I like everything about Vegas except that it’s Vegas.
I like the lights. That it never seems to sleep. That there are restaurants beyond Denny’s that are open 24/7. I like that the people are present but that they ignore you. I like the high desert and the distant mountains. It all adds up.

But, the frenetic entropic energy of cycled hope and despair which is the core of the city is a drain. The false veneer which residents acknowledge with a nod and a wink grates on me. It is like living in a eggshell. Cozy and brittle. A shorter than normal step from oblivion. And it’s a company town. Every aspect of it is run by the conglomerates which present a different face but reach with the same hands. The law and the power is wielded to enforce the tourist industry. And no statistics which show else is allowed. I know. I’ve looked.

I’ve read the “aw, shucks it’s just people” articles that attempt to justify it. They fall short of the mark.

It’s an interesting town to visit. But it’s not one I’d find myself in again and again. Plastic places pretending to be real.