Can you even imagine a ringtone band playing the Sands? I wasn't around back in those days, but from everything I've seen and heard from old-timers, a complete lack of talent would have been the kiss of death for any performer on The Boulevard.
Now that Las Vegas has become pool party central, how could it have possibly snagged the top "cool" ranking in the USA?
Like most things, in order to make sense of it all, we must consider the source.
This ranking was not obtained by consensus of the entire public at large, rather, it was propelled to the top spot by the overwhelming vote of a single demographic ... 18-34 year olds.
This group, my friends, is by far the most lame American generation ever. It is a generation of forward-hair-combing androgynous fruitcakes and the faux-empowered cumdumpsters who proudly shit all over them. Instead of smacking a ho' for getting out of line like Frank used to do, today's males extract their revenge by piercing their nipples and penning whiny emo songs.
The generation that finds Las Vegas "super cool" is the very same generation that idolizes autotune. It's the same group of people who listen to Ke$ha, LMFAO, Soulja Boy, and Katy Perry. They are the same people who worship Paris Hilton and the cast of Jersey Shore.
These are the people who have declared Las Vegas to be the coolest place in the USA:
It's all starting to make sense.
Personally, I used to think Las Vegas was a pretty cool place. This is why I expended the time, money, and effort to move to the city for 6 years. For better or worse, I have a long history of putting my money where my mouth is.
Around the time that the Stardust was knocked down, gambling began to decrease, and as nightclubs were becoming the main attraction in the town, Las Vegas slowly but surely lost its cool for me. It's when I first started considering moving again.
The Vegas that exists today does not feel like the Vegas I liked as recently as 5 years ago.
In a short amount of time, roughly 80% of my own friends have moved away, and those I know that used to visit often have either decreased the frequency of their visits, or have stopped coming altogether. I also remember a time when people actually envied the fact that I lived in Vegas. They thought it was really neat. "Cool" even. Those same people eventually grew to pity me, and frequently gave me the advice that "you'd better get out of there before it's too late".
When I would travel outside of Vegas 5 years ago, people were mildly fascinated when I told them that I lived in Las Vegas. They had questions, and I tried to answer them honestly. Some people used to express to me that it was always their dream to someday pack up and make a go of it in Vegas themselves. I no longer know anyone who is even remotely contemplating a move into Vegas, but I still know dozens who are contemplating the move out.
These days, I'm almost afraid to tell people where I've spent the past half decade. I don't want either the pity nor the suspicion that now accompanies people finding out that you're a Vegas resident. In 2010, when you tell people that you are "from Las Vegas" they generally assume that you left because you lost your job, lost your house, or because you couldn't stop plugging quarters into a Joker's Wild machine. They tend to think that you are a desperate and dishonest unemployed ex-bartender. There is a very real and palpable prejudice against Las Vegans in certain parts of the country.
The sad part is ... it's not a completely invalid assumption. All stereotypes are based on truth. Most Vegas ex-patriots of the last three years have lost their jobs and/or their homes. Perhaps they are even a little desperate, and because of this, are not quite as honest as they were before they moved to the town.
These days, when I tell people that I recently moved from Las Vegas, I do so with a little bit of hesitance in my voice. I hate to say these thoughts out loud. I am just being brutally honest about the current state of things. I don't appreciate people treating me with suspicion, but I do kind of understand where people are coming from when they look at me askew. I don't begrudge them for their pre-judging. Instead, I try to be extra polite to people to show them that we're not all a bunch of degenerate scam artists looking to turn a quick buck.
It's been a long time since I met someone my own age who reacted to Las Vegas residency in a positive way. There is no more envy, and there are no more excited questions about the town. From my own point of view, it really feels like the mystique of Las Vegas is a thing of the past.
Still, Forbes Magazine puts the question to the public, and the question remains:
Is Las Vegas still cool?
The answer more and more seems to depend on the year in which you were born.
If you oozed out of your mother's axe wound after 1980, the answer seems to be yes ... yes it is.
