Oh man that hobby store sucks for heli's. I suggest you buy online, I don't suggest a blade cp or axe cp (both 300 size micros) as your first heli, they are very twitchy and hard to hover. It will definitely not act in any way like a nitro heli.

Suggest you go at least 400 size micro or 450 mini. For 500 bucks you can think about the black hawk 450, eflite blade 400 or esky king2 or belt cp, all of these are RTF kits and come fully assembled. If you want to buy used you might be able to find a trex 450S or XL RTF with transmitter for $500.