[Congressman Billybob]

Lemme know if y'all agree.

John / Billybob

[Brian Allen]

Richard Gerebel, who?

[Brian Allen]

Richard Gerebel, who?

[old school]

Yup!

[SweetCaroline]

I'm sick and to tired to read, BUMP for tomorrow. Thanks Congressman Billybob, it's sounds interesting!

Goodnight Caroline

[pbear8]

Where are you staying? We like the rooms at the Venetian (650 sq ft, two 27 inch TVs, beautiful bathroom, lots of marble) and THEhotel at Mandalay Bay (two person tub, two 42 inch plasmas and a 15 LCD in the bathroom, 750 sq feet).

[ForGod'sSake]

~~ping~~

[Paulus Invictus]

Las Vegas and Reno are responsible for Harry Reid in the Senate and that fact alone makes the two Sin Cities un-redeemable, methinks. Other than that, LV is a blight on the landscape that lives off losers. Crime rules, traffic is unbearable, illegals run almost all the services and huge new casinos, built with the brain dead's money, continue to appear like cancers on the desert. I expect them to run out of water in a decade, then LV will collapse.

[RebelTex]

IMHO, you show keen insight into the social & economic 'law of the jungle'.

Those who scratch & claw their way to the top know this law very well. The rest of us are just not that mercenary or power hungry. Very few can play that game and maintain strong character with honor and integrity.

However, most of us don't need to get to "the top". Success for us is measured in an entirely different way - one that includes strong character, honor and integrity.

That doesn't mean we can't fantasize about what we would do with money and/or power. But IMO, most of us would like to believe that we wouldn't be corrupted and that we could wield both, or either, far more wisely than those who have it.
Well, at least I would, lol.
;^D

[cryptical]

Nice article.

Perhaps you shied away from the obvious quote about power and sex:

Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.
Henry A. Kissinger

But your article certainly brought it to mind. Be sure to visit the Bellagio if they still have the art exhibit.

[Alia]

NC *Ping*

Please FRmail Constitution Day OR TaxRelief OR Alia if you want to be added to or removed from this North Carolina ping list.

[HHFi]

Penn & Teller are great. I interviewed them a few years ago, and Penn said they set up shop in Las Vegas permanently because they no longer have to tour America; they just stay in Vegas and America comes to them.

[Hatteras]

Bright light city gonna set my soul
Gonna set my soul on fire...

Another wonderful read. Thanks Congressman.

[TaxRelief]

I agree.

[HHFi]

P.S. - Another great celebrity remark on Las Vegas: When the Hard Rock Casino first opened, ABC (I think on PrimeTime or 20/20) set up cameras in the lobby to interview incoming old liberal rock stars like David Crosby and Bonnie Raitt and ask whether this betrayed the "spirit" of rock. Most of them went along with the whiny handwringing and philosophizing.

Then John Lydon (that's Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) arrived and they dared to approach him to ask what he thought of it. His eyes ablaze, he shouted, "I think it's WONDERFUL! I'm very happy about it! The music business is built on money and greed, and so is Las Vegas! It's the perfect match!"

Page Diogenes, we found an honest rock star!

[oh8eleven]

This time, we WILL get to see a couple of the Cirque de Soleil shows...
Best live show I've ever seen. Do not miss.
 

[Route101]

Viva Las Vegas!....I remember the first girl I took there for the weekend...Great memories!

[aposiopetic]

Thanks for the shared thoughts.

There are people who have such excesses but are not corrupted. In money, think of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet.

Interesting choice of examples. I do think each of them sincerely wants to make the world a better place. I also think each of them is dead wrong on some bedrock issues.

Hope y'all have a safe and enjoyable trip out there.

[Phantom Lord]

Billybob,

While Penn & Teller is a good show, if you want to see the best show in Vegas go see Mac King at Harrahs.

Plus its an afternoon show leaving your evening open for other shows.

As a magician myself, if limited to seeing one magic show in Vegas while in town I would go see Mac King.

[.cnI redruM]

Las Vegas is impressive. Basically, because it exists at all. It is a monument to modern civilization that millions of people could cohabit such a Godforsaken area of land and not starve or get the plague. Everything these people need to survive has to be imported from elsewhere except for the slots and the dancing girls.

I played a rugby tournament there a few years back and was amazed by the fact that nothing much could grow there w/o thousands of gallons of imported water. And the pitch, every time I got tackled on it, I felt like I was playing on concrete.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Excellent.