There’s an old rumor that you can’t find clocks or windows in Las Vegas. The story goes they removed them after realizing people’s gambling behaviors changed based on their perception of time. As the night wound towards day the behavior became less tame. This feels true, as do so many of the other Vegas myths I’ve encountered over the years.
This isn’t my first or even fourth trip to grown up candy land. I’ve spent enough time here to recognize that you’re not meant to be who you actually are when on the strip. Inside these massive hotels they pump you full of sweet smelling air and high energy music as a reminder that even if you’re losing you are still having a great time at it.
To hear it from people in the know, Vegas isn’t even about the gambling anymore. All the serious betting in in Macao. Vegas is about partying and drinking and distancing yourself from reality to the extent that you’ll do things that would otherwise seem asinine to consider. My Vegas is fun and drinks and penny slots and learning Paigow with friends. My Vegas is built on people watching and smiles and hoping something interesting unfolds around me.
The last time I was here I ran into a girl about to make a life changing choice about whether or not to meet in person with a guy from the internet she came to the hotel to meet. I still wonder if I steered her right. I wonder too at the number of bachelor, bachelorette, and even wedding parties I see are aimed down the road of forever marriage, or like so many of us doomed to shatter on the rocks life and choice.
Tonight before coming upstairs to type this blog I saw a young girl kissing her boyfriend and smiling. She looked smitten. He looked tired and I questioned how long it would take for them to reverse roles. Love and Vegas and life itself are beasts of momentum. There is great joy when the momentum is behind you, but when it shifts or dies, life can be rough trade.
But cheer up. There will always be good music, sweet air, and a pretty lady to dash by and drop a drink into your hands.