Yep, used to be if you were lucky you could get a job at the Kher McGee (sp) plant just outside of town. Otherwise a young fella worked the conventions like a roadie, or mowed a lot of lawns, or dug ditches for the new cable service going in all over, at least that was Vegas for me in the 80's baby.

I won a free week at the Luxor right after it opened back in 93-94. That was a hoot. I don't gamble, but that place and the Excaliber and the old new MGM (when the big orthagonal lion's head was still outside the main entrance) were all a series of amusement parks it seemed. You could go on rides and stuff all day, then go catch a show at night. In between you could go get stuffed at the buffet.

I do miss the old 99 cent breakfasts while heading into town from Henderson, and the $6.00 prime rib buffet, and the 99 cent shrimp cocktails, and the free drinks if you were dropping quarters or better in the slots (okay, maybe not so free after all). At least you could eat well if you had some pocket change.

In Vegas you can still pack heat, so I guess that does improve it some over other places, like NYC, or DC.