Hooked on Vegas - NOT

Tricia and I recently spent a long weekend in Las Vegas at a teachers conference. While I can't say either of us have ever had any real desire to visit Vegas it was interesting to see what's there - basically, a lot of flashing lights, ringing bells, cigarette smoke, and shows of every sort. In our hotel alone there was Cirque du Soleil, David Copperfield, The Eagles, and a comedy club. Add to this the dozen or more restaurants in the hotel alongside high-priced boutiques and other specialty stores and you now have a general idea of how busy it is in just one of the more than one hundred hotels and casinos that call Las Vegas home.

After our meetings Tricia and I took to the streets to see what else Vegas held. We found replicas of both the Statue of Liberty and Eiffel Tower, an elaborate fountain show outside the Bellagio, and a Truman Show-like experience inside the Venetian that transported you to the streets of Venice with restaurants, storefronts, canals, and even cloudy skies. Someone quipped "This is even better than Venice, Italy. It's cleaner and more authentic."

On one of the street corners we were subjected to a crazed religious fanatic as we waited for the light to change. "DO YOU GIVE YOUR SOUL TO OUR LORD SAVIOR?" he shouted into our ears. "BE NOT TEMPTED BY THE FALSE RICHES OF THIS LIFE MY CHILDREN. FOR YOUR LORD IN HEAVEN IS ALL THINGS..." At one point he asked the couple next to us if they would denounce their Lord and Savior. Without hesitation the woman nodded her said and said, "Yeah, I would." We all laughed. It wasn't so much that his religion was offensive as was the way in which he circled around everyone shouting into their ears. He reminded me of a woman I once encountered on the New York City subway.

By far, my least favorite part of the walk down the strip was the dozens of men wearing "GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS" t-shirts. It was their job to snap the corners of  cards at you as you passed and then attempt to force the cards into your hand. These business cards were advertisements for prostitutes and it did not matter if you were holding your wife's hand and surrounded by two or three other women - they would still try to give you a card.

As if the cards weren't enough there were other modes of advertisement. Some people would walk around with a sign strapped to their back...

Even more bold were the trucks that would drive up and down the strip promising twenty minute delivery. Ugh!

I obviously knew prostitution was legal in LV. However, I guess I didn't realize it was thrust into your face at nearly every turn. My idea of prostitutes had always come from movies. You know...meth addicts, crack heads, etc. These girls DID NOT look like that. It made me wonder if in Las Vegas prostitution has it's own booth at the local high school job and college fairs. Should any of us be surprised? I Googled to see what prostitutes in LV make and my thorough research (the first site I clicked on) found that they get about $500/hr in the earliest parts of the evening but drop their asking prices to $250 - $300 later as there are fewer potential clients. Prostitutes can pull in about $150,000 a year if they are "successful."

Las Vegas is bizarre. Over the past few years it's been trying to do more to appeal to families. While we did see a few there I can't imagine taking our kids any time soon.

Or, more realistically - EVER.