Las Vegas wasn't only founded on mobster money. There was after all the building of the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. But in the 1930s and 1940s as Las Vegas was beginning to grow, gambling was a big motivator, the draw that started bringing in the tourists with money to spend. Even after big name entertainers, Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley, started lighting up the Strip, visitors still returned to the casinos. In more recent years, in an attempt to lure families, many resort casinos have added child-friendly entertainment. I don't think that's what is keeping Las Vegas going.
I try to picture gambling as any other form of entertainment. There are a lot of activities which people spend money on which don't reward you with anything except the activity itself. I just don't get any enjoyment out of throwing a quarter in a slot machine, watching the lights and listening to the bells, and then - guess what? My quarter is gone. Seems a silly way to waste of money, but if that is how someone gets there kicks, who am I to judge.
What I don't understand though is that a lot of these people don't look like they are having fun. Maybe they just hide it better then I do. My picture is of a sixty-something year old lady, with a cigarette hanging off her lips, a mixed drink in her left hand, her right hand pushing that slot machine button, over and over again. She doesn't look so happy to me. She looks like she is in a trance and moss is beginning to grow on her backside.
I don't want to say that gambling is all bad, there just is no upside for me. If anyone thinks they are going to strike it rich, well, let me know when that happens. Call me a hypocrite, but I will help you spend your winnings.
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