Vegas Gets Another 15 Minutes of Fame
July 14, 2009
Vandalism.
It seems to be on the rise in more tourist-visible areas. From shoes hanging on lines over Sahara Avenue, to shoe prints in parking garages, to elevators, to casino bathroom stalls … defacement near the resort corridor seems to be slowly on the rise.
The Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip Casino Garage
Downtown Las Vegas Sign
Downtown Las Vegas Sign
Downtown Las Vegas Sign
Since my first visit here, Las Vegas has always had quite a large graffiti-scape very similar to that in Los Angeles. It’s never been terribly visible on the Boulevard, but once you get off of The Strip into some of the core neighborhoods, it’s quite common to see gangsta-scribble.
Of course, this type of vandalism of both public and private property rarely makes the news. It’s far too common.
Las Vegas Neighborhood Graffiti
Las Vegas Neighborhood Graffiti
Las Vegas Neighborhood Graffiti
Las Vegas Neighborhood Graffiti
Las Vegas Neighborhood Graffiti
Las Vegas Neighborhood Graffiti
Las Vegas Neighborhood Graffiti
This being the case, I was quite surprised with the number of text messages I received over the last 24 hours.
“Did you see the sign?”
“Are you going to cover the sign?”
“Go to the Las Vegas sign! Hurry!”
At last count there were 30 or so messages informing me that some treacherous thing had happened to the Las Vegas Sign. I was able to pull up some images on my computer from a few thousand miles away, and it didn’t look that bad, but perhaps I was missing the full effect. Perhaps it was one of those “you have to see it to get the full impact” kind of things.
After taking care of some things this morning, I decided to make my own pilgrimage to Vegas’ new “ground zero”.
When I arrived, I was greeted by news vans, professional photographers, and random gawkers. Wow, I really thought that I was going to be in for a shock.
Las Vegas Sign Parking Lot
I spotted a photographer that I happened to know in the rear of the parking lot, and I got out of my car, walked up, and asked him to show me the atrocity.
As we walked toward the sign from the far end of the parking lot, I didn’t really see anything. As we got closer to the sign, I could make out what appeared to be a rather faint smudge toward the bottom. I still wasn’t shocked. We finally got under the sign, directly by the smudge, and I said “that’s it?”.
The Las Vegas Sign
The Las Vegas Sign
“Yep”, he said. “That’s it. They cleaned some of it off, but it was a bunch of red marker stuff.”
“What the f**k are you standing around here for?”, I asked.
“You know … the 24 hour news cycle. People are up in arms and I have to be here to photograph the cleaners when they remove it. It’s going to be a big deal or something.”
“So you have to stand out here in the heat all day for some red magic marker?”, I asked.
“Yep”, he replied. “And you’re going to blog about it too, you hypocrite.”
“Well, yeah, it’s a story that has some public interest, but I’m not standing in 110 degree heat all day for some pen marks you f’ing loser.”
He smiled and said “I’m getting paid by the hour”.
Touche’.
Despite the marks, crowds were coming and going from the sign and taking pictures as if nothing had happened. Most of the regular tourists were blissfully unaware of the chicken scratch.
The Las Vegas Sign
The Las Vegas Sign
The Las Vegas Sign
The Las Vegas Sign
My acquaintance and I casually watched the comings and goings, and talked about what effect we thought this would have.
“Oscar’s saying something about cutting people’s heads off”, he said, “everyone is acting all hysterical about it … what do you think?”
I informed him that in my opinion, people were just bored and needed something to talk about. People look for reasons to act hysterical, indignant, and dramatic, because it adds a tinge of excitement into an otherwise mundane life.
I went on to say that I thought that this was the best thing to happen to Las Vegas in at least a month. Las Vegas is now on every news channel in the country. Everyone is talking about it and feigning outrage. You can’t buy this kind of publicity.
I explained to him that they could have quietly cleaned it off and that nobody would have been the wiser, but had they done that, the media would not be here, nor would people like myself and scores of other onlookers.
“These could have easily been cleaned off by now,” I said, “they don’t want this to go away too fast, it has far too much media traction”.
“Not only that, but we are giving the vandals a huge amount of publicity, and the graffiti is not even good”, I said.
I told him that Las Vegas should hire someone to deface the sign every month. It would get far more people talking about us than the dopey “What Happens in Vegas” commercials.
