Why Does Vegas Exist?

After a few days, the crazy excess begins to wear thin.

The appeals of Vegas are many. One thing that draws people to this place is the idea that Vegas is a place where they can "act out"; the "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" idea. All they frustrations and forced conformities of our daily lives can momentarily be shed like a work uniform. Whether in your nine-to-five life you have to wear a suit or a name tag, you still have a dress code. But here in Vegas we're all fawned upon, plied with free drinks and endless amusements. We stop being the person we were back in Des Moines or wherever and become someone else. People let their more base urges out of the dungeon for a few days and hand over the keys to them. And who's to say this is entirely a bad thing?

Logic is not welcome here. Logic belongs to that dreary world you are on vacation from. Every day here I walk past a bus stop advertisement that has a picture of that Dos Equis "Most Interesting Man in the World" guy, with a caption that read "No Matter What His Cards Are, He Always Doubles Down." This I think sums it up. The brave chivalry of saying screw you to logic.

On the strip the casinos pay 6-5 when you hit a blackjack, but in the old downtown area it pays 3-2. Why? Because the vacationers on the strip don't care. They're here to have fun, not do math. The folks downtown might be more serious about actually maybe winning, but the strip mentality is far more common than the downtown mentality. For most people, this little weekend orgy is here to balance off what the rest of their life is like.

So I guess I'm not saying anything you don't already know.

So what does this say about me? Well, I have a life back home that is pretty awesome, so why did I need this? I'm not sure. I feel a little sheepish saying this, but I've had an epicly great time here. I've enjoyed myself and I think I've even learned something about myself. Are you supposed to learn valuable life lessons in Vegas? Are you supposed to leave more spiritually in-tune and at peace with yourself than when you came? No, probably not.

I think maybe something got let out of my personal menagerie of demons and it went out on the strip without me. Right now it may at the craps table on a roll or in a limo with four showgirls. I don't care, as long as it stays here when I get back on the plane to go home. Good bye little demon. Have fun.

So, why does Vegas exist?

Because we need it to.