For the rest of us ... those of us who no longer get overly-excited about the prospect of drinking a beer; Those of us who have families; Those of us who would not cross the street to catch a glimpse of Nicole Ritchie; Those of us sporting a grey hair or two on our coin purse the answer is a little less clear.
Perhaps a recount is in order.
Read: Straight From The Hip
Comments
Scott Craig from Orlando
Having just completed my 27th and "final" week long trip to Vegas this week, I must say the place is doing everything in it's power to suck every cent out of everyone's pocket, like they will never see them again.. I have stayed at most every property and experienced the year degradation of customer service, high expectations of tips for such service. Attitudes from drink girls to floor managers, poker rooms out of control with locals fighting with dealers and colusion of locals to wipe out the tourist there to just play cards and have fun..
As a 52 year old now, I see the city trying to make that city appeal to the younger crowd, my boys were with me this time, 24 and 26 year olds.. they had fun, but were tired of the high prices and the same old thing everywhere thay went, something they can get anywhere.
Vegas has lost my generation, and I don't see that they are gaining the favor of the next.
Rex has it right... I have been reading his blog for years, he is accurate and you people in Vegas know it, your defensive writting is witness to your concerns and you all should be really concerned.
I friend of mine is a consultant to some of the biggest casinos there, he tells me that every large property there has hugh blocks of floors that have been decommissioned and locked out of use, a way to show higher occupancy rates than really exists enabling them to charge higher room rates and pay less state taxes for their properites.. your city is in BIG trouble, trying to reinvent it to be like us here in Orlando is a big big mistake. We would not dream of trying to make Orlando like Vegas.. Vegas's attempt to belike Us is likewise foolhardy and will fail..
Like in other areas of this country, we have no real reason to come there anymore, Florida just passed high stakes poker here, we have full blown casions in Tampa and South Florida... Give us a real reason to come back to Vegas!!
Distractia
Good luck Rex- I hope you treat the NW as well as you did Vegas. We will miss you here. Vegas doors never close. You will miss the 24 hour buzz. I don't know how a mind like yours couldn't. We will always welcome you back.
Lol@ "Tom Brokaw" and "The Fonz"
The Fonz
When I was in college (and therefore on the young end of that 18-34 demographic that's so important) anybody we worshiped had to have some sort of talent. There were no Paris Hiltons or Jersey Shore guidos to spend countless hours fixating over. "Reality" TV, which of course is ridiculously contrived, is to blame for the demise of western civilization, without a doubt.
Sure, it's cute to watch the misadventures of a bunch of whores hanging out in a hot tub in New Jersey, but when we start treating them like royalty, it's a sad indictment against society.
When the pool party set grows up, stops caring about The Situation and Snooki, stops spending $300 for a night of booze at a trendy Vegas nightspot and stops becoming relevant in Vegas, I don't see it as black Friday at the ultra lounges, all it means is that a new group of wannabes will have replaced the old order.
Will there be a place for today's 26-year-old in Vegas when she turns 40? That's the bigger question. Having gone from 26 to 40 and never fitting in with the pool party crowd of my generation, I'm finding that Vegas is becoming less enticing to me. I can't imagine divorced mothers of 2 and bald guys with alimony payments are going to find much to their liking if their idea of a great time is overpaying to hang out at a swimming pool.
People keep bitching about your negativity Rex because the truth hurts.
Herk115
Aw, c'mon, you guys. Get off Rex's back. Bashing or not, as long as he writes what he honestly feels, I'll continue to read. His is just one opinion among many.
If you want to read a blog where someone says nothing but warm fuzzy things about Vegas, just hunt around. They're out there.
Or if you're really fed up, start your own blog. Believe it or not, they're free. Then you can see what it's like to write to please everyone. It ain't easy. In fact, it can't be done.
Write on, Rex!
Tom Brokaw
David, the same old/young dichotomy/struggle over popular culture has repeated itself for ages. The old always deride the lack of taste/refinement in the young and the young always rebel against staid traditional definitions. Anyone, and I'm assuming you belong in this group, unable to see the cyclical nature of this is, perhaps not mentally retarded, but shortsighted and capable of only shallow thought.
Are you a shallow thinker convinced that X generation's taste is poor compared to yours, unable to remember the same criticisms leveled at your generation in your peak?
