Your Moment is Now

Playing poker has always been a fascinating activity for many people, and historically it has been associated with some of the cowboys in saloons in various towns across the country. And then in the 20th century it was primarily associated with shady speakeasies However, in recent decades, the game has become extremely popular in mainstream society and the top poker players are major world celebrities. Likewise, some major world celebrities have also become some of the top poker players. But wherever you’re from or the level at which you play, Las Vegas, Nevada will likely always be known as the poker capital of the world.

Most of the great casinos are found in a Las Vegas hotel . The hotels themselves are incredible complexes of gambling arenas, card table rooms, amazing restaurants and of course incredible stages. Staying at one of the great resorts in Vegas can account for an entire vacation agenda and this is the case for many of the people who visit there. And of course having the chance to watch some of the great players in one of the main poker tournaments or even have the opportunity to sit down and play with one is something that poker players at all levels dream about. Las Vegas is one of the most thriving and dynamic cities in the nation and people visit it from all over the world. After all, the only things you need are a chip and a chair.

There are a number of famous personalities who have left there mark here in Las Vegas, a city that sleeps, but sleeps strangely. The effect of the neon lights is as strong as it ever was, suggesting that the glory days of the city are still lying somewhere in a distant future. These same lights gave endless inspiration and energy to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Wayne Newton, and countless Elvis impersonators, all riffing on old African rhythms that get reinvented to suit the times.

The times have been unraveling on the strip these days, where the downtown section is now looking more and more like the main strip, as if they were caught in an endless loop. Las Vegas is the ultimate simulacrum, mirroring a world that doesn’t exist anywhere else, except here, where a view out of a Las Vegas hotel might look like ancient Rome, or a miniature version of old Europe.

No one could make sense out of the absurdity and irony here better than Hunter S. Thompson , or at least no one could ramble about it in a way that made splendid nonsense out of the noise. It’s a hard place to get a grip on psychologically, especially if the whole is something that’s still seen as holding a possibility of grasping. However, it’s an easy place to enjoy the moment if the idea of sense and order is left tucked away in the luggage for later.

These sidewalks carry moments lost in time, but easily regained by re-tracing them, looking for a chance to experience something new in the middle of the afternoon or in the wee hours of the morning. It’s always alive. HST may not be around to enjoy the new face of Vegas, but it’s still difficult to know if he enjoyed the former masks. He certainly did enjoy thinking about the masks here, and investigated them until he eventually was caught staring at his own face in the fun house mirrors.