Loathing Las Vegas...

At 10,000 feet everything on the ground looks small... that is... unless you happen to be flying over Las Vegas...

Nothing is small in Las Vegas.

The hotels are big... the restaurants are big... the shows are big... and the money is big...

If you like living large... Las Vegas is the place to be...

Las Vegas is unlike any other place on earth... (although some will argue that places like Macao and Dubai are now offering Las Vegas competition... but they’d be wrong).

Vegas is one of a kind... and I suppose that’s a good thing...

The city is the epitome of opulence, faux-glamour, and over-indulgence... a place where nothing is taboo or out of place...

Sodom and Gomorrah might be the original sin cities... but Las Vegas has taken sin to a new level...

Now don’t get me wrong... I’m generally not opposed to sin and I take great care in not judging others...

I say "to each their own" when it comes to individual and/or team vices...

I have a difficult enough time living my own life... how can I possibly live someone else’s life?

I offer no destain for the tens of millions of visitors who come to Las Vegas each year... they come for the shows... they come for the sights... they come for the golf... they come for the shopping... they come to take a chance and to test their luck... they come to be pampered... they come to look and to be seen.

I do not bear any ill-will toward the owners and operators of establishments catering to the demands of the hordes coming to Las Vegas and who willingly part with their hard-earned money... there is no shame in providing legal services to those willing to pay for them... I am a true believer in "free-market" economics.

(Important side note to the readers: When I refer to "Las Vegas"... I am specifically referring to the areas in close proximity to the "strip" and downtown where 95% of the visitors and partiers congregate and major casinos and hotels operate... I am not referring to the quiet suburbs and/or residential neighborhoods where most of the full-time residents live, go to school, raise their families, earn a living and live quiet mostly uneventful lives... it’s an important distinction.)

So why is it that I seemingly loathe Las Vegas?

Well... I suppose there are several reasons actually...

The Destination

I suppose the first and foremost reason that I dislike Las Vegas is that I don’t particularly want to be there... however, each year, several key industry trade-shows are held in Las Vegas. This forces me to choose: Forego participating in the trade show... or travel to Las Vegas for several days... damned if you don’t... damned if you do... 
 
I completely understand the trade show organizers’ reasons for coming to Las Vegas...

It’s an easy place to get to for most people... the city is well-suited logistically for large conventions... the weather is nice (especially in the winter)... and it’s a fun place for people to come and mix pleasure with business...

I get it... I just don’t like it...

Smoke and Mirrors

The second reason I really don’t like being is Las Vegas is that I don’t necessarily enjoy second-hand smoke.

Perhaps I’m just spoiled living in California where smoking (at least tobacco smoking) in public is highly frowned upon and highly regulated.

I’m absolutely not against the rights of smokers to smoke... it’s their life... I just don’t wish to be alongside them... it’s just a personal choice I make for myself... but it seems nearly an impossible task to not end up smelling like an ashtray at the end of the day while in Las Vegas.

Follow The Money

Money is the reason Las Vegas exists... period.

Once upon a time, a long time ago... travel to Las Vegas was relatively inexpensive and highly subsidized by the casinos. Casinos wanted gamblers to come and play their games of chance and offered them low-cost rooms and meals for that privilege of taking their money in their casinos.

Then came along Steve Wynn, who turned the Las Vegas business model upside-down... he realized that Las Vegas was now a destination and that hotels were simply giving away their profits with low-cost rooms, meals and shows (drinks however are still "free" to players).

Hotel rooms, dining, entertainment, night clubs, pools, spas, shopping are now considered significant profit centers for the hotels. Gaming is no longer the single focus for Las Vegas (although this is still a huge profit center as well for the properties).

Las Vegas is now a vacation destination for the entire family young and old... rich and poor (actually forget about the poor part... ).

The High Life

Las Vegas offers its visitors many different opportunities for you to separate from your money. If gaming isn’t your thing... then perhaps a shopping experience is more your style... and I’m not talking about chintzy souvenir tee-shirt shops... 
 
There is no place on earth that boasts the shopping experience of Las Vegas... not even in the cosmopolitan meccas of New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong or Dubai is there such a concentrated collection of luxury boutiques and department stores as there are in Las Vegas.

Hotels like Caesar’s, the Bellagio, the Venetian, the Palazzo, the Encore/Wynn and the Mirage now each have their own luxury mall within the confines of their respective properties. At these malls you will find the likes of Tiffany, Dior, Gucci, Fendi, Armani, Prada, Hugo Boss, Chanel and other luxury brands populating the marquees of these shopping centers.
 
In addition to these shopping havens, three additional stand-alone high-end shopping centers are located on the strip providing its patrons access to larger luxury department stores such as Neiman Marcus, Saks, Harrods, and Nordstrom.

A few years ago, I forgot to pack socks and needed to quickly purchase a pair at a men’s store at the hotel where I was staying... the cost for a single pair of sock: $24 (that’s $12 per sock... ouch!)... needless to say... I didn’t find that shopping excursion very enjoyable...

Time to Relax

The people with money also seem to enjoy eating and drinking at fine food establishments created and operated by celebrity chefs (and want-to-be celebrity chefs).

The customers who frequent such restaurants do not seem deterred by the exorbitant prices charged (many times in excess of $100 per person exclusive of drinks).

I suspect that many of the restaurant bills end up being reported on expense accounts so not a great deal of attention is paid to the final tally. It’s just the cost of doing business...

Limited space today prevents me from discussing the traffic, noise, resort fees, unscrupulous cab drivers, and the overall horrific service (unless you spend a lot of time and money playing games of chance)... I’ll leave those topics for another rant another day...

... but here’s the real interesting thing...

... I am absolutely positive that I am in the minority when it comes to Las Vegas... tens of millions of people flock there each year and truly enjoy themselves... and can’t wait to return.

However for me... Las Vegas is like a three-day trip to the dentist... it’s not necessarily enjoyable but something that needs to be done...

What happens in Vegas... should stay in Vegas...

Thank you for your support of OptiFuse, where we always wish you the best of luck... be it in Vegas or anywhere else you happen to be...