Apparently so.
Martin (from Germany)
In the old Vegas you had idiots who spend 1 $ to win 98 cent .. now Vegas has found even bigger idiots who pay 200 $ for a Bottle of crap worth 3 $. Thats the new deal.
David G.
Tom, people your age are obviously piss poor when it comes to determining what is cool. The video posted on this page is evidence of that. I'll take Barbara Streisand over that Paris Hilton pelvic thrust crap. Shite, pure shite. It doesn't matter how old you are, if you can't see how terrible that is, you are probably mentally retarded.
Tom Brokaw
No sorry. People your age are simply irrelevant when determining what is cool.
Cool is, as the definition stated, a product of the zeitgeist, the moment. Your moment is over. Your ability to quote Barbra Streisand is concrete evidence of that.
ColinFromLasVegas
Is Las Vegas still cool?
Hell, I dunno.
But if you equate it to the stupid video link above, then I guess the answer is a resounding...NOOOOO!
Because anyone with half a brain would automatically say that Paris Hilton does not even possess one.
But the question is this...
When you moving back here, Rex?
By the way, I watched a female Metro PD Police Officer arrest a drunk wandering out in the middle of traffic on the corner of Main/Las Vegas Boulevard (in the shadow of the Stratosphere) this afternoon.
I have to admit that I almost leaped out of my car to help the female officer, but it wasn't required. She had it covered.
Admit it, Rex. You miss this shit....
James Goldman
In the land of beautiful resorts, no start-up dates nor major casinos will be developed in the next decade.
What more proof do you need.
Mr. Las Vegans:- Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Jim Murren all of whom are 100 times smarter and shrewd than readers Lester, Ted Newkirk, decide to focus and invest elsewhere such as Philly, Boston, Macau, Singapore.
The plans for Macau in particular are really monstrous.
Las Vegas Sands USD $5.5 billion investment in Marina Bay Singapore has a 25%+ ROI and the cost can be fully recovered in 4 years.
Look at City Center, maybe and just maybe Dubai World can get their investments back in 20 years.
Why should I invest in Vegas both time and money, if genius like Adelson has stopped.
Shelly
You know I thought Rex was exaggerating about the people in Las Vegas not being bright but after reading the comments made by the actual Las Vegas residents I feel that he may have been too generous. The commenters claiming to be from Las Vegas do seem quite unintelligent and excessively defensive and don't make their points very well. Basically, they are proving Rex's point. Is the Ted guy blaming Rex for passing out on his way to the ER and thus provoking the cop? That's reasoning that only can make sense to a 98er and below. Good for you Rex for getting out of that hellhole. I wouldn't want to live amongst those people either.
Teddy
Hey Ted,
Do you still have your assistant read Rex's blog or do you do that yourself now? My eyes roll every time I read your comments.
Jake
NO NO NO NO
Vegas is not cool, high unemployment, no good jobs available.
Tons of places to spend $$ on, but no place to make $$.
I feel ice cold [more than cool] after I lost all my monthly mortgage on the blackjack table !!
According to Steve Wynn, 48 years in the business, ONLY the house wins..unless you know more than Wynn about the gambling business.
Like to hear it.
Charles Cohen
This is America and with freedom of speech, every citizen is entitled to express his personal opinion, INCLUDING REX.
I have been a loyal follower all along, because Rex is very articulate, and often, he supports his views with logical facts and proper reasoning.
If you feel disgusted about his perspective, don't read this blog.
What puzzles me is that many idiots that has property holdings or financial interest in Vegas disagrees with Rex entirely but tries to fight him over whether Vegas is a great town or not.
The point is, why would a die-hard democrat subscribe to a tea-party newsletter ? or an African American follows tentatively a K.K.K. publication ?
I couldn't agree more with Rex and I thank you for all the beautiful pictures throughout the years.
Good luck in the Pacific NorthWest. Rex, you are better off than residents stuck in a desert with a 14% + unemployment rate plus the housing market continues to plummet further.
When will Wynn, Sheldon, MGM, Boyd, Trump, the Fertittas start their next mega-project if Vegas were really that GREAT ?
