On the one hand, it was practically created by the mafia to house the gambling industry. On the other hand, right next to it, in the Mojave Desert, is the most mysterious military base in the United States (known simply as Area 51), where many say they have seen UFOs and there are many who are convinced that behind its metal fence and “Keep Out” warnings the Pentagon hides proof of the existence of extraterrestrials and their visits to Earth. All mixed together, Las Vegas is a nest of conspiracy theories, like Istanbul, Vienna or Lisbon were of spies in the hot and cold wars.
It rhymes like a love sonnet by Pablo Neruda, therefore, that on Sunday Las Vegas will be the setting for the Super Bowl of the “great conspiracy”, that the romance between Taylor Swift and Jason Kelce is a bait for young fans to music so that they become interested in American football and vote for Biden following the example of the two protagonists of the story. Phew! Very far-fetched, although if one believes in Martians, anything is possible...
The real conspiracy, so to speak, is how Las Vegas (which in 1900 was nothing more than a stop at the intersection of two railroad lines), the world capital of organized crime after Sicily and Calabria, uses sport to diversify. economically and wash its image, in the style of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf emirates, although for different reasons that have nothing to do with human rights. It has stolen the Raiders from the NFL and the Athletics from baseball to Oakland, it has an ice hockey team (although in summer the temperatures exceed fifty degrees) and another very powerful women's basketball team, a few months ago it hosted its first F race. -1, there is speculation about the next arrival of an NBA franchise and the icing on the cake is Sunday's Super Bowl between the Chiefs and the 49ers (in which paradoxically, due to the conspiracy theory, the Trumpist fachosphere will support the team from San Francisco, the most progressive, gay and woke city in the country).
Las Vegas has long wanted to leave behind the nickname of Sin City and become a family, sports and convention tourist destination, although the casinos offer free poker playing classes to create addiction and in some there are nurseries open twenty-four hours a day, with grandmothers in charge of the children so that parents can dedicate themselves to playing roulette and slot machines without having to worry about their offspring. The Super Bowl is going to contribute 600 million euros to the city's coffers, but every weekend tens of thousands of people show up to follow the horse races and the NFL and NBA games on the giant televisions in the gambling halls, and bet. Its 40 million visitors a year are more than those of Chicago and Boston.
Vegas, as North Americans say in a colonial sense, had a virtual monopoly on gambling in the country, but fears growing competition from Puerto Rico, Canada, cruise ships and Indian reservations with their casinos, in addition to lotteries. Its dependence on the hospitality industry meant that during the pandemic it became a ghost city and half a million jobs evaporated. It is a phenomenon that is repeated with each economic crisis, and that has raised the need to become more multidimensional and less dependent on the game. Because addiction works in both directions.
When the Rat Pack performed at the Sands Hotel and Frank Sinatra sang that he did things his way and regretted some of them, he wasn't just talking about himself. Also to the city of Las Vegas, his home.
