Vegas, Baby

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Author: Brett Fujioka

Las Vegas: a mecca of praised hedonism and epicurean delight. Pilgrims from near and far travel to this brilliantly lit city with the hopes of cashing in or simply reveling in the city’s delight. I never got to experience this firsthand until recently.I immediately hit it big when I stepped into the casino. In matter of 100 minutes, I won $300 at the slots. Minutes later, it quickly dwindled to $200. The “rush” overtook me, and my friend had to stop me from burning the rest of my earnings. I’m almost convinced that the security was watching me from the start. They could have easily detected that I was a newcomer and rigged the machines for an initial win, to kindle that gambler’s drive.

My father would recurrently tell me that nobody wins in Vegas. If everybody won, then the place wouldn’t stay in business. But people do win in Vegas, as my initial earnings prove. However, chances are that the people who are victorious are going to spend their winnings in the expensive restaurants, gift shops, bars and nightclubs throughout the resorts. The casinos and hotels end up breaking even at the end of it. The rest of their profits undoubtedly lean against the other compulsive gamblers.

Vegas isn’t profiting from tourists who are sound of mind; they’re preying on people sick in the head and of lower economic standing. As for the wealthy who frequent Las Vegas, they have plenty of money to burn and are hardly at a loss. What’s more is that even while Vegas is in the process of taking advantage of you, they’re still trying to entice you to stay. There’s a reason why the waitresses patrolling the slot machines give out free drinks: they are hoping not only that you’ll stay, but also that they’ll remove your inhibitions with alcohol. This is akin to date raping someone with liquor and stealing their wallet while they’re unconscious.

Along with its employees, Vegas also attracts a motley of messed-up people. Given that the women there are some of the hottest that I’ve ever seen outside of Hawai’i, Vegas still also reels in a lot of trash. I don’t know what it is, but Vegas has some of the scummiest people out there. I’ve stumbled into countless middle-aged pregnant women chain-smoking cigarettes. I can presume only that they come from broken households with alcoholic, compulsive gambling patriarchs at their head.

Another bothersome thing is the idea that Las Vegas might actually be the prime tourist attraction in America. I saw people from all over the world during my brief stay. It’s disturbing that nobler monuments like the Liberty Bell, The Statue of Liberty or the Alamo aren’t visited more often. Instead, people throw away all their hard-earned money in tribute to an unholy city of orgiastic vice and immorality. If this is America’s chief center of attraction, then perhaps the Islamic fundamentalists are correct in branding us as “The Great Satan.”

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed my stay in Las Vegas, but I couldn’t help but feel guilty as I walked the streets of the strip with these thoughts in mind. Las Vegas is like alcohol. It feels fantastic at the time, but after the party is over and done, you wonder why the heck you did that. But you still know that you’d do it again in a heartbeat, even if you know it’s wrong.

Brett Fujioka is a senior ECLS major. He can be reached at bfujioka@oxy.edu.

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