# Las Vegas Is Depressin. As Hell. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 18, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390 "2004-08-18T14:03:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/1 "2004-08-18T14:03:59Z")
This town. This town is fun?? It’s sterile, odd, clinical and depressing. People sit at the slots outside the damned bathrooms, eyes glazed, rhythmically pounding the buttons hoping to win a nickle back. It’s tawdry. It’s pricey. It appears to have zero soul. What am I missing here??? Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/2 "2004-08-18T14:09:12Z")
> [@](#): > > **Cartooniverse** - It’s tawdry. It’s pricey. It appears to have zero soul. I thought my husband and I were the only two people that would rather spend a weekend in Cleveland than Las Vegas. The last time I was there was in 1993( I think) to see the Dead. Talk about a truly weird juxtaposition of worlds. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/3 "2004-08-18T14:19:27Z")
Different strokes… My wife and I **love** Vegas! We got married there, we go there every chance we get, and we always have a great time. The trips usually don’t cost us much, because we get the rooms comped and sometimes get shows comped. Even if all we do is people-watch, Vegas is a great town. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/4 "2004-08-18T14:19:39Z")
Hah! I completely agree! The neon lights are the only part I liked at all. Well, okay, I can see spending a couple of hours in a casino if it’s something you’ve never done before & you’re curious. But a Big Attraction, Major Tourist Destination? No way! The “thrills of Vegas” didn’t last me as long as a typical feature film. Those glassy-eyed people creeped me out! What fun??? Get yourself on the highway & go to the Grand Canyon. The Painted Desert is amazing as well, although it may be a bit far away. Or take a flight to Tusayan - if you’re lucky, you can wait on standby & get a cheap ticket on one of their 4-seaters. Plane so tiny, you can lick the pilot’s ear (although I’m not recommending it). ---
**Author:** ![Nvme77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Nvme77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nvme77)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/5 "2004-08-18T14:30:46Z")
Maybe you’ve come to Vegas for the wrong reasons. There is no soul here- Vegas is for bartering your soul. You know when Vegas is depressing? When you’ve lost your money and you can’t play anymore then it becomes downright despondant. This town does thrive on the cash flow- in and out. The most irritating thing there can be are others who want Las Vegas to be like other towns- or worse, like their old home towns. My advice to them, if you like it so much- go back home. Looking for culture? Nada. Itching for community? Most people don’t know who their neighbors are- because they might be weirdos. Want warm fuzzy feelings? Go stand next to the volcano at the Mirage. I love Las Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/6 "2004-08-18T14:57:27Z")
A few years ago, we were given a free trip to Vegas for 4 days. I loved the NYNY hotel simply for the atmosphere, but we both found ourselves struggling to find something to do at first. Then we discovered a few things to make it fun: the motion ride at Excalibur, walking around the MGM, picking up our free packs of cards at the Tropicana (we did this every day we were there). We probably only spent about $30 gambling, since neither of us are terribly interested in it. Basically, we just amused ourselves for 4 days, but neither of us has any interest in returning. Oh, if you have the money, I do recommend seeing Cirque du Soleil. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/7 "2004-08-18T15:03:24Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > This town. This town is fun?? It’s sterile, odd, clinical and depressing. People sit at the slots outside the damned bathrooms, eyes glazed, rhythmically pounding the buttons hoping to win a nickle back. > > It’s tawdry. It’s pricey. It appears to have zero soul. > > What am I missing here??? > > Cartooniverse You forgot garish and hot. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/8 "2004-08-18T15:10:50Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > You forgot garish and hot. So am I. What are you trying to say? :dubious: Anyway, love Vegas, but wife and I are moving to Reno. Unless we can find a house in a suburb. Henderson didn’t seem too bad. We stayed at the Station hotel there during the NASCAR races this year and strolled the town for a bit. (Hotel sucked, though) ---
**Author:** ![eno801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@eno801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eno801)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/9 "2004-08-18T15:14:21Z")
I seem to be the only one in my circle of friends who has yet to go to Vegas. I would rather spend that time and money in New Orleans. It is closer and they have a casino as well if I feel like gambling. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/10 "2004-08-18T15:26:05Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > It’s tawdry. It’s pricey. It appears to have zero soul. shh. You’re not supposed to notice that. Go spend money. Oooh, shiny! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/11 "2004-08-18T16:03:45Z")
Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Boy, are you ever in trouble now! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/12 "2004-08-18T17:20:34Z")
The best thing about Vegas, to my mind, is that it gives all the people who love that atmosphere a place to go. Again and again and again. If it’s your cup o’tea-have at it. My SO and I were once sitting on a lovely beach in Mexico and I said something snotty about the large cruise ship that was passing out to sea. “Look” he replied “if all the people that were on the ship were _here_, we wouldn’t have the beach to ourselves now would we?” He had a good point. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/13 "2004-08-18T21:11:44Z")
