LAS VEGAS VERSUS HONOLULU

Just noticed I passed a quarter million people visiting this site...and from 203 countries.  Next, a million from 246 Google entities.

By the way, as depressed as the Las Vegas economy might be, on this Friday, a day when people fly into the city, the outgoing mob this morning was enormous.  The economy line was especially huge.  At least I had the benefit of premium check-in.  Then, getting to the D gates was trying, for at one point, there were two lines, each at least a quarter mile long, waiting to get through the security process.  The line moved quickly, but give yourself at least another hour than normally when you leave Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is known as the ninth island of Hawaii, and, in fact, has as many people from Hawaii living here as the population of Kauai (65,000), and this figure could be as large as 100,000.  Supposedly, a third to half a million from the 50th State visit this city annually.  All these figures are debatable, but the first number is called a myth because the latest census showed only 12,000-30,000 living in Clark Country are Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.  If you count just these two ethnic groups in Hawaii, they would only represent 10% the State Population.  Thus, including Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, mixed races, etc., from Hawaii, the total could well exceed 100,000 "Hawaiians" in Vegas.  

In any case, I see more people from Hawaii at the California Hotel than I ever see in Honolulu.  I meet more old friends here than at home.

What most don't know is that Honolulu has almost twice the population of Las Vegas (about a million versus just under 600,000), but the metropolitan area of this City of Sin has quite a bit more people than all of Hawaii (2 million versus 1.4 million).  Las Vegas has five times more tourists visiting annually than Hawaii (39 million versus 7.7  million).

Here is, clearly, one difference between our two cities.  The summertime average high temperature for June in Las Vegas is 100 F, July 106 F, August 103 F and September 95 F.  The temperature will approach 100 F today, and it is not even mid-May.  The all-time high was 117 F in 1942.  It only reached 112 F last year.  Honolulu rarely exceeds 90 F.  The average Vegas low in December and January is a chilly 34 F.  Honolulu did dip to 47 F in 1932, but the average "winter" low is 65 and summer high is 88.

Want to buy a lottery ticket?  Can't in Nevada, nor Hawaii.  However, you can drive about 45 minutes to Primm, at the border with California, and purchase tickets.  Gambling is illegal in Hawaii (and Utah), but is the major industry of Nevada.

Want to come to LV for a job?  The unemployment rate is 12.1% (Reno-Sparks at 12%), with 5.7% for Honolulu.  The economy of Nevada is lousy, but if you walk around the Strip casinos, there are more people and a lot more vitality than Waikiki.  Remember that large Hilton next to the convention center?  It is no longer a Hilton, and suffering.  Starwood pulled out of Planet Hollywood.  Over the years at least 20 casino hotels have closed.  Worse, something close to 35 exciting future projects have been cancelled and are presumed dead, just one example being the 5,000 unit, $5 billion, tallest building the West, Crown Las Vegas (right).

I guess the larger problem then is that construction has virtually ceased.  The problem?  Too much competition.  At one time Las Vegas dominated the world.  Today, it represents less than 10% of all gaming revenues.

While my sense of muggings seemed to have dropped, downtown LV certainly looks tired and empty.  While Last Vegas is #9 in the list of most dangerous American cities, Henderson is ranked by Forbes as the second safest city, next to Plano, Texas.  Honolulu, by the way, is the #3 safest city.  The five most dangerous cities are Detroit, Memphis, Springfield (Illinois), Flint and Anchorage, yes Anchorage.

But the PR for Vegas is continuing, as you read that downtown has become hip and livable.    Dreams, of course, are always in abundance, and Las Vegas has larger dreams than Hawaii.

-