I'm currently in the town made famous by the Rat Pack. While they were in their heyday, it seemed like the world was all black and white images, seen on grainy Televisions, with details blurred by so much cigarette smoke it actually emanated from the screen.
They were real men, real drinkers, real womanizers, who drove outlandish cars, and were handsomely paid. Not a bad gig if you can get it.
Las Vegas had a rather seedy nature then. If it wasn't just the gambling, maybe it was strip clubs and prostitution, or the "we never close" aspect, or the organized crime connection. (PLEASE NOTE: this has never been proven and I didn't say it first and I'm sure there's no proof and basically I don't know anything about anything.)
Yet Las Vegas has somehow transformed from the darkness. Not only does it have enough light bulbs to be seen from Neptune, it has made a significant effort to cleanup its image. The older "gambling themed" casinos that had flaunted their risky glitziness have been elegantly imploded and replaced.
Since they must've wagered and lost on coming up with anything uniquely American, they decided to purchase blocks of European towns and put them on the Strip. No need to reinvent the roulette wheel: just rebuild Paris, Venice, and any other cities we like and use them again.
If Europe had stolen Denver, someone would be sued.
But in all, the transformation is exceptional. Nice restaurants, beautiful street scenes, incredible shows (I mean reals shows, not merely Transvestites on Ice or whatever they used to feature here). And - get this - actual families. The smiling happy ones that come already in the picture frames at Kohl's. Those people.
It ain't Disneyworld, but it's a long way from its seedy past. So, if a town that deep in a murky image, with a rather unshakably shaky side, can rebuild its image, what's stopping the rest of us? And I mean contractors. Before you reel back at the characterization, there is very positive news about a negative image I'll share in a moment. (Las Vegas reveals a clue.) But first...
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