This is the second in a two-part series on Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the world.

Bermudians are not unique in leveraging real estate to live the high life elsewhere. Real estate values in the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles rival the cost of a home on the Rock.

An estimated 650,000 people moved to Nevada last year; the population of Las Vegas stands at 3 million. Many were retirees or residents of California who capitalised on inflated real estate values, sold out, moved on to Las Vegas and got themselves a fun second job at a casino. In Nevada, the living is cheap; utility bills are subsidised by the casino profits, and the draw of legitimate gambling is the lifeblood of the state.

Good fortune does not last forever, though, and real estate values in Nevada are starting to appreciate too; not much comfort to those considering the lifestyle change. The city of Las Vegas would like to expand its borders, but there is a small problem of additional land availability; the United States Federal Government owns 90 percent of the state of Nevada, which also means control over land allocations, environmental use, and most recent and controversial, the plan to relocate all nuclear waste to Nevada. Las Vegas is a hot spot, getting hotter!

You notice many other things about the city of Las Vegas. There is low or no unemployment and second jobs are common. The money earned in the service industry can be quite good when the town in booming, and the locals say that those who are not employed do not have the wherewithal to be employed due to addictions to gambling, drugs and other substance abuse. This city is remote and is no easier to get to than Bermuda in some ways. The airport is less than 5 miles from the `strip', large jumbo jets pass over the highway so close to your car that it appears a plane haircut is inevitable.

After September 11, the town went dormant; if visitors could not drive to get there, they did not go. For once, the odds of survival seemed worse than the odds of gambling and winning. More than 30,000 hotel workers instantaneously lost their jobs and many were not hired back until the spring of this year, and some still are out of work. No job means no health insurance, and no other benefits, and in an economy directly tied to the tourist industry, there is little recourse. June through September are their busiest months. Occupancy is at full strength in some hotels, but others stand at about 45 percent occupancy. One bartender stated the crowds were just not there, and the calibre of clientele has changed. People are watching their spending more carefully.

Because it is the experience that Las Vegas wants you to have, the combined efforts of major hotel marketing are clear everywhere. Americans, as a whole, are becoming bigger, heavier, and less interested in exercise yet every visitor wants to see the entire strip of casinos on Las Vegas Boulevard, and where no fewer than 70 big name shows may be appearing at any one time. Many of the hotels are linked by free train service and internal air-conditioned moving walkways. Little Rascals (electronic tricycles for big people) and small electric cars similar to those being tested in Bermuda, can be rented for those unable (or unwilling) to walk. Traffic jams on sidewalks rival those in cars, as Rascals driven by aggressive individuals almost take out those two-legged types walking in their way.

This is the land of plenty. Every hotel offers an almost 24 hour per day all-you-can-eat buffet room. It is amazing to see the amounts of food that people can consume when given the chance. It is equally amazing to see the waste, entire dinners left after sampling or completely untouched, simply because there really is a limit to how much we can eat at one sitting. It is no wonder that poorer nations literally despise the affluent western culture. What a dichotomy it is to hear the latest Congressional proposal in the United States on how to control the growing problem of obesity; why tax the foods that make you put on weight? Now there is the making of another huge Government bureaucracy, those who would monitor our food intake. Only in America.

There are many immigrants (some legal and illegal) here seeking the dream of a new future. They are willing to perform the jobs that no one else wants to do; even these are infinitely preferable to a near starvation existence south of the border. The illegal immigrant population victimises itself because they have no rights, not to vote, not to bank, not to own a home, not to protect themselves. Consequently, because they must carry all of their cash savings with them (or hide it in the proverbial hole in the ground), they are easy prey for those with criminal intent.

Some very interesting statistics about Las Vegas. There are only two million inhabitants in Nevada, yet, 75% of them live in Las Vegas. In 2001, not its best year, 35 million visitors came here and spent in excess of $39 billion, of which only $7.5 billion went into gambling. That works out to approximately $1,050 dollars per person, only $215 of which was gambled away. The hotels had an 85 percent occupancy - down five percent from year 2000. Conventions alone brought in in excess of $4 billion. The town is making money and the economy is still booming.

Love it or hate it, Las Vegas knows how to market the entire tourist experience, time and time again. After all 35 million visitors can't be wrong.

@EDITRULE:

Martha Harris Myron CPA CFPT is a Bermudian, a Certified Financial PlannerT (US license) practitioner and VP and Manager, Financial Planning, Bank of Bermuda. She holds a NASD Series 7 licence and is a former US tax practitioner. Confidential e-mail can be directed to marthamyronnorthrock.bm

Under no circumstances is this advice to be taken as a recommendation to buy or sell investment products or as a promotion for financial plans.