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/aug/17/report-las-vegas-tops-list-nations-most-stressful-/
Cool Pacific
The 18-34 year old demographic is fleeting & transient. Advertisers love them because they have few responsibilities and money to piss away.
Problem is, they move on. Can you expect this current crop, many of whom don't even gamble, to carry the town once they move beyond their clubbing days. I doubt it. Try marketing yesterday's coolness to the next generation - they will have moved on to the next "cool" place.
Vegas needs the 35-100 year old gamblers and it had better start marketing to them soon.
Scooby 5
I agree with myself, I mean the rest of the writers here. There are no blogs anywhere on the Internet which promote Las Vegas and it makes me sad. Rex, please tell me how great Las Vegas is and please give me a link to book a room now. I'm surprised nobody every thought of doing it before.
Coin Purse
I agree with the rest of the writers here -- your incessant bashing of LV is getting tiresome. Is there nothing left in LV that is good, fun, a value, etc. for you anymore? Maybe the change in locale will give you a new perspective. We can only hope.
frank
velma, that's what Opie & Anthony refer to as "angry typing guy" - the internet trolls who have nothing better to do with their time than bash what has been posted.
Velma's Bush
Scooby, how boring can Rex be when you post several comments on his blog under different names every day?
Lester
Your constant Vegas bashing is becoming boring in a hurry.
Seattle was cool, for three years in the early nineties. You're in the right place though, as you are clearly depressed, which is the theme throughout your current hometown.
And how's that Seattle monorail? Think its better than the one you ragged on in Vegas so many times?
keith
" But if we have a younger generation getting hooked on visiting Las Vegas, that means we are lining up tons of new, life-long customers."
are we though? are we hooking customers who will come and gamble and go to shows, or are we just wringing every dollar we can out of their pockets as they go to clubs/pool parties, then once they get too old for that shit (like 25-28 or so), they realize they can't keep living in their parents' basement and need to get a real job, an apt/house, a family...next thing, they're not in the financial situation anymore to blow their cash in vegas.
Scooby
Mid Life Crisis
There is nothing cooler than kicking it in Olympia Washington hearing the sonic booms of two F-15 jets scrambling from Portland Oregon to save the president from a killer sea-plane in Seattle Washington!
Time to boycott pressure waves!
Zach
Don't be so quick to judge us younglings. I believe it was your generation that decided to market to us idiots, and got us all into this mess (referring to this recession and this town).
Also, I loved the part where you equated "being cool" to "beating women."
Ted Newkirk
OK... Rex dresses himself from the thrift store and proudly proclaims he drives beaten-up aging autos (um... no wonder they keep breaking down). Puts out this "I don't care what people think" attitude. But then says:
"There is a very real and palpable prejudice against Las Vegans in certain parts of the country.
"...when I tell people that I recently moved from Las Vegas, I do so with a little bit of hesitance in my voice".
Oh... PLEASE!
I do business with people in places as diverse at New York City, Tampa/St. Pete, Panama City Beach, rural Alabama, San Diego and others locales. My business extends far beyond my Vegas sites. I make no bones about nor excuses for the fact we are proudly located in Las Vegas).
I don't give a rat's ass if there is a prejudice against Las Vegans somewhere. But then... I've never had a cocktail waitress toss a drink at me. I've never had a stop by the police where I've been treated less-than-professional (and that includes a time I got cuffed). I could go on and on... but:
Rex, did it ever dawn on you that it might be YOU?
Per the Forbes poll, I think it is great! I don't like the ringtone bands. I've got some gray hair coming in. I miss the Boardwalk BIG-TIME (Perfect place to park, cheap drinks, low limits, great lounge acts, good cigar shop). But if we have a younger generation getting hooked on visiting Las Vegas, that means we are lining up tons of new, life-long customers.
Which doesn't quite vibe with Rex's predictions that Las Vegas is the next Detroit.
It looks like we'll have an never-ending number of angry rants toward Vegas out of Rex. It will keep me reading. The only person who makes me laugh harder is Phil Hendrie.
Disco Stu
Axe wound.