[Irenicus]

^Eh, not really. I am not fond of the gun crimes rate in Vegas, and certainly don't want to be a victim of one.

But as for Mr. Krugman, think of him as a very, very smart economist who has had enough with what his peers were doing to America that he "comes down" to become a regular columnist. He tends to be very bitter with the current state of affairs, uncompromisingly common-sensical, and not a single article of his online goes by without someone flaming him, but the United States would do much better if more people listen to the man.

Originally Posted by SaintessHeart

I thought you were one of those lolicon gambling gods who hurl skin-slicing playing cards at mobsters, then use that "heroic" image to bribe little girls with marshmallow mahjong tiles.

Spoiler for Off Topic:

Alas, the casinos are really more full of deadbeat adults and tourists, which can range from partying twenty-somethings to older couples and many, many foreigners. No mobsters here, at least the ones that have tommy guns and cool suits.

Corporate suits, plenty. Gangs -- don't quote me, but I think downtown's got some, not that that's any different from your typical American city. Gambling gods and mafia -- eh, no mysterious, awesome Akagi's around here. Either you get banned by the casinos, which gets you out for life (and probably force you to go into one of those really shady "underground" places *I* most certainly don't know about), or you get by being a player in one of those unbelievably boring poker tournaments. It's hard to even get killed for gambling too well these days!

You think big crime today in Vegas, don't think mobsters and romero's, think real estate bubble and property scams. Bankster crimes. Remember that the epicenter of the 2008 housing crisis is right here, alongside California, and there's a reason for that.

But otherwise you can imagine the geography of Las Vegas as a huge, flat, dry valley surrounded by mountains, with a small core of really shiny world famous mega-hotels/casinos surrounded by a massive suburban sprawl in every direction. And there's the Hoover Dam and its accompanying lake out to the East not too far from the city fueling the overgrown decadence with water and electricity.

I'll admit, it can be very pretty at night in the "Strip" core, even when one is utterly used to it like I am. And for all the snide remarks on the megastructures as gloriously decadent modern-day temples of greed (let's make a concrete jungle out of a desert! How sustainable do you think it's gonna be?), they serve as excellent platforms for a lively performing arts scene. Performers in the United States have major job locations at Broadway, Hollywood...and Las Vegas.

But as for myself and the Eagle Empire, I'm American and also not really: I reserve the right to laugh at the Americans without automatically laughing at myself, extremely convenient I tell you. Moreover, I most certainly don't give a flying flick about the Star-Spangled Banner (I'd really rather stand for the Imperial March, goddammit), Superbowl, or the USA chants, but that doesn't mean one isn't American just because one rejects these meaningless patriotic symbols; I seem to be, after all, enough of an American liberal that you assumed so.

Do continue to assume I am infinitely more awesome than this forum can possibly express, though. See the proud, exotically handsome gentleman looking down on you in my avatar from his colorful, extraordinary existence? He may not be me, but he's certainly expressing my attitude.