He cocked his head toward me and said “Hmmmm. I never thought about it like that, but you’re probably pretty close to the truth.”
“I’m 30% there”, I said.
He laughed at the pseudo inside-joke and I bid him a fond farewell.
“I’m going to write a post about this non-event”, I said.
And so I have.
Somebody wrote letters in red magic maker on the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. It’s the same kind of stupid scribble you see in bathroom stalls everywhere. They were random letters. Almost certainly initials.
It has done no permanent damage, and is about as scandalous as a fart in a Taco Bell. They will be cleaned off today, and forgotten tomorrow.
This stuff happens all the time in cities across the nation, and they simply clean it off quietly.
Perhaps they will put a security camera near the sign, perhaps they will deploy a guard, and it most likely will not happen again.
Despite the hysteria, outrage, hyperbole, and media bombardment, the tomb of Jesus was not demolished (does he have a tomb?). Nor was some great injustice done to the world or to the city. It’s a goddamn sign.
Please don’t get me wrong.
I like the sign. I visit the sign often. I have been sending up live shots and writing posts about the sign for a long time. I was one of the first people in the new parking lot. I like the new sign park because it’s a cool place to watch planes land, park and relax in the cooler months, and because it provides nice photo-ops and affords a nice Strip view in the distance.
Despite this, I’m still fully cognizant of the fact that it is just a sign. The sign is still standing, and will probably continue to stand for decades. You can still visit the sign, get your picture taken, and do everything you could do a week ago.
As the media hype and faux-outrage dies down, this entire thing will be forgotten. I give it 48 more hours. Tops.
We still got our 15 minutes of fame, however, and really … that’s all that matters.
Written by tully on July 14, 2009 at 3:45 pm
The sign graffiti is somewhat understandable—-a dare, just being able to brag to the homies about what one did, whatever—is enough for someone to do that.
But for the life of me, I cannot understand the markings in all the parking garages and the shoes over the lines. I’ve seen it around where I live also, and sometimes it just seems like a waste of a perfectly good pair of shoes.
Written by Albert on July 14, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I’m surprised that there isn’t already a camera at the sign. Not a security sign but a web cam. I think many people would stop at the sign, call their friends and say “Look at me on the web, I’m at the Vegas sign.” What a publicity gimmick. It could also catch the taggers, at least up until the web cam is stolen.
Written by mad dog on July 15, 2009 at 7:29 am
New Sign security proposed by officials
The Sign security proposal extends beyond the physical care of the Sign to the maintenance of an airtight, high technology security system.
The security system for the Sign will be developed developed in concert with city and county officials, police and fire authorities, County and State Park Rangers, the Department of Homeland Security, and the ATF, and will include the following features:
• A tall perimeter fence with razor wire
• 24 hour electronic surveillance by City and County authorities
• Infrared lights and cameras that can see equally as well in the day and on a moonless night
• Monitoring microphones and bullhorns
• Web cameras
• Motion sensors
• Regular patrol visits by city and county police, as well as Federal Marshals and the Secret Service
Sounds reasonable and well thought out.
Written by cactusrose on July 15, 2009 at 8:20 am
I was thinking something similar to you. Why don’t they just clean up the mess as quickly and quietly as possible if they are truly upset about it and don’t want to see their precious sign defaced? Your free publicity motive hit it on the nail. They can’t rid of the evidence that quickly or there wouldn’t be anything more to be in hysterics over. I agree that people, including your mayor and local media, are blowing this out of proportion. Off with there heads? Get a life people.
Written by Ted Newkirk on July 15, 2009 at 11:12 pm
What many of you may be missing is this:
To people like Mayor Goodman (and myself and many others) who love Las Vegas and have made the conscious decision to make this our home city for life, this is a real slap in the face. Just as it would be to a Mormon if someone tagged one of the spires on their church. To us, this news was shocking and disturbing. Throughout all the changes in Las Vegas, that iconic sign has stood as the one enduring and recognizable symbol of our city. And to have someone screw with it pisses us off.
The clean-up might not be as easy as made out to be. It looks like they tried to get it off and couldn’t. If they have to replace that pane of glass, they can’t order it off the shelf.