> [@jlzania](#): > > I thought my husband and I were the only two people that would rather spend a weekend in Cleveland than Las Vegas. > > The last time I was there was in 1993( I think) to see the Dead. > Talk about a truly weird juxtaposition of worlds. Hey! I lived in Vegas for 2 miserable years, now I work in downtown Cleveland. “ **BMalion** , Living your hell for _you_.” new slogan? ---
**Author:** ![LVgeogeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b19c9b/32.png) [@LVgeogeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVgeogeek)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/14 "2004-08-18T21:31:24Z")
Las Vegas is definitley a strange place. I thought it was the weirdest when I first moved here 8 years ago. But I live in Henderson and can see the Strip from where I live. So I see it all the time, from a distance. The lights are pretty on a clear night. At first found it strange that I live in everyone elses vacation land and was annoyed with it (I moved from Omaha NE) I combated the weirdness by staying away from The Strip/downtown unless I have friends/family visiting. I rarely, if ever, stick money in a slot/video poker/keno machine because it is boring and a waste. For people who just come for a weekend miss out on a lot of stuff here because they are only on the strip or downtown at the hotel/casinos stuffing money in a machine or stuffing their face with buffet food, seeing overpriced shows or going to trendy nightclubs. There is so much more to Vegas than “The Strip”. There is lots of stuff to do other than gamble. If you want nature, there is Red Rock Park or Mount Charleston, and Lake Mead/Hoover Dam, none of them are more than hour (or so) outside of town. The Grand Canyon is a 6 hour drive away from Vegas, not easy to do if you are here for just a weekend. (I wouldn’t trust the helicopter tours- they have fallen out of the sky one too many times :eek: ) We are just like every other town: we have normal jobs, houses or apartment, go to school, and have hobbies just like people who live else where. We just happen to have “another world” in the center of our town as a “play place” for those who want to let loose and “have a good time”. The weather is something to get used to as well. It is hot as blazes here in the summer (_this isn’t hot, it’s the setting for london broil_), but the rest of the year is great! I enjoy living here and really can’t think of living anywhere else. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/15 "2004-08-18T21:36:06Z")
[quote] Hey! I lived in Vegas for 2 miserable years, now I work in downtown Cleveland. “BMalion, Living your hell for you.” quote] Well thank you for assuming this burden. I will make sure you get a little extra something this Christmas. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/16 "2004-08-18T21:37:44Z")
> [@LVgeogeek](#): > > We are just like every other town: we have normal jobs, houses or apartment, go to school, and have hobbies just like people who live else where. We just happen to have “another world” in the center of our town as a “play place” for those who want to let loose and “have a good time”. And you have a damn good CSI team. No unsolved murders in your town! ---
**Author:** ![jlzania](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/67e7ee/32.png) [@jlzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jlzania)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/17 "2004-08-18T21:38:42Z")
**BMalion** Would you mind taking responsibilty for my bad coding as well? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/18 "2004-08-18T21:39:44Z")
> [@jlzania](#): > > The last time I was there was in 1993( I think) to see the Dead. Last time I was there was a business trip in 1990. A book publishers’ convention. The Dead’s #2 drummer, Mickey Hart, gave a big percussion concert, which I went to with Denis Kitchen, the underground comix artist and publisher. Afterwards met Mickey and Bill Walton, and swapped bad jokes with Dr. Timothy Leary. Shared a cab back to the hotel with John Barlow and his cute girlfriend. The nicest thing I can say about Vegas otherwise is that the bars are open 24 hours a day, and the cocktail waitresses all have really fine legs. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/19 "2004-08-18T21:57:09Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > What am I missing here??? Lots. Get out of the casinos. I lived there for 6 six years and went to “The Strip” twice. Never saw the volcano blow. Never set foot in the pyrimid. Vegas has (had?) some of the best off-roading around. You could go for hundreds of miles in nearly every direction and not hit the same trail twice. You could ride in the sand of a dry riverbed to the snow on Mt. Potosi. Vegas has a decent steel-tip dart scene. It has (had?) a really good live music scene (blues, rock, metal). The Dead used to play there. Other “Big Names” came to the Silver Bowl or Lawlor. Awsome watersports out on the lake. There was a genuine Fiat mechanic there also. Way back when, you could drive your motorcycle or sports car like a maniac in Red Rock or Valley of Fire. Thats probably not true anymore. You could eat cheap. > [@Cartooniverse](#): > > What am I missing here??? Thats about it. It was too hot and I got fired from every non-gaming job there, so I moved! ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390/20 "2004-08-18T22:08:49Z")
FWIW, I thought that Atlantic City was more depressing. But to be fair the only time I was in Las Vegas was a weekend bachelor party for a good friend. We got our own blackjack table and just played and drank and swapped stories. Would have been a totally different experience with strangers. I do enjoy gambling some times, but I like it much better if I can get in, get out, and get on with it. If I’m ever out there again I’ll explore the desert. And the desserts. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/las-vegas-is-depressin-as-hell/260390.md?page=2)