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Everyday Las Vegas: Local Life in a Tourist Town
Every year, more than thirty-five million people from all over the world visit Las Vegas; only two million call the city home. Everyday Las Vegas takes a close look at the lives of those who live in a place the rest of the world considers exotic, even decadent. Using broad research, including interviews with more than one hundred Las Vegans, Rex Rowley--who grew up in Las Vegas--examines everyday life in a place that markets itself as an escape from mundane reality.
Rowley considers such topics as why people move to Las Vegas, the nature of their work and personal lives, the impact of growth and rapid change, and interaction with the overwhelmingly touristic side of the city. He also considers the benefits and perils of living in a nonstop twenty-four-hour city rich in entertainment options and easy access to gambling, drugs, and other addictions. His examination includes the previously unstudied role of neighborhood casinos patronized by locals rather than tourists and the impact that a very mobile population has on schools, churches, and community life.
Rowley considers the very different ways people perceive a place as insiders or outsiders, a dichotomy that arises when tourism is a mainstay of the local economy. His work offers insights into what Las Vegas can teach us about other cities and American culture in general. It also contributes to our understanding of how people relate to places and how the personality of a place influences the lives of people who live there.
Rowley considers such topics as why people move to Las Vegas, the nature of their work and personal lives, the impact of growth and rapid change, and interaction with the overwhelmingly touristic side of the city. He also considers the benefits and perils of living in a nonstop twenty-four-hour city rich in entertainment options and easy access to gambling, drugs, and other addictions. His examination includes the previously unstudied role of neighborhood casinos patronized by locals rather than tourists and the impact that a very mobile population has on schools, churches, and community life.
Rowley considers the very different ways people perceive a place as insiders or outsiders, a dichotomy that arises when tourism is a mainstay of the local economy. His work offers insights into what Las Vegas can teach us about other cities and American culture in general. It also contributes to our understanding of how people relate to places and how the personality of a place influences the lives of people who live there.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 28, 2013
What's it like living in Las Vegas? Everyone who has ever lived in Las Vegas has been asked that question. In Everyday Las Vegas, Professor Rex Rowley, who grew up in Las Vegas, investigates, interviews, and analyzes in order to come up with an answer.
A stereotypical answer you'll hear from locals is that it isn't that different here than anywhere else, except on The Strip. We have suburbs and schools and picnics. We go to movies and shop for furniture and go to the dentist. And yet... Even away from the big casinos, it's impossible to forget where you are. In one graphic, Rowley shows how the geography of the Las Vegas Valley makes it possible for around 93% of the residents to have a view of The Strip from wherever they are.
As with any city that relies so heavily on tourism, Las Vegas has a split personality. While realizing that tourism makes our taxes low and provides jobs for thousands of residents, some struggle with constant access to gambling or to other addictions. There are slot machines in the supermarkets, coffee shops, gas stations. If the kids want to go bowling or see a movie, they have to walk through the casino to get there, which worries some parents.
Generally, Rowley is optimistic about Las Vegas and its future. He cites the rebuilding of the blighted downtown district, which has been on the verge of a renaissance since we moved here in 1999. Perhaps the new Smith Center and the Zappos CEO will turn downtown around finally. Or maybe it will be another Neonopolis, a failed project to revive downtown that merits not a single mention in the book.
Rowley interviews people from many backgrounds and neighborhoods and while there is no consensus, he has to conclude that Las Vegas is unique. It's not like everywhere else, but it's also possible to grow up here and become a normal, well-adjusted adult.
Las Vegas changes so much all the time that a book like this, while valuable and important, will be outdated soon. One of the better books on the subject is David Schwartz's Suburban Xanadu, which is ten years old now and quite outdated. Geoff Schumacher's Sun, Sin, and Suburbia is a little too booster-ish to be completely objective, but he has updated his 2004 version with a 2012 version.
A stereotypical answer you'll hear from locals is that it isn't that different here than anywhere else, except on The Strip. We have suburbs and schools and picnics. We go to movies and shop for furniture and go to the dentist. And yet... Even away from the big casinos, it's impossible to forget where you are. In one graphic, Rowley shows how the geography of the Las Vegas Valley makes it possible for around 93% of the residents to have a view of The Strip from wherever they are.
As with any city that relies so heavily on tourism, Las Vegas has a split personality. While realizing that tourism makes our taxes low and provides jobs for thousands of residents, some struggle with constant access to gambling or to other addictions. There are slot machines in the supermarkets, coffee shops, gas stations. If the kids want to go bowling or see a movie, they have to walk through the casino to get there, which worries some parents.
Generally, Rowley is optimistic about Las Vegas and its future. He cites the rebuilding of the blighted downtown district, which has been on the verge of a renaissance since we moved here in 1999. Perhaps the new Smith Center and the Zappos CEO will turn downtown around finally. Or maybe it will be another Neonopolis, a failed project to revive downtown that merits not a single mention in the book.
Rowley interviews people from many backgrounds and neighborhoods and while there is no consensus, he has to conclude that Las Vegas is unique. It's not like everywhere else, but it's also possible to grow up here and become a normal, well-adjusted adult.