On to unrelated notes (since Rex doesn’t make contacting him a simple task):
Rex, there isn’t some conspiracy to keep people from linking to you. This is super-simple: You work for Casino Guide, a site that apparently makes money advertising online poker. If another site (which may also make money promoting online poker) allows links to your stuff, they are essentially sending visitors to a competitor. (Even if the link is to VR, that site has plenty of links to this one). This is common practice.
BTW, you won’t link to anyone else. But… you get upset when people don’t link to you? Think about that one!
Another couple of reasons why you may lack respect from those in the internet tourism community. Before I go on, let me note that I’m not out to bash you. (Look… no one else in the business seems be answering all the questions you posed in your rant on the other site):
With all due respect, you were the first guy to do a live, daily photo blog. But you were not close to the first person to make almost daily internet posts about spending time on the Las Vegas Strip. I know that from 1995 – 2000, I posted many times weekly to alt.vacation.las-vegas. I was on The Strip or downtown some 15-25 times a month and in fact, much of what you do and say reminds me of my early days. And… for all I know, there was someone else who was doing it before me. Plus others who lived here who were posting similar experiences, although not as often.
You talked about all of the Johnny-come-latelys of the internet Vegas world, but in a way… you are one of them. I bought my first Vegas domain in 1996 and the AV domain in 1997. You evidently weren’t even visiting here in 1997. And I’m by no means a true old-timer. Anthony Curtis paved the way for all of us. Outside of noting that I have the very first Las Vegas blog (which I can prove), I take no credit for being the first at anything.
Look… no question you are out there busting your ass when the rest of us often simply consolidate media and PR stuff. (In my defense, we commission numerous photo sets and show write-ups each month). Unfortunately, you found out that there is a very, very limited market for daily “man on the street” first-hand Vegas tourism news. (Don’t feel bad… Robin Leach has been finding out the very same thing). Honestly, if I were your business consultant, I’d tell you to cut back on some of the “who cares” stuff (as determined by reader feedback) and do a podcast. No one has the kind of free time you do. Not even local podcasters. You could punk them all.
Side Note: One reason you may be ostracized is your line of work. You seem to know quite a bit about hookers, drug neighborhoods, and police scanners. This may be sin city, but many people need to watch their associations. Another is that this is a very social city. All those bloggers and podcasters who promote each other are actually friends and hang out in town here and keep in touch with each other otherwise. You yourself have purposely decided to not do any of that.
To quote you: “… nor did I want them to suffer guilt-by-association if they linked to me.”
Well… maybe they don’t want to guilt-by-association of linking to someone who’s income seems to come from sources that are slightly less than legal.
Two last notes:
1. You hurt your credibility when you say things like “I’ve had over two dozen death threats, half a dozen lawsuit threats, countless cease and desists, eight marriage proposals, and a couple of people with ‘boundary issues’.”
Please… stop… you are killing us (or at least making our eyes roll). Gaming properties don’t run around threatening lawsuits against blogs unless there is certain libel/defamation and they are demanding a retraction. And… if you were getting cease and desists on a regular basis, you are the type of guy who would proclaim it at the top of his lungs. You’d devote entire posts to them. You’d be standing up for your right to freedom of speech and flipping the middle finger at them.
(If it involves shooting candid audio/video inside Las Vegas Strip properties, you are lucky that you haven’t been detained and/or arrested. That isn’t legal on private property anywhere).
2. The chronic “I live in the shadow of the Las Vegas Strip” gets old. Yes… we realize that you are trying to shove it in the face of bloggers and podcasters from out-of-state. But the bottom line is that tens of thousand of us live within a two mile walk/drive of The Strip. I can see countless hotels from my back yard. Doesn’t make me any more credible than anyone else. Beating that drum so often might be wearing old on the people whom you want to take you seriously.
Look… I’ve been hard on you in the past, but if I didn’t wish the best for you, I wouldn’t have taken my time. I’ve been well-paid in the past to provide the same consulting/feedback that I’m doing for you at no charge. (And, I’m not even asking you set me up a hooker in return… although I tend to be fond of premium cigars… CAO and Arganese).
Contrary to what some of your readers think, I don’t consider you a competitor. We each appeal to a very different markets. The fact that some of your readers don’t know who I am is not a bother. They probably know every poker site out there, and I’d be hard pressed to name any. I don’t care who the final 9 for WSOP are, and judging by my reader feedback, neither do they.
Look… you can be the rebel or you can be respected, but you can’t be both.
