Desert city’s gamble pays off

Press, 6 March 1984, Page 30

Desert city’s gamble pays off

By

LES BLOXHAM,

travel editor, who has just

returned from a visit to the United States as a

guest of Air New Zealand.

From the air, in the clear light of day, the Las Vegas of glittering repute seemed like an adman’s fantasy. The image fostered by television series and shows appeared to be merely an illusion created by the distorting telescopic lens. Rather, the city sprawled below in the arid Nevada desert more like Twizel in the Mackenzie Country than the neon jungle of popular myth. Only when we checked into the Landmark hotel did the comparison with Twizel become utterly ridiculous. Slot machines of every variety packed the foyer, each commandeered by a pokerfaced gambler devoting his

or her full attention to the game in progress. The insignificant registration counter was an out-of-place appendage and we arrivals were aliens in a world created for gamblers. The legislation of gambling in the state of Nevada in 1931 was the catalyst that transformed the dusty desert village (population 2500) into the mecca that now draws 12 million visitors a year. At that time Las Vegas was just a watering hole in the railroad

between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, its residents dreaming that some day the the friendly little town might boast one resort hotel.

Today Las Vegas has about 500,000 residents and 56,500 hotel and motel rooms. Gaming revenue totals more than ?1800M a year, while over all visitors inject more than $5.8 billion into the Las Vegas economy. The big spender syndrome may seem like madness on the part of visitors. But Las Vegas has a charming way of relieving a visitor of cash. Essential expenses for accommodation and food can be remarkably painless. Opulent hotels and lavish shows are expensive, naturally, but Las Vegas also offers a wide range of inexpensive motel rooms and eating places, including 56 McDonald burger bars and 15 parks for recreational vehicles. Many hotels feature week-end bargain brunches, with complimentary champagne, for about $6. It is even possible to find “all-you-can-eat” buffets for less than $2.

Las Vegas is certainly capitalising on the visitors’ impression that they have more money to play with on the thousands of slot machines and many other games available 24 hours a day.

For the ultimate gambler marriages can be performed with only 24 hours notification. Last year 60,000 couples tied the knot in Las Vegas, more than 1000 on Valentine’s Day. This frenzied glitter is a far cry from the ideals of

Las Vegas’s first settlers, the Mormons. They established a fort here in 1855 and cultivated a few hectares of meadowland before departing two years later, leaving behind their fields and the adobe fort, part of which still stands as the oldest building in Nevada.

Las Vegas owes its origins to its natural springs. First discovered in 1829 by Spanish explorers, they were used at the turn of this century to help keep steam locomotives chugging between Salt Lake and Los Angeles.

The construction of the mighty Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, 48km away, lifted Las Vegas from the depth of the Depression in the 19305. An engineering marvel, it is the highest concrete dam in the West-

ern world and used enough concrete to construct a twolane highway between San Francisco and New York. Tours of Hoover Dam are available every

day. Now assured of an abundant supply of water and electricity, Las Vegas could look forward to a secure future. But it was the improvement of the highways and the automobile after World War II that led to the “discovery” of Las Vegas by tourists. And now the tourism boom appears to have no end in sight, with the city’s decision-makers betting on a yearly influx of 20 million visitors by 1990.

The seductive atmosphere of Las Vegas encompasses much more than the gambling, the gourmet dining, and the star-studded shows. Paradoxically, for a place

where strict over-21 age limits apply to gambling and drinking, Las Vegas has numerous family-oriented attractions.

In addition, the surrounding desert is full of interest. Package tours make scheduled trips to the Red Rock Canyon, the flaming red sandstone creations in the Valley of Fire; and the awesomely arid Death Valley.

But what of our own gambling luck? Well, we lost a few dollars to the slot machines* and recovered just enough coins to keep us interested for a while. But no sooner had we flown out of Las Vegas for the 45minute trip back to Los Angeles than an 88-year-old grandmother had birthday luck by winning $135,000 while playing a $1 slot machine.