You think this is sin city?  Maybe in the back alleys, but not in the big casinos.

A couple of casinos got into trouble recently for lack of morals.  Yes, that’s basically the complaint. 

Prive nightclub at Planet Hollywood lost its license for, among other things, allowing toplessness to occur on its premises.  There were additional allegations of sexual harassment and physical violence between patrons and staff.  And at the Rio, the Sapphire topless pool was voluntarily closed after gaming control officials said it failed an “integrity check” without saying exactly what they found.  That pool is staffed by topless dancers from the gentlemen’s club of the same name.

(BTW:  can anyone tell me why they are called “gentlemen’s clubs”?)

Out-of-town visitors might be surprised to hear that toplessness in a nightclub is anything unusual here, as maybe the Miami operators of Prive thought.  But they would be wrong.  Gaming is one of the most controlled industries anywhere.  Our convention authority may be successful in pushing “what happens here,” but it is not going to happen in a casino where there is too much big money for either the operators or the government to allow hanky panky.  And remember, this state has a Republican governor and voted for Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush–not to mention a senator who has famously aired his moral positions recently.

I wonder how many visitors come here really intending to act up, and how many just want to fantasize about it.  The “ranches” in the next counties certainly have business, as do the untaxed and unregulated working girls of our town.  I feel most visitors are happy seeing great shows and donating large amounts of money to us.

What do you, our visitors, think about Las Vegas as Sin City?