I have visited Las Vegas several times before to attend business conventions or on vacation.
During each visit I was amazed to discover another major change in
the city. Landmark buildings implode and new large thematic structures
rise in an area of less than three miles.
The valley was inhabited by Native Americans more than 10,000 years
ago, but until 1931- when gaming was legalised in the state of Nevada -
the city was just a stop on the railroad connecting Salt Lake City with
Southern California.
Today, Las Vegas has a population of more than 500,000 with a short
strip housing perhaps the largest number of hotel rooms and the most
illuminated lights anywhere in the world. It is the only place where you
can find close to life size replicas of the Eiffel Tower within walking
distance of New York's Statue of Liberty.
Tourists wouldn't realise they were in the middle of the desert as
they walked by artificial waterfalls or strolled alongside a Venice-like
canal, complete with gondolas, in a climate-controlled setting with
special lighting effects and fake blue skies - or sipping coffee along
manmade, lakeside promenades and beach clubs.
There is something for everyone in Sin City, from green PGA golf
courses to dolphins and unique habitats for captive large Asian and
Siberian tigers in adjacent enclosures.
Las Vegas is the place where impersonators of Michael Jackson and
Elvis Presley bring them back to life, or unite members of
long-disbanded The Beatles on stage.
The inexpensive hotels and complementary stays to attract gamblers
and tourists of the 1980s have vanished, as Las Vegas has become a major
tourist attraction and a number one business convention destination.
Hosting around 3,750 conventions annually, Las Vegas attracts more
business conventions than any other US city. It receives about 39
million visitors a year, staying at one of its more than 124,000 hotel
rooms concentrated along the short strip. Of all city visitors, only
five per cent say they come to gamble.
But with the false promise of easy money and the allure of gaming
facilities, 87pc end up gambling before they leave. The large number of
visitors comes with high environmental cost, especially in water and
power consumption.
Hotel denizens are asked to conserve water by opting not to wash
their linens daily. Bathrooms are equipped with low flush vacuum toilets
and water-saving shower heads.
But these measures barely make a dent, as one large hotel washes
15,000 pillowcases a day and others flaunt their indoor beaches,
22m-gallon dancing fountains and special lighting effects at night.
As for electricity, Las Vegas consumes more than 5,600 megawatts (MW)
on a summer day, which is expected to reach 8,000 by 2015. The city's
estimated 10m dazzling neon light tubes offer a clue to the high level
power consumption.
To put it pictorially, if the tubes were lined up end to end they
would measure more than 20,000km. On average, each MW can supply
approximately 1,000 homes - meaning, Las Vegas uses enough energy to
electrify 5.6m homes, or a city with a population close to 20m people.
To rein in energy waste, the municipality wants to phase out
incandescent lights and replace them with Light-Emitting Diode lighting,
which is smaller in size and uses less energy.
There is a common joke in Southern California for people returning from Nevada.
"What was your share of Vegas' electric bill?" they are asked.
These days, however, even the most steadfast among us - those 13pc
who can resist the pull of the casinos - pay for the dazzling lights in
higher hotel rates and hidden special hospitality fees.