PA44 PLT ON VFR FLT TO VGT FROM E OF LAS IS INSTRUCTED TO PROCEED DIRECT.

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WE PLANNED OUR FLT TO VGT; NV; SO THAT WE WOULD COME UPON THE CLASS B AIRSPACE FROM PEACH SPRINGS VOR TO LAKE MEAD TO SET OURSELVES UP FOR THE SHOWBOAT ARR AS DEPICTED ON THE LAS VEGAS TAC. WE HAD BEEN RECEIVING FLT FOLLOWING FROM ZLA; WHO CANCELED FLT FOLLOWING AS WE APCHED THE LAS VEGAS CLASS B AIRSPACE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO DO A HDOF TO LAS VEGAS APCH. WE SQUAWKED 1200 AND CONTACTED LAS VEGAS APCH. AFTER ESTABLISHING COMS WITH APCH; WE WERE ASSIGNED A BEACON CODE AND INSTRUCTED TO PROCEED DIRECT TO VGT AT OR ABOVE 3500 FT MSL. WE WERE WELL E OF THE WASH MARINA ENTRY POINT FOR THE SHOWBOAT ARR AT THE TIME WE WERE CHARTED TO GO DIRECT TO VGT. WE PROCEEDED DIRECT TO VGT FROM OUR PRESENT POS WHICH VECTORED US OVER NELLIS AFB. AS WE APCHED NELLIS; THE CTLR QUERIED US AS TO WHETHER OR NOT WE HAD FLOWN THE AREA BEFORE (WE HAD NOT) AND IF WE COULD SEE NELLIS (IT WAS OBSCURED BY MOUNTAINS -- WE SAW IT ON THE TAC). HE THEN VECTORED US ONTO THE SHOWBOAT ARR AND WE LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT AT VGT. NEVER ONCE DID THE CTLR MENTION THE SHOWBOAT ARR. 2 THINGS NEED IMPROVEMENT. 1) ZLA SHOULD HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO DO HDOFS TO LAS VEGAS APCH FOR VFR ACFT. VERY POOR SYS MGMNT FOR ATC TO KNOW ABOUT AN ACFT'S INTENTIONS FOR THE PAST 3 HRS (WE HAD FLT FOLLOWING TO LAS VEGAS) BUT THEN FORGET ABOUT THE ACFT JUST AS IT IS ENTERING BUSY CLASS B AIRSPACE. 2) THE APCH CTLR'S PHRASEOLOGY WAS VERY PRECISE (CLRED DIRECT TO) BUT NOT WHAT HE MEANT (FLY THE SHOWBOAT AR). WE WERE WELL AWARE OF THE ARR AND EXPECTED IT; BUT WHEN A CTLR USES SPECIFIC PHRASEOLOGY THAT EXPEDITES THE FLT BY GOING DIRECT; WE TOOK IT LITERALLY AND WENT DIRECT. BETTER THAT HE SHOULD HAVE SAID 'CLRED TO VGT VOR SHOWBOAT 1' OR WORDS TO THAT EFFECT. THE SYS IS IN REAL TROUBLE WHEN PLTS HEAR SPECIFIC TERMINOLOGY 'CLRED DIRECT TO...') AND CTLRS REALLY MEAN SOMETHING ELSE. CLRNCS SHOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO GUESS WORK OR INTERP.