Hal Rothman on why, in a city that is all things to all people, the slogan could just as easily be ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ instead of ‘What happens here, stays here’

Sunday, March 26, 2006 | 7:03 a.m.

Last Sunday's New York Times featured the classic tale of two cities: The paper sent two people to experience Las Vegas. One, Colin Harrison, an editor at Scribner's who is also a novelist, was given $1,000 for one day's lodging and entertainment. The other, Richard B. Woodward, who writes the armchair traveler column at the paper, received $250.

These effete New Yorkers stumbled over a crucial dimension of Las Vegas' success without realizing it.

Contrary to "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," Las Vegas is never one market. With more than 130,000 rooms to fill nightly, we have to be all things to all people all the time. Our alchemy comes in many forms, but one of the most important is that no matter who you are, we have a niche for your taste.

You see it when you watch the people walk the Strip, looking at the modern city-states we have built, when you watch bettors play parlay cards in the sports book. You see it when the rodeo comes to town, when NASCAR is here, and on Cinco de Mayo. Everybody can be made comfortable here, can find their niche and feel like the town was built for them.

That's how we stay around 90 percent occupancy in an industry that would die to average 65 percent. All tourist towns reflect desire; that's how they draw you in. Only Las Vegas anticipates it as well, and draws from your choices what you'll want to see 12 months down the road. More than any other single attribute, this keeps us fresh and vital.

It doesn't take a genius to know that, with $1,000, Harrison had better options, but he sure could've used more imagination. A 20th floor room at Mandalay Bay makes sense, but with more than $700 to burn after paying for the night, he didn't have to resort to Las Vegas cliches such as Barry Manilow. "Zumanity" at least nods to the new, to more than nostalgia. But with all the choices available, for my money, he could've done more and had much more fun. Give me $1,000 and some space in the newspaper, and I promise you a better story.

Woodward had by far the most interesting time. There is something delicious about his writing, as if Woodward is self-consciously aware that he is slumming. After paying $142 for a room at the Flamingo, he was down to a hundred bucks for 24 hours. But what a 24 hours it was! Woodward and his running buddy, a friend named Chris, rented a Dodge Neon, and headed off to The Gun Store to shoot machine guns. On the way, they stopped at the Liberace Museum, entering late in the day and getting a discount on admission.

So far so good. Woodward was entirely consistent in the selection of activities for someone in the $250 bracket. The Flamingo, The Gun Store and the Liberace Museum hit at the heart of America, where the average visitor from the average place would feel like they got more than their money's worth. The Dodge Neon was perfect. A Chevy might have even been better.

Then, Woodward began to count his pennies. He started looking for deals, free wine and cheese, art exhibits, and finally installation art. On $250 a day? Come on.

For most of America, $250 a day is plenty and The Gun Store is a legitimate attraction. The buffet is where they want to be and there is no shame in it. Most of America doesn't aspire to the avant-garde and installation art is well beyond its interest.

We understand that in Las Vegas and we provide opportunities in volume. Despite all the high-end rooms and attractions we've added in the last decade, Las Vegas maintains an enormous center. Truck drivers from Dubuque, Iowa, and hotel clerks from Flint, Mich., can find things that attract them too. That's essential to our magic.

We plane the rough edges off of reality and give it to you as you would have it. Las Vegas does not challenge you. Instead it affirms who you are, an "I'm OK, you're OK" for the 21st century. Who you are and what you are is enough, we tell our visitors; pay us enough and we will make you into who you want to be. Even if $1,250 of The New York Times' money mostly yielded cliches, it pointed out how well our niched marketplace works for Las Vegas.