Thoughts On Las Vegas

I returned from Las Vegas on Saturday, my fifth trip in six years. I've traveled to Las Vegas more times than any other place on this planet, except for Bangladesh or India, which I visit more for family than for vacation.

Why do I go to Las Vegas so often? I keeping asking myself this question all the time, and the answer is always different. I know it’s not the gambling. I can gamble in any of the Indian casinos within driving distance, or online. So what’s the reason?

Las Vegas does have its allure, that’s for sure. The hotels and casinos that sit astride the Strip (officially knows as Las Vegas Boulevard) are monuments, both physically and the feelings they evoke when you look at them. They are massive edifices where dreams can come true and die – sometimes at the same time.

It’s a city designed to cater every known vice to man (both legal and illegal). It’s a place where people can practice hedonism to the nth degree: drinking is allowed in the streets, and raucous behavior that it springs from. People change when they come to Las Vegas, only if it’s for a few days.

I observe these changes like a sociologist. The city fascinates me because it is so different and unique. This is what draws me to Las Vegas.