I just came back from Las Vegas after a trip with my kids, my brother and his family, and our 75 year old mother.<\/p>\n
That sentence alone sort of sums up the dichotomy of Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Las Vegas as a family destination?<\/p>\n
Well yes, sort of \u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
To be fair, we didn\u2019t stay right on the strip. We stayed at Lake Vegas in Henderson about a half an hour from downtown.<\/p>\n
That also added to the schizophrenia of this area.<\/p>\n
We were in the middle of nowhere surrounded by palm trees, swimming pools, and beautiful nature. We also drove another hour to Red Rock Canyon <\/a>for a beautiful hike. I highly recommend this if you go to the area. Also if you do go with kids, I also recommend a tour of the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory <\/a>and Cactus Garden.<\/p>\n Then 30 minutes drive later we were on the strip surrounded by an explosion of capitalism and artificial Vegas experiences (the Venetian gondolas, the Empire State building, the Eiffel Tower).<\/p>\n What we didn\u2019t see except for one truck that advertised girls for hire with scantily clad women decorating the truck was the expected \u201cadult\u201d side of Las Vegas.<\/p>\n Much to our horror \/amusement this one particular \u201cbooby truck\u201d got stuck in traffic next to my brother\u2019s car which was filled with boys aged 9 to 17.<\/p>\n But besides this, Las Vegas seemed to be like Time Square- all cleaned up. A Disney like version of its former self. And from the looks of the empty stores fronts and barely filled casino floors – not really thriving.<\/p>\n Sure it\u2019s a tough economy to thrive in, particularly when you depend on people coming and spending their disposable income on your slots and black Jack tables.<\/p>\n We all know disposable income has been hard hit by the recession. It feels a bit in-between now\u2026not quite an adult playground any more, but neither a truly legitimate brand destination either. That\u2019s my point of view. What\u2019s your twist? I just came back from Las Vegas after a trip with my kids, my brother and his family, and our 75 year old mother. That sentence alone sort of sums up the dichotomy of Las Vegas. Las Vegas as a family destination? Well yes, sort of \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-brand-experience","category-brand-personality"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nNot quite sin city- more like syn-thetic city.<\/p>\n
\nSo I understand why, Las Vegas may have felt the need to re-brand itself as a more family friendly destination. But I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s quite working.<\/p>\n
\nA classic branding blunder of evolving too far away from your core.<\/p>\n
\nWhat\u2019s been your experience of the Las Vegas brand?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"