[Forney2008]

I have browsed over these forums on city-data.com and have visited the clusterfuck cities forum for Las Vegas. Those people are so clueless as to what is going on. They think that, even with sky high gas prices and a tanking economy, Las Vegas will weather the storm fine. Did I not mention that the sprawling "asteroid belt" of a city is in the middle of a freaken desert? I would like to ask these cornucopians there; Who will go to the Casinos when gas is 6, 7,8 or 10 dollars a gallon, and who will live their when the water supplies dwindle to dangerously low levels?

[drakedaggers]

denial is a powerful drug

[Novus]

I heard there were plans to build a high speed rail line form Los Angeles to Las Vegas. Call it what you want: mixed up priorities, wasted resources, denial, etc...

[Gazzatrone]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Forney2008', 'I') would like to ask these cornucopians there; Who will go to the Casinos when gas is 6, 7,8 or 10 dollars a gallon,

[jlw61]

Some info.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he exact date is unknown, but Rafael Rivera became the first known non-Indian to set foot in the oasis-like Las Vegas Valley.

The abundant artesian spring water discovered at Las Vegas shortened the Spanish Trail to Los Angeles, eased rigors for Spanish traders and hastened the rush west for California gold. Between 1830 and 1848, the name "Vegas," as shown on maps of that day, was changed to Las Vegas which means "The Meadows" in Spanish.

[KingM]

The biggest LV faces is that the main reason people go there is because there's always something newer and more outrageous.

As soon as that changes, and the city starts to look a little rundown, they may as well visit the local Indian casino instead. Once that happens, it will snowball.

The upshot is that there's no reason for a city of 2 million in the middle of a desert, with no resources, no farming, and hellish weather much of the year.

[Kingcoal]

From what I've read resently, Vegas is hurting. Hotel attendence is down something like 20% and they are having huge layoffs. Vegas is a boom town and boom towns tend to go bust.

[frankthetank]

Picture Time!












Not sure what you guys are talking about, this is so sustainable its not funny.

[Byron100]

Wow, what a cool series of pics. Quite shocking, actually. I'm not sure which Hell would be worse...to be condemned to living in Vegas in one of those atrocious subdivisions or being cast in the biblical "lake of fire"...LOL.

Las Vegas will be the first major city in the US (well, second, if you count New Orleans as the first) to go down...the question is, where will all those people go? Back to Californy? God forbid some of them should move east, like Atlanta.

Interestingly enough, when I visited Vegas back in '97 (all those subdivisions did NOT exist yet back then), I knew that was one unsustainable place. I even paid a visit to the local city and county planning offices to talk to the folks there about the future of the city. I asked one guy what would happen once Lake Mead ran dry, and he merely shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't know."

I guess you really have to be "living in the moment" to even conceive of taking up residence in that city...

[Arsenal]

I believe Las Vegas could show the rest of the world how quickly civilization could crash. Under a normal situation if the power goes out or food stops coming in, most people could survive week or two weeks on what they in their pantry if they can FIND WATER! With the brutal dry heat of Vegas without power to pump water to houses/hotels, people would be in full riot mode in a couple of days. And then dead in four days...

Fun place to visit but a deadly place to live.

Arsenal

[pup55]

Vegas is a monument, founded on the principle of doing the same thing over and over again addictively, even though it defies the laws of mathematics.

Silly humans.

[Specop_007]

3rd picture down....

Why the hell does that guy have a Cat excavator in his backyard? And how the hell does he get it out to use it??

[misterno]

What if the Chinese and Japanese tourist keep flocking to LV, would it change anything?

[Byron100]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '3')rd picture down....

Why the hell does that guy have a Cat excavator in his backyard? And how the hell does he get it out to use it??

[frankthetank]

Looking back through those photos i was thinking the exact same thing.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he primary drivers of the Las Vegas economy have been the confluence of tourism, gaming, and conventions which in turn feed the retail and dining industries. Several companies involved in the manufacture of electronic gaming machines, such as slot machines, are located in the Las Vegas area. In the 2000s retail and dining have become attractions of their own.

Las Vegas, as the county seat and home to the Lloyd D. George Federal District Courthouse, draws numerous legal service industries providing bail, marriage, divorce, tax, incorporation and other legal services.

Some technology companies have either relocated to Las Vegas or were created there. For various reasons, the Las Vegas area has had a high concentration of technology companies in electronic gaming and telecommunications industries. Some current technology companies in southern Nevada include Bigelow Aerospace, CommPartners, Datanamics, eVital Communications, Petroglyph, SkywireMedia, Switch Communications, and WorldDoc. Companies that originally were formed in Las Vegas, but have since sold or relocated include Westwood Studios (sold to Electronic Arts), Systems Research & Development (Sold to IBM), Yellowpages.com (Sold to Bellsouth and SBC), and MPower Communications.

Constant population growth means that the housing construction industry is vitally important. In 2000 more than 21,000 new homes and 26,000 resale homes were purchased. In early 2005 there were 20 residential development projects of more than 300 acres (1.2 km²) each currently underway.

[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('misterno', 'W')hat if the Chinese and Japanese tourist keep flocking to LV, would it change anything?

[HeavyFuel]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '3')rd picture down....

Why the hell does that guy have a Cat excavator in his backyard? And how the hell does he get it out to use it??

[IanC]

Where does Las Vegas get all of the electricity to power all the lighting, air conditioners, etc? Coal-fired? Nuclear? Certainly not hydroelectric.

I sure hope all those Las Vegas refugees decide to go to California instead of Oregon.

-IanC

[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('IanC', 'W')here does Las Vegas get all of the electricity to power all the lighting, air conditioners, etc? Coal-fired? Nuclear? Certainly not hydroelectric.

I sure hope all those Las Vegas refugees decide to go to California instead of Oregon.

-IanC