Nigeria, Oct. 28 -- "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." I had always considered that a remarkably convenient rule. This time, however, I broke with tradition. I returned to Las Vegas for "The Assembly," the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists' conference, and the visit gave me a few stories I could not quite leave behind.

Getting to Vegas was a story of its own. After nearly 20 hours of travel, I boarded the final leg from New York's JFK Airport to Las Vegas, thinking the hard part was over. It was a domestic flight, so I had imagined a short hop. Five hours later, I was less certain. 'Na this one dem dey call short flight?' That one flight was roughly as long as flying from Lagos to Cairo.

Somewhere over the ...