It's Back to the Future in 'Sin City'

Washington Post ^ | Monday, October 6, 2003 | T. R. Reid

[presidio9]

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 5 -- For a decade, the crowds gathered every night outside the Treasure Island casino on the neon-washed Vegas Strip to watch a simulated pirate battle between two full-sized galleons. With cannons booming, ships ablaze, and acrobatic sailors plunging from the mastheads into a flaming lagoon, the live show was a spectacle that thrilled children of all ages.

But this fall, Treasure Island has closed its famous "Battle of Buccaneer Bay." After major refurbishments, the nightly extravaganza is to reopen Oct. 21 -- as a ship-borne girlie show. The hotel says those diving acrobats will be replaced by "at least 20 scantily-clad women" in a production to be called "The Sirens of Treasure Island."

That transformation reflects a basic shift here in Glitter Gulch as Las Vegas steps away from the family-oriented entertainment it sought to promote in the 1990s. The nation's favorite Sin City is going back to basics, with a renewed focus on sequins, sex and seven-card stud to revive a tourist industry that has slumped along with the national economy.

[Interesting Times]

Arrrgh.

[Onelifetogive]

The nation's favorite Sin City is going back to basics, with a renewed focus on sequins, sex and seven-card...

We may have to rethink the location of our Sunday School retreat...

[Clemenza]

The nation's favorite Sin City is going back to basics, with a renewed focus on sequins, sex and seven-card stud

Put an "s" next to stud and you'll have a "Gay old time."

I'm happy that Vegas is going to stop trying to be a "family" town.

[Guillermo]

They found out when parents have to mind little ones, they spend less time at the craps table.

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[dakine]

I second that, I don't want to see kids while I'm in Vegas...

[jpl]

"And remember, what happens here, doesn't stay here."

[Xenalyte]

I would LOVE the Siren job! Scantily clad fighting broads . . . if I lived a reasonable distance from there, I'd be SOOO in!

[Modernman]

Visitors can gamble until the break of dawn, ogle the exposed body parts of statuesque dancers of both genders, jump up on the bar and dance wildly in their skimpiest miniskirts -- and nobody will bat an eyelash.

I always thought this was kind of the point of Las Vegas. It's like an adult version of Disney. I never really understood why people would want to bring their kids there.

I'm a big fan of Vegas- my fiancee and I go at least every 3 months.

[Smogger]

I just returned from there. I stayed at the Mandalay Bay and watched Toney knock Holyfield out. (Paid me 4 to 1 for the knockout) then Friday night Roy gets eaten by his tiger. It was a wild weekend in Sin City.

I live about 3 1/2 hours away in Ontario, CA so I go there all the time. No kids? Good riddance. People shouldnt bring their kids anyhow.

[Modernman]

I live about 3 1/2 hours away in Ontario, CA so I go there all the time. No kids? Good riddance. People shouldnt bring their kids anyhow.

I used to live in LA a few years ago. I'd take off early from work on Friday afternoon and either drive out or get on the Southwest party shuttle, twice a month or so. My college roommate works for a law firm that represents a lot of the casinos. He could always get me hooked up for great rooms at the Venetian, MGM, Luxor. Always a good time. I never really got the people who came and brought their kids. What were they expecting, Branson? Diaper change stations at Olympic Gardens?

[mewzilla]

They found out when parents have to mind little ones, they spend less time at the craps table.

One would hope...

[Modernman]

They found out when parents have to mind little ones, they spend less time at the craps table.

Hey, I helped my kid cousin learn math by teaching him how to play blackjack.

[KellyAdmirer]

The old TI pirate thing was a bit of a bore, will have to check out the new one, sounds kind of cool....

[handk]

Won't Somebody Please Think of the Children!?"

[Shooter 2.5]

I was surprised the "Free Staters" didn't pick Nevada. It wouldn't have been that much of a stretch to turn the state into a "Free All You Can.... State". Of course, that may have been the problem. They're looking for a state they can change completely.

[Fabozz]

"It wouldn't have been that much of a stretch to turn the state into a 'Free All You Can.... State.'"

Nevada is the exact opposite of free. It's what the Democrats want all the country to be like: every vice (except smoking) available 24/7, but only under the watchful eye of Almighty Government, with the heavily-taxed proceeds funding innumerable handout programs to subsidize the absence of personal responsibility. The place disgusts conservatives and libertarians alike.

[N. Theknow]

They found out when parents have to mind little ones, they spend less time at the craps table. </i.

Actually they spend just as much time. The kids get ignored and left in the room or left in cars.

[N. Theknow]

They found out when parents have to mind little ones, they spend less time at the craps table.

Actually they spend just as much time. The kids get ignored and left in the room or left in cars.