The truth about Vegas

Before our trip last week, Tami and I were last in Las Vegas about 17 or 18 years ago. To say it has changed would be a gross understatement. We knew it had changed, but didn’t know HOW MUCH until we got there. During our stay in Vegas, we observed certain truths about the place. Here a just a few…

They don’t call it Sin City for nothing. You can’t take two steps without seeing some form of debauchery. Whether it is drunkenness, excessive gambling, people walking around almost naked or sex for sale in the streets. It’s all there. However, Tami and I proved it is possible to take a trip to such a place and not participate in all that stuff. There ARE ways to enjoy Vegas yet stay out of the gutter as well.

The opulence is RIDICULOUS! The hotels are huge and absolutely decked out to the max! No expense was spared in their construction. However, the money used to build these palaces did not come from the companies that own them. The dollars came from gamblers who left their hard-earned money in the casino.

If you gamble long enough, YOU… WILL... LOSE! The aforementioned hotels/palaces are living proof of that. This is one of the reasons Tami and I gambled very, very little. 10¢ video poker was as far as we went. After winning a few bucks on the last day, we broke even. We considered ourselves ahead of the game and quit then. These hotels/casinos/palaces were built on human greed. It would have been so easy to put those few bucks back into the machine in search of the jackpot (which we almost surely would not have won).

Once you’ve seen one hotel/casino/palace, you’ve seen them all… well almost. Although these places have different themes (Venice, Medieval Castle, Pirate Ship, Paris, New York, The Circus, Egyptian Pyramid etc…) they all start to look alike after a while. They have beautiful themed exteriors, gorgeous interiors and a casino that looks like every other casino.

Casinos feel the need to advertise they have slot machines. OH REALLY? Now there’s a surprise. Considering there are slot machines in the airport, in stores and bars, why would a casino need to tell us they have slots? Slots are the lifeblood of every casino. That’s like a hotel advertising they have guest rooms and water in their pool.

Las Vegas has been invaded. Joking aside, the Asians and Latinos have taken over Las Vegas. These cultural groups travel in large packs (presumably families) and there are lots of them. One late night in a very large (and very crowded) restaurant, Tami and I were one of only two white couples in the whole place. And it was like that everywhere we went. It seems the tourists and the service staff is made up of nothing but Asians and Latinos. This is not a complaint, but simply an observation. In fact, we met some very nice Asian and Latino waiters/waitresses/bartenders (ask me about Ismael, Joel or Li Li). The Latinos in particular are a very warm, friendly people. This change in cultural make up is certainly different than it was the last time we were there.

God’s glory is evident even in a place accurately dubbed “Sin City”. We needed to look no further than the Fountains of Bellagio to see it. We marveled at the God- given creativity and artistic ability required to create such beauty (both the fountains and accompanying music). It’s difficult to believe that a Holy God would be present in such a place, but He most definitely is.