A Rainbow in Vegas

Well folks, its again been a light posting but this time due to a bit of travel and well you know the holidays. Quite a bit going on, and some of it certainly has made me question the amount of exposure i want to give on this blog.

I was lucky enough to get to go to Vegas for Spike's VGAs (videogame Awards) and the Ultimate Fighting Championships. While i wasnt a fan of this bloodsport, it certainly made for an entertaining gladiatoresque evening. The crowd was full of zealots and it introduced me to a demographic that i really had little experience with.

Vegas is just an anomaly so many ways, from its high-rise explosion in a nationwide economic downturn, to the characters and visitors who continuously flock from the world over. Economically the strip does well but the rest of the city is experiencing the growing pains that many metro areas in the USA such as ubran sprawl, mass transportation, and revival of downtrodden areas. The city has take the initiative to create a tower that takes the self-contained towns, found in suburbs, and shrunk it into a casino-like tower. Self-sufficient with a grocery store and a gym, its inhabitants will never have to leave.

The town thrives on conventions (rodeos, video games, fights, bachelor parties) to make it a global destination. My weekend saw tons of Brits there to support Hatton the boxer, along with the smattering of professional gamblers. No where else does the service industry receive such a priority as economic driving force.

Also mentioned was the fact that vegas seems to be getting colder. Nights were well into the 30s, and it may be a bit of a generalization to state the climate is changing but several pieces of evidence existed. Sprawl has shot out well over 30 miles, taking up desert floor, and putting in houses with dont give off as much heat. Water is also becoming an issue, so much so that they paying residents to rip up lawns and replace it with desert fauna.

Interesting times in Vegas, but i was pretty psyched to see a rainbow appear on the strip one day. No word on how many people flocked to the casino to throw away there money in hopes of finding the pot of gold.

Special thanks to Meghan for making it happen, and the Spike, MTV, Pepsi folks for the hospitality.

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