe Scordianos, 21, of Hicksville, N.Y., and Philip Frank Panzica III, 27, of Houston, Texas, were charged with committing sex acts in public, which is a felony in Nevada. The wheel, at the Caesar’s casino, is billed as “The Happiest Half Hour in Vegas!” (RC/Las Vegas Review-Journal) ...For once, something in Vegas that’s not over-hyped.