Droning America: Las Vegas, NV

On this episode of Droning America, Angie heads to Sin City where she meets up with headliner hypnotist Anthony Cools! Anthony shows off some of his favorite, lesser-known parts of Vegas, including his "Toy Box." He takes Angie and crew up in his Cessna so that they can get an aerial view of the surrounding landscape. They then head out to the Calico basin to check out more of Vegas' hidden gems. The landscape and wildlife is breathtaking; it looks nothing at all like earth and is the home to many film production sites. Anthony and Angie head to the strip in Anthony's Lamborghini and The Strip gets highlighted by our drones. From the Bellagio Water Show to the Paris Eiffel Tower, our drones captured Vegas in its true colors. Angie says goodbye to Anthony right before his show starts, and the crew sticks around to enjoy the very entertaining performance by Anthony.
This episode of Droning America is one you won't want to miss...Las Vegas has never looked so good with the help of our aerial perspective.
Check out all the other cities we've visited on Droning America by visiting us at AirVūz.com! VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Angie Avestruz: Hello, and welcome to Droning America. I'm your host, Angie Avestruz. Today, we're in the entertainment capital of the world. It's known as Sin City, and what happens here, stays here. Welcome to Las Vegas, Nevada. [00:00:30] Our first stop in Vegas is a little off the beaten path and not a tourist destination, but it's where our local celebrity is waiting for us. We are so thrilled to be hanging out with headliner hypnotist, Anthony Cools, in Las Vegas. Anthony, thank you so much for taking time to show us around. Anthony Cools: Angie, Thanks for having me. Angie Avestruz: Now, where are we right now, here in Vegas? Anthony Cools: Well, we're [00:01:00] at an airport called KVGT North Las Vegas, and we're actually in my toy box. Angie Avestruz: Okay, and what do you keep here in the toy box? Anthony Cools: Toys, toys for big boys. You know, whoever dies with the most wins. No, a plane, a few cars, things I'm not allowed to keep in my community center, all those wonderful things. It's my little escape, my man cave. Angie Avestruz: Wow, it's a pretty nice man cave. Anthony Cools: Thanks. Angie Avestruz: We are standing next to your airplane right now, your Cessna. Anthony Cools: Yes. Angie Avestruz: What got you into flying? Anthony Cools: I've been fascinated by flying since I can remember, Angie. I mean, like literally as a toddler, eight or nine years old, I was making [00:01:30] my own paper airplanes and model airplanes since I can remember back, and now I'm able to afford to actually get up in the air, so it's great. Angie Avestruz: And, you not only fly real airplanes, you also fly drones. Anthony Cools: Heavily- [crosstalk 00:01:43] Angie Avestruz: ... same interest? Anthony Cools: Heavily, heavily the drones. Yeah, I have a video production company called Avion Cinema. You can reach us at AvionCinema.com, or email me at anthony@avioncinema.com. Shameless plug, sorry. We do full blown video production, but we do a lot of drone work. We primarily do a lot of drone work. The 333 [00:02:00] exemption is one of the reasons I [inaudible 00:02:02] flying a plane. Angie Avestruz: Now, you fly airplanes; you fly drones. Is there a big difference? Where do you like to fly both of those? Anthony Cools: Right. Well, I like to fly over Red Rock. Locally, the strip at night is beautiful. The Valley of Fire's great, and both for drones and for real airplanes. The drones, you tend to get a little bit of more dramatic shots, right, obviously. You have to stay minimum height from things like that up in a plane, but the drones, you're allowed to get up close and personal with a lot of the nature. Angie Avestruz: Yeah. You mentioned Red Rock. That's not too far away from us right now? Anthony Cools: Nah, we can be up there [00:02:30] in like 10 minutes. Angie Avestruz: Should we head over there? Anthony Cools: You wanna go? Angie Avestruz: I'm gonna say yes right now. We'll see. Anthony Cools: Okay, okay. Well, I'm gonna show you where the barf bags are. Come on with me. Angie Avestruz: I normally prefer leaving the aerial shots up to the drone, but I couldn't resist a ride in Anthony's plane, to take in the sights from above. While it [00:03:00] was a little shaky at times, there's no denying the views of Red Rock Canyon were breathtaking. Anthony, we