I'm now 5+ years into this podcast journey now with over 200 episodes available - including bonus & special episodes. There's a ton of great topics I've covered on the show over the years and a lot of those episodes are now buried deep in the archives.

So, I thought that to save you searching all over the place for those episodes, I'd go ahead and do the digging for you with a feature I like to call, "From The Vault", where I re-share some of the best conversations from the run of the podcast.

This time around, I'd like to share one of my all-time favorite quotes:

"I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious." - Michael Scott, The Office

Whether we like to admit it or not, i think everyone is a little bit superstitious to some degree. And i don’t think there’s anywhere in the world where that superstitious nature is on display more than in Las Vegas.

Whether it’s a lucky shirt that you always wear when playing blackjack, tapping the buttons in a certain order when playing video poker, or not using $50 bills in slot machines.

And these are just a few examples of things i’ve seen on my many trips to Vegas.

But is there any science behind superstition? To answer that question, i decided to bring in a professional.

Stuart Vyse is a behavioral scientist, a teacher and a writer. He’s also an expert on superstition & irrational behaviour.

I wanted to get his take on the world of superstitions.

We discussed some of the most common superstitions & their origins, we chatted about whether or not certain cultures are more superstitious than others and we talked about some famous superstitions in the world of sports, music and theater.

If you'd like to learn more about Stuart and the world of superstitions & irrational behaviour, be sure to visit his website.

Stuart's books, "Believing In Magic: The Science of Superstition" and "Superstition: A Very Short Introduction" are both available via his website or from your favourite book seller.

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

I’m now a little over 5 years into my vegas podcasting adventure, and in that time, i’ve completed well over 200 episodes – including bonus & special episodes. Back in the early days of the show, i covered some pretty interesting topics and had conversations with some pretty incredible guests. Unfortunately, a lot of those episodes are now buried deep in the podcast archives and the chances of new listeners discovering them are pretty low.

So, in order to save you from having to go digging for them, i’ve put together a feature i’m calling “From The Vault”, where I re-share what I consider to be some of the best content from the early days of the podcast.

And this time around, we’re going to talk about the science of smell…

If you’ve ever been to Las Vegas, you’re well aware of the unique scents of the various casinos & hotels up and down the strip. In fact, if you ask people what one of their favorite parts of going to Vegas is, they’ll often tell you, “it’s the smell inside the casinos” – and it seems everyone has their preferred casino scent. So much so that there are literally thousands of posts online from people asking how to either purchase or replicate their favorite casino scent.

But what’s the big deal about smell? Why is the “scent” of a casino so important that the companies that own them spend - literally - millions of dollars on the development and distribution of these so-called “signature scents”.

To get the answer, i turned to an expert…

Dr. Rachel Herz is a cognitive neuroscientist, a Ted-X speaker, published author, and a world-renowned expert on the psychological science of smell.

In addition, Dr. Herz has worked as a consultant for multiple international corporations on the development of fragrances & flavors – including the company first responsible for installing scent vaporizer systems in The Mirage back in 1991.

Dr. Herz and I discussed how the sense of smell works, the connection between scents and emotions & memory, how businesses use scent to affect customer behavior, and much more.

To learn more about the science and psychology of scent, visit Dr. Herz's website or follow her on Twitter. You can also pick up one of her books:

• "The Scent Of Desire: Discovering Our Enigmatic Sense Of Smell"
• "Why You Eat What You Eat: The Science Behind Our Relationship With Food"
• That's Disgusting: Unraveling The Mysteries Of Repulsion"

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!

5 years into my Vegas podcasting journey, I've completed over 200 episodes - including bonus & special episodes. Way back in the early days of the podcast, I had some pretty cool conversations & covered some great topics that are now buried deep in the archives where anyone new to the show is unlikely to find them.

So, to save people the effort of going on the hunt for them, I'm doing the digging for you with a feature I'm calling, "From The Vault", where I re-share some of the best episodes from the early days of the podcast.

This time, I've got inside info that could keep you from making a HUGE mistake on your next Las Vegas trip...

Imagine this situation: You're walking down the strip with your significant other, minding your business, when all of the sudden someone jumps out in front of you and says, "What a lovely couple...how would you like some free tickets to a show?"

First-timers & newbies are thinking, "Sure...where do I sign up?" Meanwhile, the Vegas veterans are saying, "RUN! RUN AS FAST YOU CAN...AND RUN FAR AWAY!!!"

As anyone can tell you, nothing in Las Vegas is "free"...and the price of those "free tickets" is having to sit through a Timeshare Presentation.

For this edition of "From The Vault", we're going back to my conversation with Lisa Ann Schreier - aka "The Timeshare Crusader". Lisa spent over 20 years working in the Timeshare industry and has since moved on to become a consumer advocate, author, and blogger helping to keep people informed of some of the shady practices going on in the business.

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Jeff Does Vegas is an official Vegas.com affiliate!

Help support the podcast & get exclusive deals by booking your hotel stays, shows, attractions, tours, clubs and even complete vacation packages (including air & hotel) with our special link!