I’ve never been a fan of Las Vegas. That’s probably because, up until last week, I’ve only ever experienced The Strip. I spent most of last week in Vegas, but I got to see an entirely different side of the city (literally! The side south of McCarran Airport). For the people who live there The Strip is a reality, just like Temple Square is in Salt Lake City. We may go there sometimes, but it’s not something we get terribly excited about, necessarily. For the people of Las Vegas it’s an entertainment destination, not the stuff of vacations. They go there to catch the shows or dine in the restaurants. They know all the ways to get in and out as quickly as possible. They know when to avoid going there at all costs.
The rest of the city is largely…normal. Hot, but normal.
I don’t despise Vegas as much as I used to. It’s still one of the last places I would ever consider for a vacation. But should I get sent down there for work again I won’t be quite so negative. Except about the flight in. Hot deserts make for lousy turbulance. I haven’t been that sick on an airplane in over 25 years.
There are some good people there. Just knowing that makes the idea of returning much easier to take.
When you live here the Strip is a roadblock to be avoided.
I admit to being curious: is there a regulation against any non-casino/hotel being higher than, say, six stories? It seems like those monolithic hosinos are the only thing you can see on the horizon.
There are building regulations, but multi-person housing, businesses, etc can be built tall. But to do a sky-scraper-sized building requires special permits, I believe. But I don’t think Casinos have that restriction. Fun fact, though. There are extremely few basements in Vegas because the earth is really hard to get through, so it’s expensive to build. So if you think about the underground car garages in Vegas…there was some serious money behind them.
That is interesting. The buildings themselves are expensive enough to build–and expected to last for maybe 20 years before they blow them up and build something else. For the ROI to be high enough on an investment like that means there’s got to be a pretty steep profit margin.
“The Strip” is an appropriate nickname: their sole purpose is to strip you of your money. 🙂
That’s definitely the truth!