patrick.net

Well, as I sit on the edge of Vegas at the moment, I can tell you that they're freaking out over legalized gambling on the interwebs.

There are 2 vegas's (actually many more - but for the purposes of this thread...):

There's the Vegas that everyone comes to see. It's got the Downtown Experience/Glitter Gulch - casinos & bright lights and slots a-plenty. The Golden Nugget stands out, but there are several big places downtown. It's got the Strip (little known fact - the "strip" isn't actually in the city of LV, it's in unincorporated Clark County, NV) and all the fancy casinos and world class entertainment. It's got tables with $1.00 limit and ones with $5,000 limits. And - the food. OMIGAWD, the food. You can graze until you puke at the buffets - every casino has one.

People come to Vegas to see the entertainment and to hopefully strike it rich. And to party at all the sleazy pools and nightclubs with such awesome DJ's as "Pauly D" from Jersey Shore (tv show). If you're lucky you'll get a glimpse of Paris Hilton or a Kardashian (there are hundreds of them, I think).

But then, there's the other Vegas. The one where locals go, with the cheaper buffets and the $4.95 Prime Rib special (11p-8a); with slots a-plenty and everything is targeted toward the locals. The slots are looser, because the goal is to get you to gamble your entire paycheck. They have "cash your paycheck" incentives at every local casino - you could win a free meal or $100 in casino cash... 70's & 80's rock acts in the venues, etc.

Gambling has been great for Vegas, except it's a single industry town. There is still no state tax in NV because of the casinos, but things are bad here (as ya'll have read)...