made it. Where are we hanging out right now? Anthony Cools: We are in the Calico Basin, which is on the opposite side of Red Rock where we flew over with the plane earlier on. I thought maybe this would be a good opportunity to come out here, check it out, and do the opposite side. Angie Avestruz: It is just beautiful. What do people come out here to do? Anthony Cools: Oh, there's some amazing hiking around here, [00:03:30] and there's some great wildlife photography, cinematography. I mean, there's so much to do out here. I love it out here. I come out here just to sit around, relax. Angie Avestruz: What kind of wildlife do you see out here? Anthony Cools: Well, they have, let's see, wild burros. We have wild horses, and then the usual array of tortoises, rabbits, and things that will kill you. Angie Avestruz: Now, when you think of Las Vegas, I'm sure a lot of people don't think of this beautiful scenery and desert life. Are there other areas around the city like this? Anthony Cools: If you can spend a day at the [00:04:00] Valley of Fire, I would highly recommend it. They do a lot of filming for motion pictures out there, because the landscape looks nothing at all like Earth. It cannot be described how beautiful it is, very dramatic. But, if you're gonna come, make sure you don't do it in July and August, 'cause you'll die. It's [inaudible 00:04:16] 120 degrees- [crosstalk 00:04:17] Angie Avestruz: Oh, gosh. Anthony Cools: Yep. They call it the Valley of Fire for a reason. Angie Avestruz: As a local person, is it a popular thing to head to the strip, or do people generally avoid it? Anthony Cools: It's funny, you know. When I moved down here, I said, "Oh, oh, I'm gonna love the strip [inaudible 00:04:29] as much as [00:04:30] humanly possible." I was down here for eight months, and I was out probably four, five, six nights a week 'til 11:00, noon, 1:00pm the next day, and it got old pretty fast. I think a lot of locals think the way I do, and that's like you couldn't pay me enough money to go down there now. I like working down there. It's an interesting thing to see, but after living here since '03, I'm over it. Angie Avestruz: Speaking of working down there, you have a show coming up tonight that we're gonna check out. Anthony Cools: Yes. Angie Avestruz: Should we head to the strip now? Anthony Cools: We should head to the strip now, 'cause I gotta get beautiful. [crosstalk 00:04:59] Angie Avestruz: Can we take this thing? Anthony Cools: Who's- [crosstalk 00:05:01] Angie Avestruz: Can [00:05:00] I drive it? I'm driving. Anthony actually let me get behind the wheel of his Lambo to drive to the strip. While Anthony gets ready for his show tonight, we're gonna check out some of the highlights on the strip. [00:05:30] Anthony, our very [00:06:00] last stop here in Las Vegas is here- Anthony Cools: I'm sad. I'm sad. It was so much fun. Angie Avestruz: It's been a wild day, that's for sure, but we are here at the Paris Las Vegas, standing center stage, where your show takes place. Anthony Cools: You coming up on stage tonight? Angie Avestruz: TBD on that one. We have to hear a little bit more about it, so tell us about the Anthony Cools experience. Anthony Cools: Well, it's a very adult orientated hypnosis show. This is not family entertainment. You won't see people clucking like chickens or barking like dogs. You will see people doing very adult things that I can't even mention on the air right now. Let's just [00:06:30] say that the show always ends on a big O. We'll leave it there. Angie Avestruz: Not selling me on it, but keep going. Anthony Cools: Okay, all right, so it's the longest running hypnosis in all of Las Vegas history and on the planet, which I'm very, very proud of. We're now into our 11th year down here. Angie Avestruz: Congrats. Anthony Cools: Thanks. Angie Avestruz: This chair in front of us, does this play a big role in the show? Anthony Cools: Oh, chairs, chairs always play a big role in the show, but I'm not gonna give that away. It's for you to come down and check it out for yourself. Angie Avestruz: You heard it here. If you're coming to Vegas, make sure to stop by Paris Las Vegas to check out the Anthony Cools experience. Anthony Cools: Absolutely. Angie Avestruz: Well, thank you so much for hanging out with us all day. Like I said, it's been a wild [00:07:00] ride. Anthony Cools: I'm glad that you didn't destroy my Lambo. Angie Avestruz: It was great. All right, everyone enjoy the show.