Las Vegas And Me

Sin city. Lights, glitter, exageration galore. I've been here quite a couple times and never really was able to put my finger on what exactly it is that makes me hate this place so much.

Maybe the hordes of paid conmen walking the streets trying to lure you into their casino, club or restaurant scams? Or the clicking sound of these desperate little boys and girls snapping whore ad cards at you? Unless it's the absolute lack of anything regular like a grocery store (no, ABC is NOT a grocery store) or even a place to get a decent healthy meal under 300$... Beats me.

Of course, there is the Bellagio fountain and the lovely Mon Ami Gaby just in front, where you can enjoy a delicious steak with your choice of pretty much any type of French wine you can think of - and by the glass. It's an oasis of relief. The extraordinary Cirque du Soleil venues (mostly Zumanity and Ka)... But aside from that, it's neons all the way down.

And the people. Walking the streets shitfaced drinking from plastic guitars or Eiffel towers, on their Sunday best with their cowboy hats or Croc shoes. Playing slot machines for hours on end, zombie-faced, rocking the baby carriage with one foot, smoking cigarettes and pulling on the machine's arm like a mindless robot. Being rude to their washed-out tired waitress wearing a sad excuse of a miniskirt showing her fat, cellulite-ridden asscheeks.

If you've got money and want to burn it, the city's yours. As long as you keep the greens flowing, you'll be treated to every single wish you might have. Limos, diamonds, luxury suites, cigars, $3,000 Cognac, helicopters, they have it all. But as soon as the money runs out, so do you. You'll end up ignored, broke and washed out on the curb before you know what happened. Wanna get a feel of what I'm saying? Walk The Strip at 7:00 in the morning.

As I was finishing to write this, the lady sitting next to me in the Internet room closed the Solitary game she was boringly playing on the computer, sighed and gave me a half smile as she was leaving. "I guess I'll go back lose some more money at the casino" she said, with a resignated look.