Maybe it is temptingly cliché to write a story about Las Vegas that includes a plethora of gambling analogies, but let's face it, freestyle motocross success is all about risk and reward and the hopeful kinship of one Lady Luck. This weekend is going to be a raucous affair in Sin City with the action sports world crowding into town for both the final stop of this year's Dew Tour and the inaugural Monster Energy Cup taking place at Sam Boyd stadium.

Dew Tour returns to it's "off-strip" home at the Hard Rock Hotel with a full slate of the best skating and biking the extremers have to offer, plus the second annual outing for the Hart and Huntington Best Whip competition. This was a popular affair last year, with a winner-takes-all format and a critical team of peers judging how upside down and sideways each one of the competitors could get their bodies and bikes.

2011 proves to be just as challenging to the six-man field, where the success level and rewards from your whip are going to be just as difficult to define. Is it the sideways nature of the whip -- moving it turndown style and somehow bringing it back from the brink of disaster -- or will it be the upside down steeze, with the helmet almost touching the landing? Just how do you define the "perfect" whip?

Almost certainly bringing the biggest thrills will be Australia's Jarryd McNeil, a rider who some claim has been unfairly shut out of his rightful crown at X Games 17 Best Whip. McNeil has an almost uncanny ability to move the bike around unnaturally in almost every plane imaginable and then righting it just before meeting terra firma. This year he will have to prove himself against Ronnie Renner, who feels that it's time the people got to see just what his real upside down whip looks like. Renner has been absent from the Best Whip scene for a while now, but claims he has ideas on what to throw down to earn him the win in this weekend's competition: "Whips are still the coolest trick in the book, because everyone does them with their own style. I'd say it lays a foundation for the word freestyle," says Renner. "When everyone is on point, no doubt its tough to judge. I figure if I can get the feel for the setup, then I can still hang with the best of them. If not, I'll try till I almost eat it!"

Trying to keep both McNeil and Renner at bay are a who's-who of sideways stunners like Myles Richmond and Destin Cantrell -- the youth of America gone astray on their motorcycles. But despite the young guns' dexterity, there has to be a certain fear whenever you are faced with the awesomeness of Beau Bamburg, the "Basher" from Oregon, who can manipulate his motorcycle any way he wants to ... and who's to argue?

Best Whip at Dew happens Friday night, under the lights, close to the Hard Rock Hotel on Harmon Avenue. Maybe check the early odds at the sports book.

Of course sideways and upside down is just the start of the story as we transition into Saturday and another event with a small cast of characters. The Monster Cup Supercross event is certainly going to be a sight to behold with its ginormous track taking over Sam Boyd stadium, but the stakes are highest on Saturday night with the Best Trick competition -- a sideshow that just might steal the spotlight.

The talk of the town in Las Vegas will certainly be Kyle Loza and his now legendary quest for the bike flip. This is a trick where the rider detaches himself from the bike, except for one grip, then tries to have the bike perform one vertical revolution before reattaching himself for touchdown. The fact that Loza (who may weigh a buck-twenty soaking wet) is trying this trick makes it all the more intriguing. The bike flip is a trick that has not been held close to his vest. So far he has claimed the bike flip at two X Games Best Trick competitions before pulling out with injury at the last minute. He faces a skeptical public this time out.

I caught up with fellow competitor, Mark "Monz" Monea, the creator of the "Carry On" front flip and asked him what he thought of the challenges in Loza's trick:

"The bike spins around, but the last part is the hard part. BMX riders have trouble with it so that's the way I'm looking at it. Be pumped if he does do it"

Of course, Monea himself had some challenges with his own crazy forward spinning, off-axis trick this summer. "Yeah I had trouble with it at X Games but it was not a huge mistake that caused it. I only jumped a foot too far, which caused the front wheel to wash out when I landed. This time I'm just as confident in landing, just because I know I can stick it. I have landed it before so there's no reason I can't do it again," explained Monea.

Monea and Loza are also up against a stacked field which includes Cameron Sinclair with his double backflip, and fellow Aussie Jackson Strong who has a proven front flip in his arsenal. One thing is for sure in Vegas this weekend -- the stakes are high and bluffing won't help you, no matter how big a game you talk. As the lights of Sin City twinkle, it will all be up to the roll of the dice.