June 26, 2005

It rises from the rocky remains of the Nevada desert like a distant mirage aglow in searing tints of neon. Its unreality manifests in the fact that even in the prosperous fabric of the United States, it is a tourist wonderland for wide-eyed denizens of Middle America to whom it might as well be another planet. And chances are, it probably is. With its gleaming casinos, ribald nightlife and fabled attractions, the city of Las Vegas indeed lives up to its title as the ‘entertainment capital of the world.’ So much so that it has transcended being just an American experience: Vegas has now become embedded in the international pop culture sub-conscious. Sure, there are other gambling-and-entertainment hotspots across the world such as Macau and Monte Carlo, where high rollers roll deep with loaded wallets. But Vegas’s allure and mystique has, for over half-a-century now, eclipsed nearly all contenders to its other, more dubious designation: ‘Sin City.’

First and foremost, Vegas is associated with gambling, and there is plenty of good reason for this. The moment you amble down the jetway into the main terminal building of the city’s McCarran International Airport, you are greeted by that notorious one-armed bandit disguised in bright colours and blinking lights that invites you to give it a go: the slot machine. While gobbling up quarters (25 cents), these nasty little buggers are spread out across the city, covering every nook and cranny of Las Vegas as if they were as essential as public lavatories. Other than slot machines, games of chance of all varieties, hues and payoffs abound in Vegas, as fortunes are made as quickly as they disappear in this dreamland of vice, virulent virtue and extravagant elan. If one wants to run away from reality and live in a perpetual daydream, look no further than Vegas.

Yet there have been concerted efforts to change the image of Vegas as more than just a neon-lit, giant gambling den offering everything from games of chance to pleasures of the flesh, since the late eighties. Ever since the nineties dawned, investors have tried to recast the city’s image as a more family-friendly centre of fun and frolic. The idea is that while mommy and daddy gamble away junior’s college fund, junior can himself have a blast in one of the many theme parks, shopping malls or joy-rides that are coming up with renewed ferocity across the city. Sarcasm aside, Vegas has for the most part been successful in turning around its image as a centre for gangster-run casinos and seedy topless revues to that of a more politically correct family fun destination.

The city was founded in 1905 and its name in Spanish means ‘the meadows.’ But far from its humble roots as a water stop for wagons and trains on their way to Los Angeles, California, Vegas’s future changed forever when gambling was legalized in 1931. However, it was not until 1941, when the city experienced a construction boom in hotels and casinos, allegedly largely financed by East Coast Mafiosi such as legendary gangster ‘Bugsy’ Siegel, that Vegas would rightfully earn its place in the halls of infamy. Adding to the city’s notoriety are the following factors: alcoholic beverages are available round the clock, whereas there are quite stringent regulations governing where and how alcohol is to be consumed in other parts of the US; topless revues and other varieties of adult ‘entertainment’ that centre around the flesh trade are part and parcel of Vegas’s nightlife and lastly, prostitution is legal in Nevada and is just a stone’s throw away from Las Vegas proper. Even if judged by the West’s largely laissez-faire attitude towards morality, Vegas is two steps ahead of the rest.

The city itself is an exhibition of the bizarre. An overbearing mix of concrete, glass, neon lights and laser beams, it retains a nonchalant attitude by day but as soon as the sun sets, Vegas comes alive in a fiery orgy of debauched celebration that usually does not die down until the light of dawn intercedes on sobriety’s behalf. By the next sundown, this great cycle of endless lawful carnal pleasure is all set to repeat itself. Yet Vegas’s role as a centre of entertainment cannot be denied. For those seeking more kosher outlets of fun, such as taking in a concert, a magic show or the truly eccentric Canadian troupe Cirque de Soleil (Circus of the Sun), one is spoilt for choice in this city seemingly built for the good times.

