Clark County District Courtroom No. 1 doesn't appear on any tourist maps of Sin City, but for Joey Strom and Katharine Marcus, there is no bigger attraction in Las Vegas.

When the sisters came to town this week for a family reunion, they breezed by the Strip's grand casinos and downtown's $5.99 all-you-can-eat filet mignon deals and headed straight toward Fourth Street.

The women are avid fans of the Rudin trial and wanted to see live what they had fallen in love with on television.

"We knew we were coming and for a month, we've been saying, 'Maybe we can get in,'" said Strom, as she stood on the grass outside the courthouse Monday morning.

"We love true crime. The psychology behind it. People doing these things when they know the reality of being caught," explained the Washington State resident who owns, of all things, a kangaroo farm in Seattle with her husband. Her sister, a retired schoolteacher from Florida, nodded agreement.

"It was so exciting to actually go into the courtroom and see the judge and the attorneys. It was more real," Strom said.

She and her sister were beaming as they slipped into seats in the rear of the gallery.

One of her first observations, she recalled, was that everyone in the court was more attractive than on television.

"John Momot is so handsome," she said, referring to the newest addition to Rudin's defense team.

Further observations were curtailed. Moments after their arrival, a bailiff approached the women and informed them that their shorts were a violation of the dress code and they would have to leave immediately.

"We had thought about wearing pants, but then we thought, 'Oh, no it's Vegas!'" Strom explained.

Undeterred, the women walked to a discount clothing store two blocks from the courthouse and bought matching pairs of stretch pants.

The pants didn't break the bank. "Six ninety-nine," Marcus bragged.

They rushed back to the courthouse, pulled their new purchases on over their shorts in the bathroom, readjusted their fanny packs and were back in the gallery less than a half hour after they'd been asked to leave. They watched Sharon Cooper's cross-examination, smiling.

"The highlight of the trip," Marcus pronounced.