Sin City

Once a particular place becomes famous for one particular thing, it becomes very difficult for other activities to raise their head above the shadow of the primary reputation.

I realized this about Las Vegas as I was in the taxi getting to McCarran International Airport. What struck me was the size of the car park at the airport. It is humongous. My first thought was, "Why does an airport that caters primarily to inbound visitor traffic need a local car park this huge?"

I said as much to the taxi driver and his response was muted frustration. "Hard as it might be to believe," he said, "Las Vegas is a big place. There are about 1.8 million people living here and this place is about more than gambling."

A visit to the Wiki page tells us that the population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area is indeed more than 2 million and it is the 30th largest city in the United States.

Apart from Gambling, the city is famous for its convention centers and it is among the leading destinations in the world for MICE - Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions.

The MICE industry employs more people in Las Vegas than the gambling industry - not counting hotel services employees as gambling industry personnel.

Las Vegas is also a retirement destination and a major tourist hub - not only for gambling and sin, but also as a major gateway for tours to Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Grand Canyon West Rim.

All of these other activities do not register in our mind because Sin City has occupied all our mind space. Going by all of this, we need to work very hard to prevent Delhi becoming known as the rape capital of the world.