I told you that I would give you the good, bad, ugly … and scantily clad, and true to my word, in a little over three minutes, I am giving you some quick peeks into all of the above.

I produced this video with clips that were taken by myself over the past couple of months while I was going about my normal routine here in Vegas.

Easily the most unique neighborhood in the USA, if not the world.

People always ask me … “Why in the hell do you live near The Strip?  Why don’t you move out to a nice neighborhood in the suburbs?”

I moved to The Strip for the same reason that 40 million people visit here each year, although it took me a little while to realize it.

When I first arrived here, I got a large house about 10 miles West of The Strip.

About a year later, reality hit me.  Forty million people don’t fly here each year to go to the suburbs. Thinking that Vegas offered something outside of the entertainment corridor was a mistake … because it doesn’t. At least no more than any other mid-sized city.

I’m simply not a “big house”, suburban person.  I grew up in inner-city closets and lofts.

It’s not so bad down here near the action. It is kind of crime-riddled and ghetto-ish, but I can walk to pretty much anything, including the entire Strip (via monorail), two major shopping malls with 200+ stores, a major medical center, etc.

The whole Strip, and to a lessor extent … Downtown Vegas… has simply become part of my everyday environment. The Fashion Show Mall is my local shopping center. My pizza joint is in the NYNY. My ice cream and sushi joints are in Bally’s.  The Wynn and Bellagio are home to my favorite buffets. My post office is actually in The Flamingo hotel.

If I am in the mood for a nice dinner, I will take $100 out of the ATM, head to the poker room, and try to turn it into $200 so I don’t have to pay for dinner. Gaming is actually how I pay for some things. It doesn’t always work, and if I have a bad session I’ll just eat something at home instead, but it works often enough to be worthwhile.  This is one of the few places in the world where you even have that option.

I go to concerts all the time. Hard Rock, Mandalay, Planet Aladdinwood, Palms, etc. Those are my local music venues.  I also see a fair amount of casino shows, and most of them are pretty good … and if I can pay for them with gaming proceed, all the better.

I can take a 5 minute cab ride to the world’s largest indoor theme park with the kids. They love the place.

When people I know are in town (damn near every day), they stay in a Strip hotel, and that is where I visit them.

The Las Vegas Strip

Almost all of my business, shopping, and recreation is centered around The Strip … and to the area a couple of miles east, such as the Boulevard Mall, Commercial Center and Convention Center.

As I am typing this, I am looking over the top of my screen and watching the hotels shimmer.  Just a few minutes ago, I just watched the finale of the 8pm Bellagio Fountain Show.

Granted, I hate this city somedays.   Sometimes I realize I despise it.  Then again, back in New York everyone bitched about filthy, stinking New York all day. When you live someplace, especially a somewhat dense urban area, it gets on your nerves. I don’t care where it is, you will grow to dislike it on some days.

However, today was not one of those days.  It was 80 degrees and sunny, and I spent the afternoon hanging out on Las Vegas Boulevard.

When the sun went down, I went over to the Las Vegas Hilton,  where I placed a small wager on tomorrow’s Monday Night Football game, and had a nice dinner at the Paradise Cafe.

Since my good moods are few and far between, I thought I would capitalize on the rare occasion by making the video above.

Welcome to my Las Vegas.

Now that you’ve made it this far, there’s no turning back.

By the way, if some parts of the video gave you a boner, don’t worry … it’s normal.  Most people get aroused when catching a glimpse of the Bellagio Fountains.

My name is Rex and I live in Las Vegas.

I moved here 4 years ago, and have been questioning my sanity ever since.

I am a 40 year old retired musician who is married with children. At various points in my life, I have also held jobs as a bicycle messenger, photojournalist, and some other things that are probably better left undisclosed.  I was born and raised in Washington, DC, and have also lived in New York City and Los Angeles, before finally settling down in this freakshow-in-the-desert that I now call home.

This city is a paradox. Everything that is good and everything that is bad can be found in Las Vegas, and sometimes you don’t know which one you have stumbled upon until it is too late.

Sure, you can make a few extra bucks each month playing poker against hapless tourists, and the food is really good … but the 110 degree summers, corrupt local government, and lack of a real public transit system can get on your nerves after awhile. Not to mention the fact that our local population has the average IQ of a rhesus monkey.

This blog will be about living in Las Vegas from the perspective of someone who has a love/hate relationship with the city. I will talk about the good, bad, ugly, and just plain bizarre.

Believe me when I tell you … there is enough of all of the above to go around.

I am a very moody individual, who might possibly have severe mental problems. The tests haven’t come back yet. That being the case, sometimes I will wander off-topic and talk about something random that will leave you scratching your head and asking “What in the hell is he talking about?”

Welcome to the chaos that is my life.

I live just a few blocks from The Strip, and I can walk, hop a cab, or take the Monorail to most Strip destinations in a short amount of time. I often carry a camera with me to document my existence here so that someday I can show the photos to my grandchildren and say “Can you believe a place like this actually existed?”

I am not a “professional gambler”, however, I usually depend on gambling for at least a portion of my income … mostly no-limit Texas Hold’em in local casinos. I also play some blackjack and video poker, but I personally prefer to play against other people and not the house. The house (almost) always wins, but the farmer from Iowa who thinks a pair of Jacks is unbeatable … usually does not win. Therein lies my source of revenue.

In addition to some carefully-planned gambling, I frequently avail myself to many other amenities of The Strip … dining, shows, and of course, scantily-clad females from all over the world. At least half of my day is devoted to the pursuit of cleavage. If there are boobs to be seen in Las Vegas, that is usually where I can be found.

I write in a very “stream of conscious” way. I don’t think about what I write before hand. I just sit down type it exactly like it comes to my mind, and then I never read it again. There will be “profanity”. Oh boy, will there be profanity … because that is exactly what comes to mind while I am typing. I actually do not believe in the concept of “bad words”.

Words are neutral and can be neither “good” or “bad”. The very concept of a “bad word” is patently ridiculous.

No particular combination of vowels or consonants have ever directly been shown to cause cancer, diabetes, anal warts, the common cold, or any disease or ailment whatsoever in any human being …. or any living thing.

So really, how bad could they be?

I also lead and have lead an extremely “different” life from most people. It was quite unique and out of the normal. I am a bit (or a lot) cynical, sarcastic, skeptical, and I “think very different”. I usually disagree with most conventional norms because I find most of them to be nonsensical and I often use a large amount of humor … simply as a way to cope with life.

If I could not find the humor in daily activities, then I would have thrown myself in front of a bus long ago.

This often translates into the things I write.

I am as politically-incorrect as they come, and probably a good 70% of the population finds me offensive in some way. Chances are, at some point I will offend you too.

Don’t say that you haven’t been warned.

If, despite all of the warnings, you would still like to read about what is going on here in the Entertainment and Decadence Capital of the World from a somewhat different perspective … then by all means … welcome!

I look forward to sharing the city with you.

I take plenty of photos, and I take plenty of videos, so even if you don’t care what I have to say … at least you’ll have something to look at. Every now and then, I will try to get one of those scantily clad women in a picture.