Las Vegas is a self-licking ice cream cone
Vegas is about the furthest away from India that one can get, both geographically and culturally. Having never really been here before, I expect conspicuous consumption, but this level is just ridiculous, and slightly upsetting to me on some level. Where things close down in India by 9 pm, things don’t really start here until 10 pm. Cars worth more than whole Indian city blocks are rentable for the evening. For all the glitz and money, I have yet to see a beggar, though I have seen plenty of touts for strip clubs.
The hotel/casinos dominate the Las Vegas strip. These buildings are truly enormous, on a scale that is difficult to express, filled with a huge array of distractions playing to humanities best, and worst vices. All told, the hotels on the Vegas strip can hold over 450,000 visitors who are here, as far as I can tell, to see...the giant hotels.
Most people never leave their hotel, I imagine. And if they do leave, the leave in order to go to a different hotel. In fact, many hotels have links between each other, ensuring that a visitor who wants to visit a different hotel never actually has to go outside. Visitors to Vegas stay in the hotels in order to stay in the hotels, creating an entirely self-justifying existence. This is as close to the definition of a self-licking ice cream cone as I’ve ever seen.
The hotel/casinos dominate the Las Vegas strip. These buildings are truly enormous, on a scale that is difficult to express, filled with a huge array of distractions playing to humanities best, and worst vices. All told, the hotels on the Vegas strip can hold over 450,000 visitors who are here, as far as I can tell, to see...the giant hotels.
Most people never leave their hotel, I imagine. And if they do leave, the leave in order to go to a different hotel. In fact, many hotels have links between each other, ensuring that a visitor who wants to visit a different hotel never actually has to go outside. Visitors to Vegas stay in the hotels in order to stay in the hotels, creating an entirely self-justifying existence. This is as close to the definition of a self-licking ice cream cone as I’ve ever seen.
posted by Linton at 12:04 PM
2 Comments:
I love that phrase: "self-licking ice cream cone."
While I've never been out in the city itself, I have had a number of layovers at LAS. I laughed outloud (a little too loud, I confess) when I got off the plane and entered the terminal. The closest thing to the gate was not a restroom, a payphone, or even a fast-food joint.
It was 4 rows of slot machines.
Sheesh!
I recommend the buffet at the Mirage.
Mike
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