Oh, one more thing: Dude… grunge skipped Las Vegas completely. The way you dress was never in vogue here. So don’t be shocked if people look at you funny.
Las Vegas held on to hair metal long after it died in other places (I know… I had hair down to my ass and partied with a lot of “known” people) and then alternative kicked in. It was too damn hot here for flannel. And my last piece of comped advice: 99 cent shoes are a sure way to make sure your joints are going to hurt like hell. The outlet mall by the car rental center has a number of footwear retailers that sell everything from walking shoes to semi-dress shoes that are amazingly comfortable for long walking stints in the $40-50 range.
Best Regards.
PS By all means, moderate this post off the blog. I would have sent an email but you don’t exactly make your email easy to find.
Written by tully on July 16, 2009 at 2:37 am
“They probably know every poker site out there, and I’d be hard pressed to name any. I don’t care who the final 9 for WSOP are, and judging by my reader feedback, neither do they.”
Actually, neither Rex nor most of his blog readers seem to care much about the ME final table—-which was the whole gist of his posts about the WSOP. For cash game, recreational players, the WSOP is merely a slightly entertaining poker circus that makes for good games in the poker rooms around the city. But if ou had read the posts, you would know that.
Some of us just prefer the “rebel’s eye view”, if you will. To each his or her own.
And I would say that some of the inferences made in your post show…….let’s say poor judgment and a hell of a lot of assumption on your part, to say the least.
Written by Dave on July 16, 2009 at 6:47 am
Lacks respect in the tourism industry? LOL! You are jealous Ted. Rex has a blog for two years and I have already seen him quoted many times in the Vegas media. They even write stories about him. One that comes to mind – http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2008/nov/13/rex-and-city/
Is anyone interested in you Ted? Rex is by far the most influential blogger in this town and you know it. It’s so obvious that it eats at you. He has done far more in a shorter amount of time than anyone else and it’s not just his photos and videos which are the best, he’s the best writer in Las Vegas. On second thought, I think he is the best blogger period. The guy should write at a much higher level because he puts everyone else to shame. I haven’t seen as much diversity ever, in a single blog, by a single writer. Of course, I’m telling you things you already know. If a guy of your supposed stature is obsessing over Rex’s hair and shoes then I doubt he’ll respond to you because that alone speaks for itself. Btw, you can easily contact him by posting on his forums, anyone can actually, and he doesn’t moderate. You’ve got options, and you chose to post here. I’ve read some of his cease and desist mentionings on his private forum, but yes, he doesn’t mention it much, and that’s his prerogative.
For someone that doesn’t care for or know Rex much, you sure have strong opinions of the guy and make lots of assumptions.
Written by ColinFromLasVegas on July 16, 2009 at 7:12 am
I agree with Dave’s comments above. Sounds nothing but self-serving, mixed with a bit of jealousy, along with a sprinkling of stupidity.
For some reason, the guy posts something that is totally off topic. It was so off topic, I just skipped over looking at most of it. Because it wasn’t earth shattering at all. All I got from it (what I did look at) was pure jealousy and the appearance that Rex is impinging on your sacred computer nertnoid territory. I could care less about this I-was-here-first-nah-nah-nee-nah-nah childish crap. I’m sure a lot of others who looked at it thought the same. Dude, this ain’t the place, nor is it the forum for you to stand on your dumb soap box and spout off I’m-talkin’-apples-but-you’re-talkin’-oranges stuff. You come off like Charles Barkeley driving drunk on the Strip at 3 in the morning, pulling up alongside you and asking if you want a ride. It ain’t gonna happen. It don’t work.
And another thing that pisses me off about this, and no one has thought of it yet, but I’ll say it. It’s knuckleheads like you that post dumb stuff like that and it causes the person that started this blog to contemplate denying everyone the ability to make comments at all, shutting it off. It’s dudes like you that screw it up for the rest of us. There are other sites here in Vegas that have done just that. Removed the comments. Because of idiots like you that post blatherings like you just did. So, thanks, you imbecile. You’re only gonna screw it up for the rest of us that like to comment. Because enough of you clowns do stuff like that, and Rex will eventually just say the hell with it and turn the comments off.
Tell that computer nertnoid to go fornicate a sidewinder, Rex.
