We continue our way in a northwesterly direction to the desert state of Nevada which is famous for the modern version of gold fever, namely legalized gambling. Las Vegas by night is also bathed in light giving those who arrive in the middle of the night the impression that it’s dawn. Electricity for the millions of lights is produced by the huge Hoover Dam nearby. It’s on the border of Nevada and Arizona which at the same time also means a change in time zones.
The Colorado River winding in the depth of the nearby Boulder Canyon was diverted in 1929 and within six years, the most enormous dam of our times was built, 240 meters high and 200 meters thick at its base. This was Hoover Dam, behind it Mead Lake. This water is the key to the fertility of California otherwise, a half desert. It is drunk in Los Angeles, San Diego and several hundred other smaller settlements. The legendary productive Californian plantations are watered with it and the electricity produced by it supplies Las Vegas and its neon parade.
Las Vegas, the capital of casinos needs no introduction. On its main street, the strip are the famous hotels, the MGM Grand, the Excalibur, the Mandalay Bay, the Luxor, the New York New York, the Mirage, the Venetian, Caesar’s Palace, the Circus Circus, Sahara and the Treasure Island Hotel and these of course are casinos as well. The foundation of the city is a real 20th century success story. In 1931, the state of Nevada alone in the union legalized gambling and by so doing, created the base for its own existence. At first only a few casinos attracted a handful of curious people to the desert oasis which had earlier been populated by mormons and farmers. The explosive development started after the Second World War and increased in the 60s and even more so in the 90s. The mammoth hotels, casinos and entertainment complexes of the main street, the Strip are continually in competition with each other. Technical development has enhanced the glittering city with never seen before spectacular elements.
Nowadays, approximately one million people live here, almost all in the suburbs. Most people here work in the catering or service industry to serve the increasing number of tourists, ever more waiters, porters, chambermaids, cleaners, shop assistants and drivers are needed. And in the casinos, croupiers and security guards, not to mention the policemen, firemen, ambulance, doctors, officials and naturally the performing artists, acrobats, dancers, singers, stuntmen and of course the stars. Tourists spend an average of four days here but many, mainly the Americans visit Las Vegas several times a year. The most serious gamblers try to cook up different systems and often test these on the spot. The other group of visitors act like tourists and at worst, lose some change to the one armed bandits.
American children, even if they’ve already been to Disneyland, the Universal Studios and the other amusement parks of California and Florida still want to visit Las Vegas, a city wide amusement park. They of course cannot play in casinos or even with slot machines but there’s no need to worry that they’ll be bored. Rollercoasters, Ferris wheels and the stratosphere tower await them as well as a live stuntman show at Treasure Island with pirates and sea battle. They can have supper at Excalibur while watching a tournament of knights and in Luxor, you can sail onto papyrus boats under the shadows of the pyramids. Michael Connelly put is so well in his Las Vegas crime story, Void Moon.
The sharp outlines of the casino hotels appeared at around 3:00 on the horizon and Casey felt the unmistakable mixture of excitement and trembling. Now the return only stirred up painful memories, pity and ghosts in her. At the same time, she could not stand admiring the brilliance of the place. If there ever was such a place which was borne from nothing, that was Las Vegas. As she was driving through it, she recognized that fantastic places have taken place while she had been away. On every corner, a new hotel had sprung out of the ground, a new temple of greed and excess. Casey passed a fake New York skyscraper, the colossal MGM Grand and the new Bellagio. She saw copies of the Eiffel Tower and St. Mark’s Square in Venice. Casey had never lived in those places but now here, she saw them. She remembered what Max had once said. One time everyone and everything comes to Las Vegas and then there will be no sense to visit anywhere else.
Later, they visited different islands and recognized that there was at least one place which could not be copied or ruined. Casey reached Luxor but her attention immediately turned to the towers on the two sides, the Tigris and Euphrates. Her eyes scanned the top window row of the Euphrates Tower and for a minute stopped at one of the windows. Then she looked down to the pyramid shaped glass atrium that covered the casino 20 floors below. The sunshine was reflecting so sharply from the pyramid side covered with mirrors like a diamond shining in the light. The complex was located almost 100 meters from there. The way towards the entrance led between mirror surfaced pools located higher and higher. Their fountains performing continuous marvelous water dance. She saw the white statues of children playing in the pools. Cleopatra watched majestically from her throne at the edge of the highest pool. Behind Cleopatra, Egyptian motifs mixed with modern elements form the sand colored exterior of the casino hotel. The image of Las Vegas was always changing. It renewed itself again and again. Casey wouldn’t have thought that a city basically made of stage scenery could awaken such nostalgia in her. She went over to the opposite side of the Las Vegas Boulevard from where a moving sidewalk took her along with other casino guests to the entrance through the pools in front of the hotel. She noticed that on the way out, the dukes who’d lost their money didn’t receive such kind consideration.
