The recession has hit the Vegas strip hard.

Big toys for big boys in Vegas sandpit
by Stephen White on Sep 4, 2011

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Las Vegas' latest attraction is a theme park that lets adults play with heavy equipment that was once needed to build the strip's big venues.

Dig This is the brainchild of businessman Ed Mumm, who was inspired after renting and operating an excavator while building a house in nearby state Colorado.

Mumm says that visitors to Dig This pay between $200 to $750 to play in his life-sized sandbox.

"I thought to myself: If I'm having this much fun, imagine the amount of people that don't get to do this stuff that would love to do this," he told a local newspaper. 

"When they're in those machines, everything else doesn't mean anything," he added. "They've forgotten about all the stresses in their lives because the fact is, they've got to focus on that piece of equipment. When they get in there and they rev up that engine, they know they've got a serious programme on their hands."