STYLE, SUBSTANCE, AND LAS VEGAS
In a column in the Las Vegas Review Journal, Rick Henderson applies the lessons of The Substance of Style to his city's leading industry:
The concentration of gambling and related entertainment options in Las Vegas has always offered travelers a "nowhere else" experience. But as legal gambling proliferates, and as tribal operators in nearby California and Arizona become more attuned to the value of aesthetics -- witness the spiffy new properties in San Diego, Sacramento and Phoenix -- Las Vegas must continue to differentiate itself from its competitors by providing more: greater amenities, better service, more value.
Otherwise, the Strip may eventually resemble a larger version of today's downtown.
Keeping up with the aesthetic competition is increasingly essential just to stay in business--and not just for casinos.