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khiemtranOkay, so it's been a while since I got back from Vegas, but things have been pretty hectic since then. In fact, things are still pretty hectic...
First of all, I should make it clear that casinos are not my favourite places, and the idea of spending a week in a place that was practically made of them didn't really appeal. From an anthropological view, however, Vegas turned out to be quite interesting.
The first thing to get over was the initial shock of "My god, this is tacky". It took me a little while to realise that Vegas, by definition, couldn't really be tacky. Tacky would imply the goal was to be something else. And Vegas is what it is, if nothing else.
Everything is built on a massive scale, which renders it impressive from a distance but underwhelming up close. Vegas is built on the idea that seems cool for the first fifteen seconds. Which is kind of the point. Nothing is meant to hold your attention apart from the inevitable slot machines and tables worked by tired-looking croupiers (like the buildings, they look happy from a distance).
Like the indoor garden at the Bellagio below, which looks impressive when you first walk in until you realise that you're just three or four snapshots away from "Now what do we do?"
That said, once you get used to it and realise that the tackiness really is the show, there is quite a lot to do and see.
Yes, they really do have slot machines at the airport. No, the idea isn't quite a fun as it might sound, especially when almost everyone working there seems desperate to make a little extra money.
Yes, the big casinos seem to like to have artificial skies, so you can forget what time it is (and potentially also what place you're at, in the case of this middle eastern themed skyline with giant pole dancing statue...)
Yes, there are great shows, including no fewer than seven cirque du soleil productions (enough to last you all week).
Yes, there's an Eiffel tower and a Trevi fountain, and a giant volcano and a hotel shaped like a pyramid. And, of course, The Venetian, which looks almost exactly like St Mark's Square (if you can imagine the buildings transported to the desert and surrounded by casinos and draped with ... well, anyway).
And, sometimes, surprisingly, the best experiences come in the tackiest looking places. It's still not really my kind of town, but it was certainly different from anywhere else I've been, and that has to be worth something.
First of all, I should make it clear that casinos are not my favourite places, and the idea of spending a week in a place that was practically made of them didn't really appeal. From an anthropological view, however, Vegas turned out to be quite interesting.
The first thing to get over was the initial shock of "My god, this is tacky". It took me a little while to realise that Vegas, by definition, couldn't really be tacky. Tacky would imply the goal was to be something else. And Vegas is what it is, if nothing else.
Everything is built on a massive scale, which renders it impressive from a distance but underwhelming up close. Vegas is built on the idea that seems cool for the first fifteen seconds. Which is kind of the point. Nothing is meant to hold your attention apart from the inevitable slot machines and tables worked by tired-looking croupiers (like the buildings, they look happy from a distance).
Like the indoor garden at the Bellagio below, which looks impressive when you first walk in until you realise that you're just three or four snapshots away from "Now what do we do?"
That said, once you get used to it and realise that the tackiness really is the show, there is quite a lot to do and see.
Yes, they really do have slot machines at the airport. No, the idea isn't quite a fun as it might sound, especially when almost everyone working there seems desperate to make a little extra money.
Yes, the big casinos seem to like to have artificial skies, so you can forget what time it is (and potentially also what place you're at, in the case of this middle eastern themed skyline with giant pole dancing statue...)
Yes, there are great shows, including no fewer than seven cirque du soleil productions (enough to last you all week).
Yes, there's an Eiffel tower and a Trevi fountain, and a giant volcano and a hotel shaped like a pyramid. And, of course, The Venetian, which looks almost exactly like St Mark's Square (if you can imagine the buildings transported to the desert and surrounded by casinos and draped with ... well, anyway).
And, sometimes, surprisingly, the best experiences come in the tackiest looking places. It's still not really my kind of town, but it was certainly different from anywhere else I've been, and that has to be worth something.
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Date: 2010-08-01 07:09 am (UTC)I've read (but have not confirmed) that when Nevada made gambling legal again, it was intended to last for two or three years. Then the fiscal emergency resulting from the Depression would have been taken care of.
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Date: 2010-08-01 08:54 pm (UTC)