Just a couple of updates:
The last time I saw Vegas, in the cage, was Wed. night, and I noticed the cage was open on Sat. morning.

I set a couple hot-spots in a couple corners of my apartment and put plastic bags in areas I think it might pass by, in corners and tight spots by the fridge and oven and stuff.

I am really worried of the possibility of escape from my apartment. I don't know how the people living in my hall would react to this kind of thing. On one hand, I want to give them a heads up in case the snake did manage to escape from my place, but I don't want to risk having to get property owners involved because I have a feeling they would try to send pest control or something ridiculous like that to take care of the problem...