Vegas – Sin City

I have quite a history with Vegas, having visited for the first time in the 80’s when it truly was Sin City, and gone back several times for conferences or leisure over the past 30 years. Last weekend I was there again with a very special friend and I was surprised at how the pendulum seems to be swinging again.

Back in the 80’s you couldn’t walk down the strip without being propositioned by at least 2 or 3 women on every block. At times it felt uncomfortable to be walking down there with so much blatant prostitution in your face. In the hotels and restaurants it didn’t feel much better.

Then Vegas became family friendly and the naughtier side of the city became restricted to some of the evening shows and the magazines available in the newspaper stands along the streets. By calling a number you could get yourself whisked out of town to the places where anything could be possible.

Now, as you walk down the strip, there are a myriad of people almost blocking the sidewalks because there are so many of them. With a “flick”, there is a card being thrust towards you. They are almost like trading cards with the picture of a woman and her “price”. They can be there for you in 20 minutes. The sidewalks are littered with them staring up at you, as you carry your booze with you along the street. Vehicles drive up and down the strip trying to get the magic number to call into your head. Is this really family fun? If I were a parent, I am not sure I would want my kids seeing this and believing that this behavior is OK. Yes – I enjoyed being able to “drink and walk” but even a destination like Vegas is not an excuse to let down you principles and do things that you wouldn’t do elsewhere. Am I a prude – perhaps, but I just like decency and there are ways to do things nicely and ways that just make me want to puke. If you were hoping to see any skanky photo’s here, then sorry to disappoint!

In one hotel, my friend and I was rather stunned at how skanky many of the young women were. I walked past one group of girls talking about what she had just done to a guy, and another woman who was so drunk, with her legs wide apart and in the air, while I presume her John was wondering how he was going to get her up to his room, or maybe it was her pimp trying to get her back out there. Who knows, but it was not really fun to see it going on.

So as they say “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” and I hope that is true because I would hate to see any of that in Portland. Even though we have more strip clubs per capita than any other city in the country – yes including Vegas, we do it with class and keep it away from those who don’t want to see it.

Viva Portland!

[amazon_enhanced asin=”B004GUSDEK” /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”0984633413″ /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”0965849953″ /] [amazon_enhanced asin=”1402739400″ /]