Written by Andrew on July 16, 2009 at 7:25 am
I think this is another perfect example of what Rex was talking about. We can freely discuss what we want w/o moderation, here and his other site. I don’t think any other blog would have approved Ted’s comment.
Ted – Out of curiosity, I ran a search on Bing (ted newkirk las vegas) and the 2nd result that shows up is a comment you made here. You don’t like Rex, but you care about everything he says. I think his recent VR posts hit home and you hate it b/c it’s true. Admit it, you’re trying to generate interest in yourself via Rex right? You love it when you get a reaction here right? You crave the attention that you can’t get otherwise. I don’t blame you, a washed up guy like you gets desperate sometimes.
Rex – Throw the guy a bone, he’s really craving a response from you, lol!
Written by anonymous on July 16, 2009 at 7:38 am
Ted, I’m a reader of your newsletter and I’m losing a little respect for you here.
Written by chance on July 16, 2009 at 8:59 am
“Rex, there isn’t some conspiracy to keep people from linking to you. This is super-simple: You work for Casino Guide, a site that apparently makes money advertising online poker. If another site (which may also make money promoting online poker) allows links to your stuff, they are essentially sending visitors to a competitor. (Even if the link is to VR, that site has plenty of links to this one). This is common practice.”
Rex never mentioned a conspiracy, he specified exactly what the situation was, and it makes sense. He had his vegasrex blog long before this casinoguide blog came about, and many of us were already his regular readers from there, as am I. I only read this website because of Rex’s blog. I don’t think this linking stuff has anything to do with casinoguide, but rather has everything to do with Rex and their jealousy toward him. Your comments here are prime examples.
Written by Bill on July 16, 2009 at 1:03 pm
I’ve read over 20 articles about the defacement of the Las Vegas sign. Every one of them have been the same and are interchangeable – we are appalled, Oscar Goodman said off with their heads, how dare they do such a horrible thing to the famous sign, we will photoshop it out, blah blah blah. They all got the same old story from the Las Vegas Sun and put it on their blogs. Yours is the only one that took a different stance on this issue, and of course now you are getting criticized for it, but that’s why I read your blogs, you don’t care what the consensus is, you tell it like it is the way you see it, even if it’s not a popular opinion.
Written by lub on July 16, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Interesting faux rant above, obviously meant to drive interest in Mr. Newkirk’s own Las Vegas Website. There are a plethora of cookie cutter Las Vegas websites in competition for the tourist $ so I can appreciate the effort. What he doesn’t understand is that Rex’s column is popular because he does not parrot the official line and he does not kowtow to the almighty casino corporation. I read mainstream LV news, several blogs and message boards but enjoy Rex’s more than others because of his unique viewpoint. I would dare to say that Rex could set up shop in any major city and attract readers with his wit, candor and perspective.
Oh, I’m wearing an old pair of Levis, Nikes with no socks and a Neil Young concert tee shirt. Am I dressed well enough to read your column?
Written by desertrat on July 20, 2009 at 12:15 pm
I agree with lub, it’s not the subject matter or even the locale of the blog, it’s the writer that I enjoy. I would read Rex even if he wrote about African dung beetles. He can make anything entertaining and interesting.
Written by Anonymous on July 24, 2009 at 12:41 pm
“I think this is another perfect example of what Rex was talking about. We can freely discuss what we want w/o moderation, here and his other site. I don’t think any other blog would have approved Ted’s comment.”
Andrew I completely agree w/ your comment. Something else that I’ve noticed is that both blogs on this site are so different in what comments are allowed. Every comment I’ve made here, on Rex’s blog, have shown up but some that I’ve made on Pam’s blog never did. They were not the most flattering comments, rather I pointed out some errors and observations I made about her articles, and I guess she didn’t want them to be shown. The ones I made which were flattering were approved, but the the ones that were critical in any way were never approved. I’ve discontinued commenting there b/c I don’t want my comments getting moderated in that matter. Personally, if she will only allow positive or flattering comments to be approved, then I’d rather not comment at all. Sorry Pam, but if you’re going to get paid to write and receive some criticism, use them to better your writing rather than ignore or write off as spam.
I suppose Rex could just approve positive comments like everyone else, but I’m glad that he doesn’t take the easy way out, and instead he allows his readers to express whatever opinion we have, regardless of whether it’s complimentary to him or not. He’s one of the few people that will fully allow all forms of criticism, and I really do respect that b/c it’s so rare.