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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jsimms3
Ok, let's solve the idiotic Orlando-Las Vegas debate here. Las Vegas has more visitors and more hotel rooms than Orlando, but is not as internationally known. Macau has more international gambling sway than Las Vegas. The mouse trumps gambling around the world and Orlando International has more international flights than McCarran as a result. All the poor people around the world save up for a vacation to Disney befpre they save up to blow their money on gambling in Vegas (or Macau). All of the newer Disney Worlds around the world will eat into Disney Orlando's international popularity, though.
Now, personally, it's an insult to this kind of thread to have either of these cities considered "highly influential" to America. Both are tourist hotspots, but neither are a quarter as influential as some of the cities on the list. America literally would not be America without Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Denver, Cleveland, or St. Louis, but America could technically survive without gambling/prostitution in Vegas and the Mouse in Orlando. This isn't a knock against either city, but I'm just being realistic. Popular/widely known is not the same as influential.
How someone can come to this conclusion is beyond me...
Las Vegas is in the top 5 most famous cities in America. We get three TV shows just set in Las Vegas.
San Antonio is also over 2 million now, but its influence is probably less than it was a few years ago since AT&T left. It still is somewhat powerful in a few industries, though, like energy, medicine, and insurance. Two SA energy companies were badmouthed by the CA Gov. last month, so I guess that means something.
Las Vegas has two F500 companies: Harrahs and MGM, and its entire economy is based on gaming, tourism, and conventions. The most famous people from Las Vegas are Andre Agassi, Kurt and Kyle Busch, and Jenna Jameson (a successful porn star/porn business mogul, gee that's a great contribution). There are no top notch universities in Las Vegas (don't tell me UNLV). There are no great museums, zoos, arboretums, parks, cultural attractions with history, etc. Las Vegas has no significant history before crime bosses capitalized on legalized gambling in the 1940s and 1950s. Las Vegas has no professional sports teams. Las Vegas is known as Sin City (and America seems to want to keep it isolated to LV and Nevada, that sounds real "influential" to me). Sure Las Vegas has more tourists and hotel rooms than anywhere else in America, but that doesn't mean it's influential.
And regarding shows set or shot in LV: Pawn Stars, World Poker/Celebrity Poker, Real World, CSI, Cops, American Casino, Criss Angel, the Casino, High Stakes Poker, Las Vegas, Vega$, and other crime or gambling related shows it completely makes sense.
Films are also set and/or shot in Vegas because LV provides an exciting crime oriented or hedonistic setting that draws viewers and Vegas is so convenient to studios in LA. This is an easy one. Nobody nowadays wants to watch a film about Standard Oil or Betsy Ross or the growth of railroads via Andrew Carnegie, etc, including me. I would much rather watch a crime movie or comedy set in Vegas, duh. That doesn't make the city influential on the rest of American life. Vegas is an escape from American life.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,054,732 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jsimms3
Famous does not equal hugely influential.
Las Vegas has two F500 companies: Harrahs and MGM, and its entire economy is based on gaming, tourism, and conventions. The most famous people from Las Vegas are Andre Agassi, Kurt and Kyle Busch, and Jenna Jameson (a successful porn star/porn business mogul, gee that's a great contribution). There are no top notch universities in Las Vegas (don't tell me UNLV). There are no great museums, zoos, arboretums, parks, cultural attractions with history, etc. Las Vegas has no significant history before crime bosses capitalized on legalized gambling in the 1940s and 1950s. Las Vegas has no professional sports teams. Las Vegas is known as Sin City (and America seems to want to keep it isolated to LV and Nevada, that sounds real "influential" to me). Sure Las Vegas has more tourists and hotel rooms than anywhere else in America, but that doesn't mean it's influential.
And regarding shows set or shot in LV: Pawn Stars, World Poker/Celebrity Poker, Real World, CSI, Cops, American Casino, Criss Angel, the Casino, High Stakes Poker, Las Vegas, Vega$, and other crime or gambling related shows it completely makes sense.
Films are also set and/or shot in Vegas because LV provides an exciting crime oriented or hedonistic setting that draws viewers and Vegas is so convenient to studios in LA. This is an easy one. Nobody nowadays wants to watch a film about Standard Oil or Betsy Ross or the growth of railroads via Andrew Carnegie, etc, including me. I would much rather watch a crime movie or comedy set in Vegas, duh. That doesn't make the city influential on the rest of American life. Vegas is an escape from American life.
