Gambling’s Toll in Las Vegas, Nevada

This is my research paper from English 101 last semester. Out of all my papers, this was the only A. I put some thought into it, as well as some personal observations about Las Vegas. The paper just kind of wrote itself. I'm quite happy with it, as this paper managed to land me an A in the class despite all my other papers being B's and skipping almost all the class time devoted to this paper.

Gambling’s Toll in Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada is known worldwide for its reputation as a “city of sin”, a cultural mecca for gambling, entertainment, and neon attractions of all types. Anyone with a knack for gambling is sure to find it a paradise of vices with doors wide open 24 hours a day. But it was not always this way. Las Vegas started out as a small population that served as a convenient stopping point on the way to southern California on the Old Spanish Trail. From there, it grew because of the nearby Hoover Dam and military bases, which supplied a fair amount of business for the first casinos. Illegal gambling in southern California began to be scrutinized heavily by the law, so people started to travel to Nevada to get their gambling fix (Schlosser, 235). In 1931, when Nevada legalized gambling, organized crime saw to it that Las Vegas became what it is today, a culture built around pleasure and luxury (Moye). The majority of the growth in Las Vegas began in the late 1970s. Since the early 1980s, the population has almost tripled (Schlosser, 235). The current population statistics show that Las Vegas is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States with 6,000 people moving there monthly (Moye). Las Vegas is quite possibly one of the best examples of an almost exclusively service-oriented city. There isn’t a solid economic foundation on any natural resources or manufacturing, although the latter is slowly starting to become a reality. Ironically, the name Las Vegas means “fertile valleys” in Spanish, which was originally given to it because of the trees and salt grass, but most would not associate the two together when referring to the city now (Ventura, 97). Overall, most people consider Las Vegas a hotspot for the “new thing”, whatever that may be. It is a diverse city, constantly changing to the demands of the culture and the economy. Whatever someone might want, chances are good that they can find it somewhere in Las Vegas.
Prostitution is easily one of the most prevalent crimes in Las Vegas, and while it may be a victimless crime in most cases, it often brings other disreputable elements with it. While it stands to reason that gambling has little to with prostitution itself, the fact is that Las Vegas has built its reputation around a seamy edge that no other city can claim. Naturally, where people go to spend big money and occasionally win big money, there will be a sex racket somewhere close. The law strictly states that prostitution is not legal in Clark County, which covers all of Las Vegas, although it is legal in other counties in Nevada with a population of less than 400, 000 (Rocha). While that may be the case, there is evidence everywhere that it is not strictly followed. This is partially due to the influx of so many visitors that think that prostitution is legal because of the abundance of advertisements for sexual favors all over the city, even stacks of flyers outside the Sheriff’s office (Coronado, 6). In 1981, Las Vegas phone books had 30 pages of prostitution advertisements, but now it covers more than 120 pages under the guise of “entertainment purposes” (Sify.com). While this may not be concrete evidence that more prostitution is actually taking place, it certainly underlines its accessibility. That, coupled with the fact that there are now more than an estimated 38 million tourists that visit Las Vegas yearly (more than ever before), points to the fact that prostitution is up from what it used to be because of the sheer numbers of people visiting the city (Coronado, 6). Anyone who goes there for even a few hours will notice advertisements on taxis, stacks of flyers on the sidewalks, and anywhere they can be tacked up in plain view of passersby. On a positive note, a recent closure of the last hourly hotel in Las Vegas, the Del Mar, represents at least a step in the right direction towards battling prostitution (McCarthy). While the true numbers of prostitutes in Las Vegas at any given time can never be known, most police would agree that it appears to be up. Partially, this has to do with loopholes in the law. It is often hard to enforce prostitution laws because the law protects prostitutes under the First Amendment, which allows private dancing as freedom of speech and art forms (Sify.com). Obviously, this leads call girls to prostitution once they are inside the room with the man, but is hard to fight because the law is in favor of the prostitutes and the johns they do business with. Another problem that the Las Vegas police have targeted are child prostitutes who begin working at an early age, sometimes as early as 13 (McCarthy). Much of this has to do with Las Vegas’s well-known “guilt-free” attitude, as well as an inundation of young outsiders who try to make it big there because of its reputation (McCarthy). While in many cases not a lot can be done because the law favors the freedom of speech for criminals, the police are making an effort for a better Las Vegas.
Because of its natural attraction for big-time spenders, Las Vegas has always been a hotspot for organized crime, and crime in general. It was partially built on the foundation of the mob, where larger than life gangsters once ruled the city with their iron fist (Answers.com). Nowadays, most organized crime in Las Vegas has given way to the growing demands of capitalism and big business. Even mobsters can’t stop the inroads of entrepreneurial millionaires such as Steve Wynn who recently opened a “megaresort” in Las Vegas costing $2.7 billion (Coronado, 6). While it is hard to imagine Las Vegas without its original mob connections, it is easy to see why the influence has changed. Legitimate enterprise is trying to take shape, albeit slowly. But that doesn’t stop the illegal racketeering, drug trafficking, and prostitution from a new enemy in town, the Israeli mob. Two large syndicates from Israel, one based in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are fighting over control of organized crime in Israel (German). Their influence has extended to America, particularly Las Vegas, for its potential in loan sharking, money laundering, illegal gambling, and prostitution. Because of the international influence of this particular crime group, its presence is in multiple locations across the globe. Police have only recently learned of such groups and are doing their best to control it, but because of the global significance, it is hard to combat.
