The streets of Las Vegas Boulevard, which are littered with advertisements picturing naked girls willing to provide their services for a price, can be a scary place as someone takes a stroll. Drunk men stumble out of strip clubs and casinos, and girls in gaudy clothing and stilettos apply lipstick at their post. Nobody knows when someone lurking in the shadows might pop out with a knife to steal an unsuspecting person’s wallet. Or even worse, a friendly-looking stranger walking in the opposite direction could be waiting to come across the right person to drag into a dark alley, muffle their screams so that their cries for help blend into the noisy background of the streets, and do the unthinkable. The tolerance of drugs, prostitution, gambling, 24-hour liquor sales, gang violence, and the emphasis on the nightlife give Las Vegas its nickname, Sin City. Also known as The Entertainment Capital of the World, Las Vegas is a world-wide attraction for people from all walks of life. Whether visitors are seeking relaxation in one of Las Vegas’s five-star hotel casinos along with entertainment, gambling, shopping, and fine dining; employment or a new home in the nation’s fastest growing community, or the permissible use of money for sex-related services; Las Vegas thrives off of their tourism industry. Sometimes referred to as Hawaii’s ninth island, Las Vegas is a popular vacation spot for residents of Hawaii. Seeing as how Hawaii, along with Utah, is one of the only two states in the country where gambling is illegal, Hawaii residents visit Las Vegas to delight in part in guilty pleasure. Every week, as many as 3,000 people from Hawaii visit Las Vegas, and a growing amount of former Hawaii residents have made Sin City their new home (www.visitlasvegas.com). Facing billion dollar deficits and on the prowl for ways to increase revenue, Hawaii law makers have brought into question whether legalizing gambling would be a
Cited: Niesse, Mark. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Associated Press Gambling Causes Economic Decline. New Mexico Coalition Against Legalized Gambling "crime rates". . "gambling addiction". . “tourism”.