Las Vegas changes so much all the time that a book like this, while valuable and important, will be outdated soon. One of the better books on the subject is David Schwartz's Suburban Xanadu, which is ten years old now and quite outdated. Geoff Schumacher's Sun, Sin, and Suburbia is a little too booster-ish to be completely objective, but he has updated his 2004 version with a 2012 version.
September 5, 2014
Rex Rowley is an educated observer of Las Vegas and I’m glad that he has written this commentary on the daily life of Las Vegans. This book is an important part of the development of the Las Vegas identity. Everyday Las Vegas is written from an academic geographer’s perspective. It describes several important elements of daily life in Las Vegas such as growth, sin, and religion. As someone who studies Las Vegas, and spends his winter’s there, I appreciate Rowley’s perspective.
Although Everyday Las Vegas makes an important contribution to the understanding of the contemporary cultural identity of Las Vegas, I found the depth of the author’s analysis to be shallow. This book is fun to read, but I wish the author would have applied a more rigorous scientific analysis. The author sets up readers in the introductory chapter by briefly describing his research methods. These methods include reading newspapers and other literature related to Las Vegas, the author’s own experience as a resident, and personal interviews. The author has interviewed 177 people to get a pulse on daily life in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, this is as far as the author goes to describe his research methods. I wonder how these interview subjects were chosen. Did he mail an invitation to certain types of people and then sort the responses? Did he approach interview subjects based on geographical area of the city? Did he take a cross section of different occupations? Or did he simply interview people he was personally in contact with? I suspect the author’s personal experience was a little too influential in his analysis, and that he could have used a more scientifically rigorous research method.
The author does a great job of highlighting the difference between Las Vegas and the Strip. Many books about Las Vegas history and culture focus narrowly on the Strip or gambling culture while missing all the other elements of life in Las Vegas. Certainly, the Strip and gambling are major parts of daily life in Las Vegas, but there is much to the city than tourism alone. Thanks to Rex Rowley, we have a better understanding of this fascinating city. I encourage the author to keep up the good work.
Although Everyday Las Vegas makes an important contribution to the understanding of the contemporary cultural identity of Las Vegas, I found the depth of the author’s analysis to be shallow. This book is fun to read, but I wish the author would have applied a more rigorous scientific analysis. The author sets up readers in the introductory chapter by briefly describing his research methods. These methods include reading newspapers and other literature related to Las Vegas, the author’s own experience as a resident, and personal interviews. The author has interviewed 177 people to get a pulse on daily life in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, this is as far as the author goes to describe his research methods. I wonder how these interview subjects were chosen. Did he mail an invitation to certain types of people and then sort the responses? Did he approach interview subjects based on geographical area of the city? Did he take a cross section of different occupations? Or did he simply interview people he was personally in contact with? I suspect the author’s personal experience was a little too influential in his analysis, and that he could have used a more scientifically rigorous research method.
The author does a great job of highlighting the difference between Las Vegas and the Strip. Many books about Las Vegas history and culture focus narrowly on the Strip or gambling culture while missing all the other elements of life in Las Vegas. Certainly, the Strip and gambling are major parts of daily life in Las Vegas, but there is much to the city than tourism alone. Thanks to Rex Rowley, we have a better understanding of this fascinating city. I encourage the author to keep up the good work.
August 16, 2016
The data was collected and compiled much earlier than I expected (between approximately 2007-2009) given the 2013 publication date, which impacted this title's value as reference material.
Rowley writes the rhetorical style of someone who wants to appear to be presenting neutral facts, but who--either intentionally or deliberately--makes word choices whose connotations convey his actually opinions, which got annoying by the final chapters.
Useful for information on the immediate years of pre-Great Recession Las Vegas, but not really for further back or for a more recent view of the city. The maps are handy.
The chapter covering interviews with local religious leaders is interesting, though Rowley did the greatest subdividing within Protestant denominations and all religions addressed were in the Abrahamic tradition.
Rowley writes the rhetorical style of someone who wants to appear to be presenting neutral facts, but who--either intentionally or deliberately--makes word choices whose connotations convey his actually opinions, which got annoying by the final chapters.
Useful for information on the immediate years of pre-Great Recession Las Vegas, but not really for further back or for a more recent view of the city. The maps are handy.
The chapter covering interviews with local religious leaders is interesting, though Rowley did the greatest subdividing within Protestant denominations and all religions addressed were in the Abrahamic tradition.
July 16, 2015
This book simply adds depth to the already enriching experience of living in Las Vegas. It's theme resonated with me in a profound way; this quote which speaks of those who move to Las Vegas, I think, illustrates why locals love it here: "The impulse which prompted their coming...and staying...was simply the inexplicable stubborn cussedness of a pioneer--the urge to create something from nothing."
November 11, 2015
This book is written by a man who lives in Las Vegas. I love going to Las Vegas but I would not want to live there. The locals go the smaller casinos and gamble and they live normal lives. But the town is built is tourists and I do not think it is a good place to bring up children.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews