10 things I love about Las Vegas in 2009
I was feeling whimsical this morning. And, looking at this list, many of the things I like best are free (though a couple, I admit, by virtue of being abstract).
10. Affordable housing. To many locals, including myself, who bought a couple years ago, this is probably painful. But right now it is also absolutely true as you can buy homes for less than the material and labor it took to build them.
9. Fake happy casino employees: Or, what could be more mundanely called great customer service.The resort corridor is packed with fake smiles of casino employees who always seem delighted to serve you. I don't know if these people are having a good day or a bad day. They just do their jobs fantastically in a really efficient and cheerful way that, by and large, puts customers first and helps tourists have great times. Vegas might be the last truly great customer service location in the country.
8. The diversity. Vegas is often and fairly mocked for investing billions into creating a tacky fantasy of middle America's take of life amid the wild and naughty libertines. And I will leave those higher issues to architecture experts, sociologists and anthropologists. I only want to say that whomsoever the fantasy was meant to reach, the Vegas experience has proven to have worldwide appeal. Sit in a casino and you will hear nearly every language spoken at some point. That diversity is part of the community for residents as well. The cast of Cirque's "Love" alone has brought to Vegas residents from 14 countries.
7. Strippers. I wonder if any city with a comparable population has as many strippers? You don't have to go near a strip club. If you are a local you know the experience of a woman in designer pink sweats (generally a tattoo slightly visible on the lower back -- affectionately known as the "tramp stamp") carrying a lunchbox-style case while buying her items with a thick wad of $1 bills. Anyway, the huge numbers of strippers here definitely adds to the quality of life in Vegas. I have been entertained by the drama they can create in resorts; I have seen tourist friends who fall in love with them (extra entertaining); and, most important, they toss lots of cash (earned from tourists) into the Las Vegas economy.
6. Penn & Teller. I can't say I knew much about them when I first saw their Vegas show in 1999 (then at MGM Grand). I had just moved here and expected some sort of magic show with jokes. Perhaps that was for the best, because the surprise experience of these mad scientists, carnies and performance artists is one from which I have never fully recovered. I keep wanting every Vegas show to be as good, but none really get there. With their cable series and their ever-evolving Rio production show, Penn & Teller are the resident geniuses of Vegas.
5. Looking down on things. The Strip is simply gorgeous to look at during the evening. And the best views are, unsurprisingly, the high ones. Amazing sight lines can be expensive like at the Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay or more affordable and accessible like the top of the Stratosphere. But the best view is the one when your plane lands the right way and you see the Strip reaching up below you and your heart starts beating faster.
4. House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. Whether Guns 'N Roses or Old 97's or bands no one has heard about yet are playing, House of Blues has consistently been the best concert venue in Vegas. Because it is so familiar to locals and tourists, HOB can never get the credit it deserves for the many ways the venue has made Las Vegas a great place to visit and live. And, while the ironies abound, I love going to a casino for the gospel brunch on Sundays at House of Blues. I am pretty sure that (outside of Elvis tribute shows) this is the only gospel you will find on the Strip.
3. Listening. I know people watching is the more obvious pleasure. But stand in an elevator or wait in a taxi line and you will overhear the most amazing conversations. I have heard people decide on divorce in a taxi line and once overheard two people awkwardly talking on an elevator quite obviously right after one had rejected the other's marriage proposal. So, the next time you are in Vegas, if you can ignore all the glittering lights for a moment to listen, you are sure to be entertained.
2. Entertainers: I don't mean the kind you find in the local telephone book. I mean the showkids who dance and sing and go to auditions. Spend any amount of time on the Strip and you will run into them. This town is always brimming with young, creative and talented people. You will never find more competitive amateur karaoke than in a Las Vegas locals' bar. And, thanks to all of the lounge bands, nightclub dancers and other acts that work as window dressing for tourists, these talented young people are able to earn a good living in Vegas that does not involve waiting tables. To give one example, Venetian headliner Wayne Brady started out working as a young nobody in the '90s doing two shows at MGM's long-gone theme park.
1. Change/no change. John Peel famously offered of the Fall: "They are always different, they are always the same." How true is that of Las Vegas? People talk about old Vegas and new Vegas. And, when the current economic crisis ends, we may be in a new, new Vegas era in which the town is owned by bankers (gag). But the owners --- mob, Howard Hughes, corporations or bankers -- and buildings--- Desert Inn or Wynn -- may change but Vegas has never really changed. Vegas remains fundamentally the place where hardworking adults can come have fun for a few days before heading back home to reality.
Photo by Sarah Gerke