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The Urbanist’s Las Vegas

Secret pizza joints, KISS-themed mini-golf, bulldozer rides.


The glimmering façade of economic recovery along the Strip—Champagne-popping, cigar-chomping sybarites in the club “making it rain,” throngs of bikini-clad pool waitresses hustling out drinks in the triple-digit heat, naughty sock puppets performing at Caesars Palace—certainly belies the troubles of this city of 600,000. Nevada has the third-highest unemployment rate in the country, and gamblers are increasingly doing their betting on computers rather than at casinos. But Vegas is still Vegas, and, in fact, there’s more to do here now than ever. The restaurant scene is booming, and not just with celebrity chefs; decidedly un-tragic hotels like the SLS and Delano are putting down roots; there’s a thriving alternative-arts scene (e.g., the Art District’s vibrant Blackbird Studios or the Coachella-esque Life Is Beautiful festival, returning in October); and formerly dingy Fremont East has undergone a Zappos-led gentrification. And, of course, Britney Spears is in town. Look a little closer at this desert habitat and you’ll find mafiosi and internet nerds, has-beens and next-big-things, bajillionaire GOP benefactors and the world’s largest porn expo—and a lot in between our trek.


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