The other side of Vegas.

Step into any hotel on the Vegas strip and you will see people of all types handing over their money at tables, slot machines and shows. The economy has definitely taken its toll on Las Vegas; one of the sure signs is the number of penny slot machines now in abundance. The last time I was here I remarked about the $20 and $50 slots, but these are no longer around; if they are, they are buried deep in another area of the casino. (I have no idea why anyone would want to play at penny slot or a $50 slot, but since I have officially given $13 to these one-armed bandits, I can see why people are into sitting, staring, and hoping for the bells to ring.)

The one thing you will find here is plenty of entertainment; whether it’s gambling, shows with top-notch entertainers, or even a shark exhibit, there is no shortage of things to do. For the first time I am staying at the New York, New York hotel. Unlike it’s name sake, the rooms are big, they are less than $75.00 a night, and it’s not noisy; maybe they should pipe in noise, shrink the rooms by 80 percent, and jack up the rates, then it would truly be New York.

What’s amazing about this place is the way the nighttime transforms it from kind of a sleepy town during the day to as active of a location as you can ever imagine once the sun goes down. The casinos fill up, the food and drink start to flow, and you can walk anywhere you want at practically any time of the evening and find people milling about all over the place.

But there is a different side of life that is never promoted in Las Vegas marketing; there are many homeless and misplaced souls. Last night I overheard two security guards talking and one was commenting about the job market; to quote him, “it’s almost impossible to find a job these days.” I also saw on the news that 80% of all homes are what they call, “under water”---meaning they are worth less than their mortgages. This complete reversal of wealth took less than 3 years to occur.

The photo above was taken last night. As a photographer it’s important to look beyond the buildings and sunny climate. Of course I asked this individual before I took the photos, and paid him for letting me take the pictures. Looking into his eyes you could see the sadness that has taken over his body, mind and soul. For him, lady luck has completely left him at the curb.

Thanks for stopping by.