Some Tennessee tea partiers are in hot water with a Las Vegas gambling resort that’s accusing them of skipping out on a big hotel bill.

On Monday Venetian Casino Resort, LLC., filed suit against Tea Party Nation Corporation of Franklin, Tenn., alleging the group owes $642,144 for canceling a conservative conclave last year. The event, which had been scheduled for July 14–18, 2010, was first postponed until October and ultimately canceled.

The Daily Caller reported at the time there was a lack of people willing to pay $399 for a weekend pass or $125 per day to hear speakers such as conservative commentator Laura Ingraham or politician Sharron Angle, who at the time was in the midst of a failed campaign to oust Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Las Vegas.

The lawsuit covers the dates for the proposed July event. Judson Phillips of Tea Party Nation said he hasn’t seen the lawsuit and wouldn’t comment on the accusations. Las Vegas Sands spokesman Ron Reese said the company would have no comment on the case.

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It’s an example of how we are living in a state of hyperreality, in which symbols or images become more real to us than the original reality they were supposed to represent. Now, in the minds of millions of unaware people (and the government itself), Las Vegas’ fake, amusement-park statue has become the “right” one.

Deep beneath Vegas’s glittering lights lies a sinister labyrinth inhabited by poisonous spiders and a man nicknamed The Troll who wields an iron bar.

But astonishingly, the 200 miles of flood tunnels are also home to 1,000 people who eke out a living in the strip’s dark underbelly.

Some, like Steven and his girlfriend Kathryn, have furnished their home with considerable care – their 400sq ft “bungalow” boasts a double bed, a wardrobe and even a bookshelf. They have been there for five years, fashioning a shower out of a water cooler, hanging paintings on the walls and collating a library from abandoned books. Steven was forced into the tunnels three years ago after his heroin addiction led to him losing his job.

Matthew O’Brien, a reporter who stumbled across the tunnel people when he was researching a murder case, has set up The Shine A Light foundation to help. “These are normal people of all ages who’ve lost their way, generally after a traumatic event,” he said.

“Many are war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress…It’s not known how many children are living there, as they’re kept out of sight, but I’ve seen evidence of them – toys and teddy bears.”

Las Vegas resorts have long vied to be known as the hottest place in town. But that’s not such a great distinction for Vdara, a 10-month-old Strip hotel-condo where a “death ray” of strong Nevada sunlight reflects off the concave, all-glass facade and onto sections of the pool deck throughout the day.

Chicago attorney Bill Pintas felt its power firsthand after returning to his lounge chair after a swim last week. “It felt like I had a chemical burn. I couldn’t imagine why my head was burning,” said Pintas, who owns a condo in the 57-story building. “Within 30 seconds, the back of my legs and back were burning. My first thought was, ‘Jesus, they destroyed the ozone layer!’”

Despite what Vdara’s bartenders, pool attendants and visitors mockingly call it, the problem is technically known as “solar convergence.” The sun’s heat is amplified as it reflects off the curved building, creating areas of increased heat that, during a midday Monday visit by AOL News, made the metal parts of some chairs dangerous to touch.

“It was fine here a little while ago, but then all of a sudden I felt like I was frying,” said pool patron Danielle Civello, visiting from Dallas. “That’s weird.”

It sounds like a George Lopez joke: “Times are so bad that I saw an Anglo day laborer standing outside Home Depot the other day.”

Except it’s true…In the latest sign of the Las Vegas Valley’s economic free fall, U.S. citizens are starting to show up in the early mornings outside home improvement stores and plant nurseries across the Las Vegas Valley, jostling with illegal immigrants for a shot at a few hours of work.