The Psychology of Vegas

I just returned from a business trip to Las Vegas. Yes, that Las Vegas. Yes, it was strictly business. A few co-workers and I went there for a company meeting.

Anyway, I had never stayed in Las Vegas before. Way back when, when I was in college, some buddies and I would drive up on a Friday evening, eat a $5 steak dinner, gamble away all night, then drive back home. Ahhh, the silliness/folly/stupidity (take your pick) of youth. Back then, I never noticed certain things, or maybe things have just changed.

Before I go on, I thought I would just throw out that I do not gamble, drink, nor smoke, so my observations are based on a strictly Vegas non-fan point of view. It appeared that most everyone was doing at least one of the three above activities, and usually all three. So without further ado, here are my observations...

The City
I would have to say that the entire Las Vegas strip is a surreal place. I'm sure this is intentional. After all, if it's surreal, then the money you're losing to them can't be real either, right? So let's start with the arrival by plane. Have you ever had one of those dreams where two scenes that should not be together are right there together? For instance, I grew up on farmland as flat as can be, yet in a dream I could turn the corner from my house, and there would be the mountains. You get what I'm talking about, right? Well, that's what happened when I got off the plane. Here I am in your basic airport. But along with the jetway, the podiums, the arrival/departure monitors, etc., is basically a mini-casino. No roulette tables or poker games, just slot machines, but it's complete with all the sounds, lights, and so forth. What's wrong with that picture? Just two scenes that didn't belong together in my mind...

Next is the hotel/casino we stayed in. We were at the MGM Grand, which has either 4,000 or 5,000 rooms depending on who you ask. Anyway, so I check in and start rolling my suitcase, well, me and a hundred other people, toward the elevators. A scene like checking into any other busy hotel. But what's right beyond the concierge desk before you get to the elevators? That's right, a real casino! Together with a hotel! There's that weird combined dream thing again. I guess it didn't seem "right" to me because when I used to go in college, a lot of these fancy places didn't exist, and we never slept in any hotel.

More Surrealness
A co-worker and I decided to take a walk the afternoon we arrived. As we deftly avoided men handing out flyers to, ahem, questionable "shows", we went from New York to Paris in a matter a minutes, watched a short water dance (at the Bellagio), and a few other things. Surreal...

The hotel room itself
It was fairly nice. The bed was pretty comfortable. However, I think they don't want you spending your time in there. There was one window, and not very big at that, so the room seemed kind of dark even with all the lights on. There were mirrors everywhere. Maybe you like looking at yourself all evening in your room, but I don't. Just about every other hotel I've stayed in has some movie channel like HBO or Showtime, but not this one. A coffee maker? Forget it. See? Don't stay in your room.

The Casino
However, they don't want you to leave the building. When I checked in, they gave me a $25 credit to eat in the hotel restaurants, so you don't have to leave. Just have a free meal, then get back to giving them the rest of your money. Another of my co-workers, who does gamble, tells me that if you gamble enough, they come and give you more vouchers for free meals. Very nice of them -- you give them your $1,000 and you get a $10 meal. (He was up 'til 3am gambling, by the way. Not a judgement call, just the facts.) Also, they don't have any windows either. Not one. I was told it was so you can't tell that it's night out or that you'll get otherwise distracted from giving them your money. The casino itself is in the middle of the building. If you want to get out, you have to walk a ways to any doors, past restaurants, shops, bars, etc.

All in all, it was an interesting experience. Las Vegas is not my first choice for recreation or entertainment. Maybe it's yours though. What do you think of it?