The “Idea” of Las Vegas
by John Wilson
Me and Parker headed to Las Vegas
I was joking with my “any-day-now-hurry-up-and-deliver” pregnant wife about whether or not our unborn son would love Las Vegas as much as I do.
Her immediate reply (she’s pretty witty) was, “If he has to hear you talk about it as much as I do, then I’ll guess no.”
She has never understood why I enjoy it so much. I have only been there three times, twice with family and once for a job interview. I was a VP’s whim of reorganizing the department from moving there, and I’m currently gambling positive, thanks to a strong streak in the Poker Room at the Sahara. I also wrote a “mini-thesis” to complete my MBA on how the marketing campaign What happens is Vegas… positively impacted the Mandalay Bay Resort Group.
The reason I enjoy it so much is the “idea” of Las Vegas. The fact is, Las Vegas strives to be over the top. It is like Disney World for adults. There is a casino where elephants and lions walk behind you while you’re gambling. There are diagonally rising elevators, roller coasters on top of space needles and huge man-made waterfalls viewable just to the folks in the casino.
The “idea” of Las Vegas for me is that the hotel-casinos will do whatever it takes to get you in the door, and then take care of you in such a way to make it easy for you to come back. Stay in the Wynn Las Vegas. The rooms are nicer than your bedroom, the food is better than you can make, and the decor makes your $500 an hour interior decorator look silly. While you are here, they are monitoring all of your eating and spending habits so that they can target their marketing and promotions to your specific tastes, all with the goal of treating you like a king or queen so that you will come back next time, and tell all of your friends.
This glamorous “idea” caters to everyone. If I want to put on some shorts and a t-shirt, I’ll fit right in gambling at the Sahara or the Luxor. If I want to take my kids to Vegas we’ll have a blast at Excaliber or Circus Circus. Want to take some friends to see a UFC fight, or a boxing match, or a concert, you can be sure something is going on at MGM, Mandalay Bay or Caesar’s Palace. There are enough restaurants and enough restaurant turnover in Las Vegas to never eat at the same restaurant twice, ever.
The “idea” of Las Vegas for me, is that if you can get there, you are guaranteed to find something you enjoy, and you can guarantee that activity will be over the top. I think Carlos Parker will love Las Vegas.
