A mirage? From the deck of her boat, Tiffany Sloan sees neon towers rising from the desert. In the distance . . . yes, it's the Mirage. Also the Flamingo and the Sands. And off the port bow, Caesars Palace. "It's a great view, isn't it?" says Miss October, who can step out her back door, board a boa
...t and look down on Las Vegas. The boat, a hot-pink cruiser parked on a trailer in her yard near Black Mountain, on the gambling mecca's outskirts, can also cruise Lake Mead at a heady 70 mph. But not tonight. Tonight, Tiffany wants to relax and enjoy the view. She likes the way life is treating her these days. A veteran achiever of impossible things -- like the magicians who levitate themselves in the big rooms on the Strip (boating in the desert is the least of her miracles) -- Tiffany is a shy sex symbol. "I'm too embarrassed to wear lingerie for my boyfriend." She is also a pacifist who wants to be a gun-toting cop. Now this former construction worker and football star is our Playmate of the Month. "If you like surprises, I'm your girl," she says. Tiffany grew up in Bullhead City, Arizona, just across the river from Laughlin, Nevada, where her dad was chief of security for a casino. She couldn't go out and play in the desert near their home -- too many scorpions. Tall and strong for her age, she played tackle football with boys. "I beat them up," she says, grinning. She tried out for the school team. "I had breasts by then, so the boys wanted me in the locker room, but the school board wouldn't let me play." Casino business led the family to Vegas; a family breakup and young Tiffany's streak of independence led her out the door. "I left home when I was fifteen," she says. "I worked on a construction crew. It's not the best work for a girl. Too many pervs whistling and talking at you all the time." She danced behind Joe Piscopo at the Sands, won a few beauty contests and sent a shyly suggestive photo to Playboy. Bingo: Tiffany hit the jackpot. "It's kind of embarrassing, posing nude," she says, "but it can be a rush, too." Dancing onstage and winning beauty pageants had revealed something to Tiffany. "I found out I love performing, having people look at me. Posing for these pictures, I wasn't shy anymore. I felt so comfortable that I was walking around nude without realizing it. It was a natural high. All of a sudden, I loved what I was doing -- I just lit up." Just like the lucky town down the mountain from her house.