So many entertainment legends have passed through its gaudy casinos and arenas that even a quick overview reads like a who’s who of the showbiz universe: the ‘Rat Pack’ of the 1950s — Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford – used to roll into town quite regularly for their legendary live performances while the original Ocean’s Eleven (1960), starring the Pack, was based in the city. Singer Elvis Presley immortalized Vegas both with his 1964 movie Viva Las Vegas, and with the jangly song of the same name that eulogises the magnetic appeal of this strange desert marvel. Other Vegas regulars include Wayne Newton, (I was quite shocked to read he was still alive), who has earned the nickname ‘Mr Las Vegas’ because he has reportedly performed over 25,000 concerts over the course of 40 years; lounge singer and camp performer extraordinaire Tom Jones, who has made a career out of belting dodgy tunes and sporting even dodgier costumes and of course the kings of cheese, the German tiger-tamer duo of Siegfried and Roy, known to make magical white tigers disappear. Thankfully, their act was wound up in October 2003 when Roy was mauled by one of his own beasts during an act.

More recently, musical legend Elton John has become a part-time resident of Vegas, performing his The Red Piano musical extravaganza, as has Celine Dion, who could well qualify as the most annoying person on earth. Ms Dion, known best in these parts for her contribution to the world’s weapons of mass destruction in the form of the diabolical theme song to Titanic, My Heart Will Go On, has signed a contract to play her A New Day … Live in Las Vegas show up till 2007. And you thought global warming was a major problem threatening the very existence of this planet.

But undoubtedly, Vegas’ brightest star is ‘the Strip.’ A four mile track of road (the proper name being Las Vegas Boulevard South), the Strip is quintessentially the essence of all that is Vegas. Thousands of hotel rooms, millions of watts of electricity and countless billions of dollars ensure that excess – in all its various forms – can be found with ease and abandon on the Strip. Here, nothing is normal. If it isn’t the world’s biggest, most astonishing or awe-inspiring, it has no place on the Strip. World famous casinos and hotels such as the Stardust, MGM Grand, Luxor, Mandalay Bay and tens of others call the Strip home. If America is supposed to be the land where life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are the central tenants by which every action is judged, then Vegas, or more particularly the Strip, is the definition of the pursuit of happiness … in hyperdrive.

Las Vegas attracts all kinds. Septuagenarian Middle America grandmothers siphoning away their pensions at the slots; wide-eyed Japanese sightseers hedging their bets on bingo; experimental jet-set trash throwing away millions at Black Jack; gawky desi tourists taking in this extreme of western culture driven by the pleasure principle (though post 9-11 good luck getting a visa) and even this wanderer, in town trying to figure out what all the commotion is about. Vegas is good for a day or two, as a surreal vacation from banality. But I sure wouldn’t want to live out this extravagant nightmare day in and day out. I leave you with the wise words of Steely Dan’s Do It Again:

Now you swear and kick and beg us
That you’re not a gamblin’ man
Then you find you’re back in Vegas
With a handle in your hand
Your black cards can make you money
So you hide them when you’re able
In the land of milk and honey
You must put them on the table.




VEGAS IN VOGUE

Apart from the obvious entertainment connections that tie Las Vegas to the world of showbiz, there are quite a few memorable films, songs, albums and TV shows that either feature the city as their central theme or are influenced it by its mix of glitz, glamour and excess. Here are some of the more memorable ones:

Casino: 1995 film directed by master storyteller Martin Scorsese starring Robert DeNiro, Jo Pesci and Sharon Stone. Based on the true story of mobster Franky ‘Lefty’ Rosenthal, who ran some of the city’s top casinos from the seventies through to the eighties.

Vegas: Released by American electronic duo the Crystal Method in 1997 (they happen to be from the city), just like its namesake, the album, with its incandescent quirks and robotic soul, helped put modern American electronica on the map.

Leaving Las Vegas: Also released in 1995, this incredibly depressing film is set in the city focussing on the pitiful lives of Nicolas Cage, an alcoholic, and Elizabeth Shue, a prostitute. A song of the same name by Sheryl Crow, on her debut 1993 record Tuesday Night Music Club, also featured a groovy black-and-white video with an army of synchronised, dancing Elvis.’

Diamonds are Forever: Sean Connery romps through Vegas in this 1971 James Bond thriller.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Based on the novel of the same name by late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, this 1998 Johnny Depp-Benicio Del Toro starrer flopped at the box office, yet became a cult classic. — QAM

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