I'm not arguing for Vegas being more influential overall than other cities, I just think nobody can deny it's the most famous out of the list. Seriously, there are alot of cities that are really well known in America but not well known outside it.
I myself can't understand how LV has been growing so fast, but I'm guessing it's due to the employment opportunities the tourism/gambling industry generates.
Employment in Vegas is in the toilet, everything there is too leveraged, and the list wasn't about being famous. Talking about fame can really be considered a hijack imo; keeping it on topic, it should be discussed contributions and influence by the metros and not how many crazy tourists from around the country or world the city has. Sorry to be harsh, but this could be a good discussion and most of the thread has been Orlando vs Las Vegas for all the irrelevant reasons.
Some of the cities on the list (namely the ones I mentioned earlier) are so neck and neck in my opinion that I really can't make up my mind on which is the most influential. San Jose is pretty darn influential nowadays, too (but I can't help but think that with all of the other Tech centers the country looks to multiple places now and can survive without San Jose).
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,054,732 times
Reputation: 11862
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsimms3
Employment in Vegas is in the toilet, everything there is too leveraged, and the list wasn't about being famous. Talking about fame can really be considered a hijack imo; keeping it on topic, it should be discussed contributions and influence by the metros and not how many crazy tourists from around the country or world the city has. Sorry to be harsh, but this could be a good discussion and most of the thread has been Orlando vs Las Vegas for all the irrelevant reasons.
Some of the cities on the list (namely the ones I mentioned earlier) are so neck and neck in my opinion that I really can't make up my mind on which is the most influential. San Jose is pretty darn influential nowadays, too (but I can't help but think that with all of the other Tech centers the country looks to multiple places now and can survive without San Jose).
Yeah they're influential in such different ways it's hard to make a comparison. I'm surprised by how close they are. I find it interesting to compare a city's population with it's stature and influence. None of these cities stands out head and shoulders above the rest...maybe Tampa is the one that lags behind in influence? It's got lots of people but isn't it really a giant playground for old people?
I thought Denver had a metro of over 3 million but I just took this list from wikipedia...
I think Las Vegas is known pretty much universally, while ALOT of non-Americans even in places like Australia don't even know Orlando.
I highly doubt that. How can you say that the most visited location in the United States of America isn't as well known as the runner up?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsimms3
Ok, let's solve the idiotic Orlando-Las Vegas debate here. Las Vegas has more visitors and more hotel rooms than Orlando, but is not as internationally known..
I'm all for ending the debate but not with false information. You are correct about hotel rooms, but not number of visitors. Orlando easily trumps Vegas as a tourist destination, sorry!
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,054,732 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OrlFlaUsa
I highly doubt that. How can you say that the most visited location in the United States of America isn't as well known as the runner up?
I'm all for ending the debate but not with false information. You are correct about hotel rooms, but not number of visitors. Orlando easily trumps Vegas as a tourist destination, sorry!
More overseas tourists visit Orlando than NYC, so I'm told, but I'm pretty NYC is also far more famous than Orlando.
More overseas tourists visit Orlando than NYC, so I'm told, but I'm pretty NYC is also far more famous than Orlando.
To answer your question in short, while Las Vegas isn't the best on the list or the most powerful. I would imagine that being Denver, it is the best known to the world.
I see you live in Australia and read in a thread I was just in that you haven't been in the USA before. You're a perfect person to answer the question you asked. Do you hear more of Las Vegas or Orlando in Perth?
Las Vegas has had countless movies made of it, including Sin City, Hangover, and other very popular films. To even say Orlando comes close is a joke in itself.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,054,732 times
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^ Yeah exactly, Las Vegas is a household name...Movies, songs, novels...
'Viva Las Vegas,' 'Leaving Las Vegas', 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', the show' Las Vegas', 'CSI' countless references in films and sit-coms.
I seldom hear Orlando even MENTIONED on TV. Most people don't even know what city DisneyWorld is in.
I'm not bashing Orlando, I'm sure it has it's charms, and I don't worship Vegas but it's far and away the more internationally known/recognised.
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