The Next Big Las Vegas Industry

I recently listened to a radio segment that suggested the only hope for Michigan's economy is giving up its reliance on the auto industry and in favor of something new. That made me start thinking about the potential for Las Vegas to bring itself back by creating a new industry that would be more recession-proof. I know what you're thinking, prostitution IS recession-proof. But everyone knows prostitution is only legal outside the city limits. Here is a list of my predictions for what industry Las Vegas will transition to when the big guys realize Casino's can no longer sustain us.

1) Prostitution: See above. If it were legal, we'd have more jobs, more tourism, and there are already plenty of hotels to bring a John to.

2) Marijuana: Medical marijuana is already legal, which has spawned dozens of new hydroponics shops. It's an ideal crop since it can be grown indoors. The only foreseeable problem here is a lack of water.

3) Eco-tourism: We're surrounded by beautiful mountains and desert, and we're certainly worthy of the schlep. Imagine how good someone would feel after a week of digging up lawns to replace them with socially-responsible, sustainable rock gardens.

4) Fine dining: We already have better dining options than pretty much anywhere in the US outside of NYC. But I think we're still doing a shitty job advertising it. Plus, we could use better and more frequent food festivals.

5) Furniture: What ever happened to Mayor Goodman making us the furniture capital? We don't even have an IKEA yet. I'm not sure how people are going to haul their stuff across the desert, but it's actually a legit industry, so who am I to argue?

The Real World Las Vegas: Again

Yep, you read that right. If you haven't already been alerted, MTV's reality pioneer is returning to Vegas...again. The first Vegas season happened sometime while I was in high school. Then that same cast came BACK to Las Vegas, and now there's another season in Vegas with a new cast that premiers in March.

I find this odd for a few reasons. First of all, the obvious: Has any other city been host to three seasons of The Real World? I don't think so. Wouldn't MTV want to go back to London or Paris or maybe try something different like Topeka before giving us a third season of clueless twenty-somethings living in Vegas as so-called "locals" despite never leaving their penthouse?

Second, is this really the best time to tape here? I mean, if they want to see a real (excuse the pun) disaster, why don't they just tape in Egypt? I doubt foreclosed condos and deserted casinos are really going to provide the fun-loving party atmosphere MTV usually looks for. Although, they did just tape in New Orleans, so maybe it's like a big, fat, season-long public service announcement for our fair city. In which case, I guess I should be grateful that the network was willing to double our monthly tourist count from 7 to 14.

Lastly, they still haven't cleaned up the muck they left here after the first season. Any tourist is bound to trip over Trishelle at some D-list Strip event to this day. You think I kid. Well, in a way I do. Trishelle is actually very nice, from what I hear.