It is a clear night as continental United States passes below us. Far above the horizon at 39,000 feet, the terrain looks bleak, dirty, void of vegetation, mountainous, and uninhabitable.

Suddenly, from hundreds of miles away, rising from this desolate landscape like rays of hope, appears a concentration of blazing colour, marquee lights that never fade.

Welcome to Las Vegas, the city that never sleeps, always open for business!

The thought occurs that in order to pay those astronomical utility bills, operating a 24/7 schedule is a perquisite.

The second thing you notice is that there is nothing else there, nothing! Indeed to drive to Las Vegas from the California border takes three hours travel at high speed up through the San Fernando mountains and down into the desert of Death Valley.

Today, it is 105 degrees. The heat is so intense that mucous membranes surrounding the eyes and nose dry out, dry itchy skin patches appear overnight, the risk of severe sunburn is extreme, and yes, it is true, an egg can be fried on the sidewalk, as early as 9:00 am in the morning.

The humidity is non-existent, only 8%, but that benefit comes with a hefty price tag. The desert lacks water resources, yet use is incessant; water evaporates rapidly in this climate. While the Colorado River backed up at the Hoover dam is adequate; there will come a day when it may not be.

There are seldom clouds here in the thinner atmosphere of a 3,500-foot elevation above sea level. The sun rises instantaneously every day to a clear, clear blue sky. It bounces off the Black Pyramid Luxor hotel, for a brief half an hour turning the whole building into an immense ethereal golden dome, illusive with promises of riches for life.

But, those are dreams; in a town that has more magicians and magical acts per capita than anywhere in the world, everything is an illusion, except the business of making money, big money. On Las Vegas Boulevard, It is dark and tomblike inside the Pharaohs' second home, the Luxor, an embellishment meant to mimic the Egyptian culture of worship of the Dead.

I don't like it, coming from an island of bright, airy colours, high ceilings, and outdoor sea access. It is soon apparent that it isn't contrived decor because all of the gaming establishments emphasise dim lights, no windows, constant mood music to reinforce a sense of timelessness as day runs into night, Monday becomes Tuesday, then Wednesday.

Legendary gambling bouts are common. Another calculated effect of the muted lighting is that everyone looks younger and even the smallest diamonds worn sparkle as if a gift from the Gods.

You notice the noise, rolling calliope tunes coming in waves, the ching, ching, ching of the slot machines. Someone strikes it big, and an insistent alarm goes off, not stopping until the 'big cash' is paid out. Slot machines are hypnotic; they play monotonous tonal tunes that are perpetual. And they are everywhere, everywhere but rest rooms, soon they'll hand you a Palm Pilot for use even there.

We stop at a small grocery store, hidden in one corner are four slot machines, two of them being played by an incredibly ancient looking lady in a wheelchair, still looking for the pot of gold. Chronic gamblers as with every addiction spend paycheques, rent, food money, spare change, hoping, hoping. The Bellagio, once the crown jewel of Mr. Steve Wynn's real estate empire won now by Kirk Kervorkian in the ultimate gambling game, has an exquisite sparkling lobby; the ceiling is a massive flower bed of thousands of hand-blown glass blossoms, stands adjacent to the indoor atrium.

Classic refined touches are everywhere from the old-style grand piano bar to the laundered embroidered towels in the restrooms, and Mr. Wynn's collection of Masterpieces in Art, presumably left behind in the takeover. Taste and trash mingle together as the sight seekers with chainlink tattoos, leather pants and belly button pins gawk at delicate ladies dressed in Armani and Prado while carrying, what else, Gucci bags. Only in America. Money is a great equaliser.

In spite of the very clean surface imagery, there is an undercurrent to this town. The local paper seems to report little in the way of large-scale crime, but security guards in the hotels carry guns. Las Vegas police department has a large mountain bike division that patrol parking garages, and pedestrian throughways. From their subtle presence, one gets the sense that 'incidents' are handled quietly, quickly and efficiently.

There were no panhandlers observed on 'The Strip' - Las Vegas Boulevard, either, although the homeless are present, just not visible. Current City government talk is of raising real estate property taxes to fund construction of a tent city to house them. It is pretty obvious that gaming and entertainment are the only tourist businesses here; adverse publicity is not tolerated.

Why write about Las Vegas you may ask? Two reasons. Recent polls of US citizens close to retirement indicate that they know they have not saved for this momentous step in their lives; but they still hold out hope that their investments will return 18-20% over the next few years, failing that, they will win the lottery. Seldom is it mentioned that they may need to knuckle down and save more now. It is far easier (and more fun in some ways) to pile coins into a slot machine or hit the black jack table, because the feeling is that 'this time you will beat the house!' Bermudians have made their way here, to experience and to gamble.

The second reason is obvious; Las Vegas is a tourist town. Every year, millions of visitors come from all over the world to Las Vegas.

The image of the average visitor has changed, too, more families; even with babies make the excursion. All day and all night the massive crowds swirl and ebb from sidewalk to hotels, riding the amusements, seeing the shows, better than Broadway, in many cases. Entertainment of the customer is the number one priority and concern.

And all stops are pulled out, to ensure that the visitor has a wonderful experience! Next week we talk about real estate construction, employment, the Las Vegas lifestyle, and the filterdown effect of a successful resort town.