As far as the overall crime rate in Las Vegas, it may not be as bad as it appears. In an annual report done by Morgan Quitno research, they ranked Las Vegas the 8th most dangerous city to live in, with Detroit being the most dangerous city to live in (Quitno). That is worse than 2004, in which Las Vegas ranked 12th. Overall, the state of Nevada has been the worst state to live in based on crime statistics for two years in a row. While some of the crime must be committed elsewhere, it is safe to assume that the majority of it is in Las Vegas, as the only other major metropolitan area in Nevada is Reno. On a positive note, even though the crime rate appears to be up, violent crime is down in Nevada. Some analysts believe that a portion of major crimes might go unreported by tourists because the majority of them have no desire to try to handle the aftermath of a crime outside of Las Vegas, as they will only be there a short time. This makes for an even greater error margin when trying to comprehend the real state of crime in Las Vegas. While it is hard to imagine how gambling could cause so many problems, it is an indirect relationship. Gambling is only the central focus. Everything else just seems to come with it. The volume of money that is brought to Las Vegas is enormous, because primarily people go there to spend money in a disposable manner. While the drinks may be free, the casinos are making millions of dollars from people who come from all over the world to win big by spending money that they can do without.
Because of the nature of gambling and the addictions that accompany it, there has been a wealth of social problems resulting from it, particularly in the Las Vegas area. In Las Vegas, all problems remotely related to gambling seem to be intensified exponentially because of its reputation as a place to strike it rich. Increased bankruptcies, suicides, child neglect, gambling addictions, divorce, and domestic violence are some of the common problems resulting from gambling. The state of Nevada ranks as the 35th state in population, but 4th in bankruptcies (Karouzos). University of California-San Diego sociologist Dr. David Phillips claims that Las Vegas has the highest level of suicides in America for both local residents and visitors (Karouzos). Recently, Nevada has decided to start addressing the problem by funding more treatment programs for gambling addiction. Nevada’s governor has proposed a $100, 000 yearly increase for the next two years for gambling addiction treatment programs (Friess). In March of 2005, Nevada officially acknowledged the National Problem Gambling Awareness Week for the first time (Freiss). In Las Vegas, there are 100 meetings a week for Gamblers Anonymous, which is considerably higher than any other region in the United States (Freiss). Funding for Gamblers Anonymous from the local governments seems like a step in the right direction, but surprisingly, some funding to help problem gamblers seek treatment is from the casinos (Freiss). Caesars Entertainment, which owns three resorts on the Las Vegas Strip has made it a mandatory policy that employees must report any customer that mentions that they might have a problem with gambling (Freiss). This promotes a positive corporate image and shows the public that the casinos are willing to help with the problem.
So the natural question is why does there appear to be more of a problem with gambling now than when gambling first took off? Technology could be the answer. Twenty years ago, the typical casino made 75% of its money off of table games, with a net profit of 5% (Schlosser, 236). Nowadays, slot machines bring in over 66% of the money, generally bringing in a profit of 20% (Schlosser, 236). With those kind of odds, it is not hard to imagine why people aren’t “winning big” like they used to. Slot machines, which account for the majority of the profits, are calculated to guarantee a certain percentage of money. There isn’t much left to chance with computers that are designed to bring in a certain profit, as there is with table games which generally offer better odds at winning. Overall, the effects of gambling and its influence on other parts of society in the Las Vegas area seem to be growing vaguely proportionate with the rise in population. But the government, as well as the casinos, are doing their best to remedy the situation.
Despite the social and economic problems that seem to plague Las Vegas due to gambling, there is no doubt that the gaming industry has brought money from all over the world to fuel an almost unprecedented economic upturn. The city has an estimated 6,000 people move there monthly, as well as an increase in property prices of 50% in 2004 (Moye). Some of the reason for this is because there is no state tax and the business taxes are considerably low. The economy seems to be growing, as Las Vegas and the surrounding areas have gained an estimated 30,000 jobs in 2003 and 37,000 in 2004 (Moye). Another odd dynamic to the situation is that 87% of the land in Nevada is owned by the Federal government. This has caused many investors to buy high-rises to expand upward instead of outward. 15 of the 19 largest hotel-casinos are located in Las Vegas, and they run at an average of 89% capacity annually. Much like the casinos, construction continues 24-hours-a-day all over the city. Many wonder what will happen when the population gets too big for the infrastructure. With such a massive increase in housing prices in a short amount of time, many who own property are certainly glad they invested when they did. But on the other side, many of the service industry workers who make the city what it is, could be doomed to pay highly outrageous housing costs, as the hope of finding affordable housing will diminish quickly. Centralizing a strong economic force in one area that has got little room for outward expansion often results in the unintended consequence of skyrocketing housing prices and too many people for the infrastructure to support, eventually leading to market saturation and a vast fleeing of the population to other regions.
All said, Las Vegas is a unique human experiment, as it is a completely man-made city in the middle of the desert that thrives on cheap thrills and the American dream of making a quick dollar with little effort. Even investors are trying to ride the coattails of the success of the gambling mega-city to get rich before the market is too full. To those who are scrutinizing the development in the past few years, Las Vegas seems like a place that is fast-forwarding the gap between the rich and the poor and has no plans of stopping. People go there with the knowledge that it is what it is, and those without a strong constitution can be swept into an illusion of false hope. The advent of gambling in new areas has caused alarming statistics in gambling addiction, bankruptcies, divorces, and child neglect, yet Las Vegas remains undeterred. If thousands of people go there yearly for a vacation and freely choose to put their hard earned wages on the line for a small chance at making it rich, why not? The keen will put them to good use. This is, after all, the land of the free.

Works Cited
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Moye, Catherine. “Real Estate, The New Game in Town.” Financial Times, London. May 7, 2005: 12.
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