The
Las Vegas Club is usually not on the typical
tourist “to do” list. Located
at the grungy end of the Freemont Street
it doesn’t look very flashy and
to be honest it could deal with a little
bit of a renovation. The upholstery is
sagging and threadbare, the staff look
like they really need a drink, and the
carpets are slowly disappearing under
a thin black layer of filth. The vending
machines rattle like the vents in a battered
family car and the eating establishments
look like a factory cafeteria from the
1970s. The rows of blinking lights on
the ceiling have holds where the bulbs
are burnt out and the tables are cratered
with cigarette burns. There’s no
denying it, The Las Vegas Club has character.
But lets face it though; there aren’t
a lot of places like The Las Vegas Club
in North America. Just a few hours west
in San Diego they shoot people in public
for lighting up a cigarette. In Seattle
and San Francisco people can be fined
thousands of dollars and even put in jail
for lighting up, but in The Las Vegas
Club there are ashtrays attached the urinals
in the men’s bathrooms. Cities all
over the world, from Toronto to El Centro,
are trying to make their cities look like
they were freshly spat from the factory.
All
it takes is one corporation and the place
becomes “Disnified” or “Disneyized”.
And in a way its good that the old places
are saved, but in truth it only happens
by destroying them. What’s left
is clean and white with hospital corners,
yet is also bland and uninteresting. Soon
one can imagine the Las Vegas Club going
that way, its cigarette burns erased to
make way for a new generation.
So if your ever in Vegas do yourself a
favour and at least take a look around
inside the Las Vegas Club. They appreciate
your business and your are defiantly looking
at something that might not be around
for too much longer.
Las
Vegas Club Travel Links |
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