Friday, Aug. 7, 1998 | 12:59 p.m.
Jim Meyers, a South Carolina bus driver, arrived in Las Vegas at about 3 a.m. yesterday. He had driven a bus up from San Diego and was looking forward to seeing the Strip's neon lights against an early morning sky when it happened again.
A young woman leaned out the window of a car on Interstate 15, pulled up her shirt, and gave Meyers a look at what was underneath.
"Yeah, it happened about three or four times last night," Meyers said. "It happens all the time when people see the bus."
Being flashed has become a common occurrence for Meyers as he pilots the Playboy 2000 Playmate Search bus on a 47-city trip across the country.
The 45-foot long, jet-black bus is pretty hard to miss, and that is what Playboy is banking on to help find the playmates of the new millennium.
"We are going across the country meeting people and trying to find those special women," said Regina Davis, a Playboy spokesperson. "The bus was built just for this search, which is the biggest in Playboy history.
"Playboy wanted to go out and show people that we are accessible and that we're normal people just like them. The only difference is that we have cooler jobs."
The bus began its tour on July 13 in Vancouver, British Columbia, and will be in Las Vegas through Saturday in the parking lot at the Hard Rock hotel-casino. Between 250 and 300 women are expected to fill out questionnaires and have their pictures taken at each stop in the hopes that they are Playboy material.
"I don't really know what to expect, but I thought I'd give it a try," said Rachel Kline, a cocktail waitress and third-year marketing student at UNLV. "I don't really know what they are looking for, but I hope it's someone natural because I don't have any silicon."
Playboy will be accepting applications from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Saturday before heading to Albuquerque. Davis said she has been impressed with the contingent of women from Las Vegas so far.
"The girls in Vegas seem to be very friendly and chatty," Davis said. "In some other cities we get people that are really nervous, but these girls seem to be taking it in stride. They could probably teach me a thing or two."
Kline and five other hopefuls sat in an air-conditioned tent filling out information packets and were then ushered into the bus. They were greeted by a 1,215 square-foot black leather interior, 120 square-feet of mirrored ceiling and the Playboy rabbit everywhere they looked.
Crystal Williams, an aspiring actress and Las Vegas business owner, sat on a leather couch and listened as playboy personnel explained that they would be taking pictures of each applicant and then sending those shots to editors in Chicago.
"Being in Playboy has always been a dream of mine," said Williams the owner of two local pizzerias. "I'd be on top of the world if they picked me to be a playmate in 2000.
"The idea of the Playboy will never be outdated. As long as there are men and women there will be fans of the Playboy image and the magazine."
It took about 45 minutes for Kline and Williams to go through the entire process, which included pictures in bathing suits and optional topless shots.
"I was a little nervous because I'm not use to having my picture taken like that unless my lover is doing the shooting," said Kline, who opted to do the topless shots. "I don't know how I did, but I had fun."
Another person having fun was Playboy staffer Salvatore Bellissimo.
"It's a little hot out here today, but you can't complain on this job," Bellissimo said. "I look at beautiful women all day, and they pay me for it."
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