Viva Las Vegas!

With a statuesque brunette decked out in showgirl regalia standing alongside, John Fenyes, director of sales for Allegiant Air, announced Wednesday the airline will begin flying from Casper to Las Vegas on Sept. 19.

Allegiant Air will operate 150-seat, MD-80 jet aircraft - the largest flying the Casper market - nonstop to Las Vegas twice a week. The flights will leave Casper at 10:35 a.m. and arrive in Las Vegas at 11:35 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays.

"You could be winning your fortune around 12 noon," Fenyes said.

Flights will depart Las Vegas at 7 a.m. and arrive in Casper at 9:55 a.m.

The announcement came at a morning press conference at Casper/Natrona County International Airport.

Airport Manager Glenn Januska said Fort Collins, Billings, Rapid City and Idaho Falls have Allegiant Air service, so in a sense, a hole in the region's midsection was filled Wednesday.

Januska said Casper will act as a catchment area for people throughout central Wyoming who want to visit Las Vegas.

Local officials talked with Allegiant Air for more than a year to bring the service to Casper.

Fenyes said Casper fits the market profile for low-cost Allegiant Air. The carrier looks for underserved communities with little or no nonstop service, a good population base and no Southwest Airlines presence.

In doing market research, the company found people from Casper and Cheyenne frequently use Allegiant Air in Fort Collins, Colo. "We know the demand is here," Fenyes said.

As an introductory offer, travelers can book one-way fares for as low as $79, which must be purchased by July 26 and are valid through Dec. 15. One-way fares on the route will start at $99 one-way thereafter.

Allegiant Travel Co., through its Allegiant Air subsidiary, offers air travel on a stand-alone basis and bundled with hotel rooms, rental cars and other travel-related services.

"We are a full service travel company that happens to own an airline," Fenyes said.

Allegiant Travel Co. is based in Las Vegas. It links travelers in small cities to such leisure destinations as Orlando and Tampa/St. Petersburg in Florida, and the Phoenix-Mesa area in Arizona, in addition to Las Vegas.

A footnote: Porsha, the most dazzling feature of Wednesday's event, wore a skimpy royal blue costume complete with plume headdress and sparkling choker.

Porsha stood 5-foot-10, but seemed taller, which she attributed to her impressive headdress. She said showgirls need to be at least 5-foot-9.

She was named not after a very expensive automobile, but after a character in the "Merchant of Venice," although Shakespeare's "Portia" was spelled differently.

And no, don't expect to see Porsha as a flight attendant. She just works openings for the airline through a Las Vegas agency.

Business Editor Tom Mast can be reached at tom.mast@trib.com, or call 307-266-0574.