Las Vegas: The Social Production of an All-American City - Report Example

Las Vegas Introduction “The entertainment capital of the world”, “Sin , without clocks”, “a city that never sleeps”, “City 24/7”, “Capital of second chances”, “the marriage capital of the world”: people know Las Vegas with all of these names (Stratton, pp. 35-41) (Benson, pp. 12-17) . Without doubts, it is the most happening city of the world. An icon of leisure, pleasure, shopping, entertainment, gambling, sports and fun gives such an experience to its visitors that people say, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” According to the statistics of the year 2008, it has the population of more than 1.8 million people and it is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. Interestingly, this land had only 1200 settlers in 1905 and it since then it has grown with an exponential rate. Moreover, it is the most populous city of the state Nevada and the 28th most populous city of the United States (Doggett, pp. 25-36). The city of Las Vegas has some of tallest buildings in the world and for not even a single second the lights of the city go dim but surprisingly, deserted land surrounds the place from all directions. In fact, a century ago it was a desert it self. It had some considerable supply of water and this factor made it prominent from others. With an area of only 340 square kilometers, this city has the capability to attract more than 35 million tourists every year (Green & Penn, pp. 38-71). Interestingly, this figure of tourists is more than the tourists or Orlando, Florida and even more than the number of people who visit Mecca every year. These tourists come all parts of the world and belong from all possible races and ethnicities of the world. In fact, the population of Las Vegas is diverse as well with white Americans, black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Indian Americans, Asian Americans, and others. The common impression or myth about Las Vegas is that most of the tourists who go there, they go with intentions of gambling, gaming in casinos and with intentions of experiencing this city with its title of “Sin City”. This paper focuses on this assumption and common stereotype of people and tries to evaluate to what extent this is true. In addition, at the end of this paper the most common motivations of tourists to go to Las Vegas would be in clearer picture. Discussion “Golden nugget, Stratosphere Las Vegas, California, Main street station, Fremont, Four Queens, Binion’s Fitzgerald El Cortez, Plaza, and Las Vegas Club” (Doggett, pp. 25-36) are the most famous casinos of Las Vegas and all of them have earnings of more than 12 million US dollars every year. “Golden gate, Gold spike, Mermaids, La Bayou, and the Western” (Doggett, pp. 25-36) are those casinos that have their earnings between 1 million to 12 million US dollars. These casinos have approximately twelve thousand slot machines, four hundred table games, and fifty card games (Green & Penn, pp. 38-71). Without doubts, these casinos and gaming areas are one of the most prominent attractions of Las Vegas. However, saying that only these casinos are responsible for bringing all the tourists to Vegas would be more than unfair. Following are some of the other possible reasons, which attract tourists to Las Vegas. As mentioned earlier in the paper, that Las Vegas is the “Marriage capital of the world.” Furthermore, according to the recent statistics of Las Vegas, it issued more than 112,000 marriage licenses in the year 2008, (Doggett, pp. 25-36) which is more than 5% of the licenses issued in the whole United States. It is interesting that how the city who is just 0.5 percent of the population of United States issues more than 5 percent of the marriage licenses as compared to the whole United States (Gottdiener, Collins & Dickens, pp. 78-79). This is because getting married is the easiest in Nevada than in nay other state of United States. Any couple can apply for their marriage license until midnight every night at the marriage bureaus of the state. It is not necessary that the couple is a resident of Nevada or not. The best part is that there is no waiting period for the issuance of marriage license and the process requires does not require any blood tests or any other verifications. However, proof of age is required along with, passport, photograph, and one witness. Furthermore, getting married just costs $60 and the couple is also bound to have a marriage ceremony to make their marriage legal but they have one year to arrange the function. The restrictions of age are not complex in Nevada. Any one who is more than 18 years old can get married and if someone is sixteen or seventeen years old, then the presence of at least one parent is obligatory (Green & Penn, pp. 38-71). If not presence then at least a written and verified statement from them can do the job. Marriages are a drive through process in Nevada. Along with the great opportunities of bachelor parties and honeymoon resorts, having marriage at Las Vegas is like a dream come true. According to the statistical department of the United States, the divorce rates at Las Vegas are amongst the highest as compared to the rest of the United States. Does it mean that the marriages do not last for long in Las Vegas? Probably not, because a closer look suggests that this high divorce rate has the same reason as of the reason of high marriage rates, simpler process. The process takes not more than 1-2 days if both of the parties agree on divorce (Moehring & Green, pp. 125-167). Again, the couple does not need to be a permanent resident of Nevada. The costs are again lesser than as compared to the rest of United States. In very rare cases, the process includes elongated court hearings. Therefore, people from all over United States come in Vegas for easier, quicker, and cheaper divorces and then celebrate their new lives in the electrifying environment of Las Vegas. Las Vegas is also very famous for its shopping centers and malls all over the world. A considerable of tourists who come to Las Vegas also have their motivations in shopping (Green & Penn, pp. 38-71). In addition, people do come especially for the activities of art and recreation, gaming, sports, and other for visiting other landmarks as well. “Southern Nevada Zoological Botanical Park, Ethel M chocolate Factory, Fountains at Bellagio, Freemont street experience, Mandalay Bay, Bali Hai Golf Club, Royal Links Golf Club, Stallion Mountain Golf Club, Rio Secco, Silverstone” (Green & Penn, pp. 38-71), these are some of the most prominent names which attract the visitors from all over the world. “Las Vegas Springs Preserve and Floyd Lamb State Park Atrium Showroom Luxor Hotel, Caesars Palace Colosseum, Flamingo Showroom Flamingo Hotel, House of Blues Las Vegas, Las Vegas Hilton Theater, Pearl Concert Theater, and Star of the Desert Arena” (Green & Penn, pp. 38-71) are the rest of the landmarks for which people have traveled thousands of miles. In fact, not all tourists have their motivations in entertainment or fun however many of them go to Las Vegas to see their relatives as well. There are also significant numbers of tourists who go to Vegas for business and financial purposes as well. With so much of economic and financial activity, happening in Vegas 24/7 it has attracted many businesspersons and entrepreneurs from all over the world (Green & Penn, pp. 38-71). In addition, Las Vegas also holds the title of having the most number of churches per capita as compared to any other major city in the whole of the United States. Moreover, many television programs and films have their shootings at Las Vegas, which has increased the number of tourists as well. Conclusion It would be unfair to say a very rare percentage of tourists who come to Las Vegas are motivated by its title of Sin City or in other words, the activities of adultery, gambling and bars etc. However, this paper puts forwards few other important motivations of the visitors who come to Las Vegas that are worth considering. In fact, no one can disagree that Las Vegas is small world in itself, which has all the colors of life. Works Cited Benson, Sara. Lonely Planet Las Vegas City Guide. Lonely Planet, 2008. Doggett, Scott. Las Vegas. Lonely Planet, 2003. Gottdiener, Mark, Collins, Claudia C., & Dickens, David R. Las Vegas: the social production of an all-American city. Wiley-Blackwell, 1999. Green, Michael S., & Penn, Elan. Las Vegas. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2006. Moehring, Eugene P., & Green, Michael S. Las Vegas: a centennial history. University of Nevada Press, 2005. Stratton, David. Las Vegas. Dk Publishing, 2005. Read More