In the "Sightings" section of his Monday column, the Review-Journal's Norm Clarke reported: "Paris Hilton and Steve-O of 'Jackass,' doing an impromptu dance on the stage of the Pussycat Dolls Lounge at her 25th birthday party at Pure (Caesars Palace) on Saturday. Club reps said Hilton drew the biggest crowd in Pure's 13-month history, with more than 4,500 going through the club while an estimated 5,000 waited outside."
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It doesn't surprise me that the type of crowd that lives to hang at Pure, as well as those trying to get into The Joint, multiplies when it's broadcast that someone of the likes of Paris Hilton need not do a thing but make an appearance there. Try and produce those same numbers, though, when someone with actual talent performs there.
Just goes to show you how ignorant and easily impressed the huge, clubbing demographic is with a no-talent, two-dimensional figure who's been pumped up by the media as today's top cultural icon.
But then we're dealing with one of the many Vegas warehouse-size, frat-house parties disguised as so-called upscale nightclubs, which draw out a bunch of sheep who would sell their mother just to have a chance to get a photo with Paris so they can tell their friends that they hung out together.
I have to give the operators of Pure at least some credit for knowing how to prey on the weak. I would pity being part of that brain-dead demographic, but revel in the thought of taking every dime they have, as they have nothing else to offer.
I long for the days of old Vegas where exclusivity, some class and real talent were what drew patrons.
Marco Stagliano
LAS VEGAS
Internet wagering
To the editor:
Here we go again. Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., wants to make criminals out of millions of honest, hardworking Americans who make wagers over the Internet ("Online betting ban back in play," Friday). Brilliant.
When are citizens going to get fed up with this nonsense and fight these moral crusaders who want to do nothing more than impose their narrow values on the rest of society?
What's most deceitful is the fact that all of these recent bills to outlaw online gambling have been introduced by Republicans. I thought Republicans were the party of less government. I thought Republicans were advocates of states' rights. What hypocrites.
The appropriate public policy is not legal prohibition of online gaming activity and the harassment of a $12 billion industry, but legalization and government regulation. Legalization of online gaming in Nevada would produce a high-tech enterprise zone unseen since the creation of Silicon Valley. Imagine thousands of high-paying jobs in technology, marketing and customer support. Millions of dollars in tax revenue would flow into state coffers for education, public safety and desperately needed infrastructure improvements.
Why aren't Nevada's elected officials fighting for legalization of online gaming within our state, where we already have the faculties and capacity to provide a service that millions of Americans and people around the world want?
Nolan Dalla
LAS VEGAS
Dangerous highway
To the editor:
I woke up Monday to news of another horrible accident on Blue Diamond Road. It is a terribly confusing and dangerous stretch of highway.
If traffic signals cannot be put up immediately, perhaps placing empty Las Vegas police cars with their lights on at the intersections would slow traffic down and make drivers more cautious -- a cheap solution to a grave problem.
Mark Reynolds
LAS VEGAS
Too much walking
To the editor:
The problem with the Las Vegas Monorail is getting to the monorail from the Strip.
My wife and I spent four days in Las Vegas in October, and we each got a one-day pass. We never did so much walking -- just to get to the monorail. With bad legs, we walked from New York-New York through the MGM Grand to get to the monorail. We had to get off at Harrah's and walk through its casino to get to the Strip and go to the gondolas at The Venetian.
Had the monorail been located on the Strip, there would be lines to get on. But with all the walking and wasted time to where it is now, we will never use it again.
