Vegas

I just returned from a really quick trip to Las Vegas to scout out some things for a mission trip I'll be leading in June. It was my first time there and I was stunned by it. Here's some observations:

• There are mountains - all around the city (in pretty much every direction) there are mountains. The city sits in a bowl, if you will (similar to Mexico City).


• There is no grass - while I'm sure plenty of pot is smoked there, I'm speaking of grass in the lawn sense of the word. I understand it's a desert, but you'd think you'd see some more grass. There's no need for a lawnmower for 99% of the people. What do you do on Saturday morning?


• Everything hinges on gaming - there is absolutely no diversification of commerce. You either work in the gaming business directly (the Bellaggio alone employs 15,000 people!), or you work for a company that provides services to people who work in the gaming industry.


• Explosive growth - I heard Las Vegas adds anywhere from 5000 to 10,000 people per month! There is construction everywhere. The area we were in (Henderson) doesn't seem to have a building over 5 years old. This sounds great, but leads to a huge problem, which is...


• Water - there ain't a lot of it, and what they got is running out. They get 2-4 inches of precipitation a year! Their water comes from Lake Mead, which looks to be 50-100 feet below it's normal levels. Some predict it will be out of water by 2021. One good thing is the tons of snow that Colorado has gotten this year. When all that melts and flows into the Colorado river, it could help replenish the lake - but how would you like for your entire city's future (as it relates to this absolutely necessary natural resource) to depend on record snowfall somewhere else?


• Skyline - the usual pattern when entering a metropolitan city is that you begin seeing homes, then neighborhoods, then 2-4 story office buildings, then 15-20 story buildlings, and then the city center (with it's huge skyscrapers). In other words, it builds as you get closer downtown. Not Vegas. There's a ton of 1 story buildings all around and then about 15 HUGE hotel/casinos that rise from the flat ground. There aren't any other tall buildings of any sort (that I could see). Totally weird.


• The Big 3 - an entire city & culture built around 3 desires: pleasure, entertainment, & food. Of course, in Vegas, these are pursued in the most destructive ways: prostitution, gambling, and buffets. As I sat down for lunch yesterday in a casino and looked around, I thought: this is soooooooooo American - our insatiable need for food, sex, and entertainment. It was gluttony to be sure (and not just when it comes to food). Luckily for Vegas, there's no shortage of consumers

I know people will say, "Vegas has changed...it's gotten a lot more family-friendly." I don't doubt that, but at its core, it is a city built on making money from people by enticing them into choices and behavior that leaves most people more empty than before they arrived. They say people go there for "fun." As I looked into the eyes of the people in the casino and at the restaurant, I failed to see it. I'm not saying nobody has fun there, it's just seems a high price to pay for it.