Reading is all right in Las Vegas

So you go to Las Vegas for the weekend. Bet a few college games on Saturday. A few more NFL games on Sunday. In between you head to the craps table. Maybe some Blackjack. And then where do you go to blow you winnings? No, not a strip joint, but you can if you wish. No, now on the Strip, you can buy a few books. And not just some ordinary book from Barnes and Nobles. We're talking rare book. That's right, in Vegas. On the Strip. Rare books. LA Times Vegas blogger Richard Abowitz shares this story:

Here, collectors can find a $375 paperback of Ian Fleming’s “Octopussy,” one of the store’s low-priced offerings, for pool reading. Or if you hit on roulette, for $250,000, you can purchase a first edition of the account of Lewis & Clark’s expedition.

Bauman Rare Books sticks out like either a guiding light or a sore thumb amid the Palazzo’s retail shops, with their designer handbags and dresses. On the Strip, even chain stores such as Borders and Barnes & Noble have not found placing an outlet in a resort's mall worth doing. After all, people don’t generally come here to read books, nor is Vegas known for its book collectors.