Brien,

IMO Vegas already has an area dedicated to its roots and gambling, its called downtown and its not doing too well.

What I would do on the Strip is this. I would partner with a couple other major players. I would have the strip frontage as very small. Have each of the 5 partners have a Caesars or Mirage Style entrance from the strip where a moving sidewalk brought people into the casino and back to the strip. Have each casino property grow lenghtwise out from the expensive strip real estate. So what you have is a doorway on the strip that opens into another world going far off the strip. Then you can connect the properties in the middle to save someone from traveling back to the strip and then back into the neighboring property. Then I would have a grand entrance way off the strip that would be the front Desk area where the monorail would meet the property. If that happened, then I would be humming this song while exploring those properties. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/pureimag.htm

Back to your point. Well, that is what makes America great. People will good ideas can raise money and put their plan into place. Those ideas that aren't well thought out or poorly run, quickly close and are bought by better management.

I think what you see with Vegas is people trying to take the best things from all over the world and bring them to Vegas. I think they are building that 50 story ferris wheel near the Sahara aren't they? That is a big attraction in London I think.

Perhaps the biggest boon to Vegas will be the "almost free" energy in the future. As you know almost all energy that we have comes directly or indirectly from our sun. Once we harness solar power, energy will become almost free. Once power becomes almost free you can design very inefficient engines to travel at vast speeds at very low cost. Once you can get to Vegas from New York in say 20 mins for $20, then why go anywhere else but Vegas if gambling/entertainment is what you want. To get a good idea how that might work, just read the great Sci Fi writer, Robert Heinlein.

Byron returns to the real world,

Byron :)