She found the casino strange, the scenery was the same, the characters were also the same, interchangeable gamblers chasing their dreams. The cacophony of money together with mechanical and human sounds radiated either joy or despair was almost ear splitting. Casey composed herself and went on through the forest of slot machines that occupied an area as big as a football field and through the expanse of gambling tables covered with blue cloth. She knew that from now on, each of her movements would be recorded up there.
When in the 1700s, white man first visited the spot where present day Las Vegas is situated, the way leading there was called jornada de muerte, the journey of death. At that time, it was unthinkable that anyone could settle in this area. Hoover Dam made it possible. The city which is also called the entertainment city of the world or the capital of casinos was established on May 15, 1905, originally as accommodation for workers building the railway. After work was finished, in spite of general practice, it didn’t shut down but on March 16, 1911 officially formed a settlement. In the beginning mainly people working in the nearby mines and mining engineers, mine owners and traders specialized in this industry lived here. Gambling was legal in Nevada until 1909 when it was banned. When in 1931, the state due to its disastrous economic situation legalized gambling and alcohol consumption on the streets again. The first casinos opened in Las Vegas.
Due to its perfect location and with its function of a crossroads, it soon became a favorite stop of tourists visiting Hoover Dam who also gave the local casinos a whirl during their stay. This income financed the famous casino hotels which have served as a backdrop for numerous films and TV shows. There are also grandiose concert halls and sports arenas and Stratosphere Tower rises above the city. Las Vegas is like Madonna. Love it or hate it, but one thing you can't do, stay indifferent. Visitors either fall in love with it or take a disliking to it forever. Of course it also depends on the reasons for the trip as well as the results of the visit to Sin City. Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley once performed here as well as Dean Martin, Paul Anka, Bob Hope and many others. Not long ago, Celine Dion was the main attraction. Today, it’s Beyonce and Cirque de Soleil, a dance theater and circus in one and the Siegfried and Roy Show with their white tigers is invariably popular.
Broadway shows also make guest appearances here. For example in 2008, the Phantom of the Opera was featured at the Venetian. If the dream runners of Europe and America go to California, where do the ones from California go asks Jack Altman and immediately supplies the answer. They usually start from Los Angeles through the interstate highway going east across the Mojave desert through the lava fields, basins of countless dried up lakes, cross the Nevada state line and go further until the happy evil neon lights of the city rising from the desert appear in the twilight. This is the air-conditioned Sodom and Gomorrah, Las Vegas. Vegas is one of the world’s mythicized settlements which everyone should see at least once before he dies.
A lot of films are produced about Las Vegas but they can't compare to arriving unprotected into this impudent and lecherous gambling paradise and finally, escaping from the shock which this hot and frozen reality causes. From the many films made here recently, perhaps Ocean’s Eleven and it’s sequels are the most popular because of their all star cast. Stories like this allow us to peek behind the scenes where tourists never tread. If someone doesn’t want to gamble, even just observing can be a real experience. Gamblers are quite obviously excited yelling ecstatically or collapsing with tears of frustration or joy depending on the current state of the game showing the full range of human emotions. Poker is generally played in a separate room away from those playing dice and roulette, baccarat, black jack and bingo. Tourists usually warm up on the gambling machines, slot machines otherwise known as one armed bandits are everywhere. Not only in the gambling rooms but also in hotel lobbies, at bus stops and even in less obvious places like built into bar counters or in public toilets. In restrooms, you’ll also find screens showing the current bingo numbers so that no one will miss the chance of winning just because nature calls.
In addition to gambling, the other attraction in Las Vegas is the quickie wedding. Even between two poker parties, you can dash into one of the small chapels and registry offices for a quick wedding. Neither previous announcement nor formal dress is required and if necessary, even witnesses can be provided on the spot as well as a photographer, wedding dinner and honeymoon which can be enjoyed in one of the nearby hotels. It’s good to know that even though it seems like a joke, even this type of marriage is valid and if someone forgets that he has already had a more serious wedding at home, he or she can be punished for bigamy. If necessary a divorce could also be arranged on the spot and it’s done in a jiffy.