Las Vegas. Glamour. Opulence. Hope. Those are usually the associations the name of the world’s most famous desert city gives rise to. But then there’re others… Falsity. Bankruptcy. Disillusionment. And though some might argue – and I’m one of them – that when it comes to casino games, it’s all in the hands of the player, meaning nobody could trick you into playing longer and potentially losing more than what you have set for yourself, you can’t really argue with the facts that Las Vegas and its renowned Strip are based upon and proudly feature a fake image, an empty shell, an imitation. But Las Vegas is, indeed, more than that. It is what postmodern theory would call a simulacrum, because it doesn’t simply copy reality, it copies it and then replaces it with its copy.

For example, I caught an episode of some sitcom on TV a while ago that portrayed a woman who was desperate on her 25th birthday because some ten years earlier her mother had promised to take her to New York, Paris and Venice but then unexpectedly died. The protagonist was heartbroken – not only could she not share this experience with her Mom but she couldn’t afford to visit those places at all. Her friends took her on a road trip to Las Vegas where they helpfully pointed New York, Paris and Venice from the window of her hotel room. Ironically, she accepted the copies for a fair trade-off for the real sights in Europe.

But what about Las Vegas as a Disney World for grown-ups? The parallels are quite a few and easy to spot. I’ve actually divided them into three main groups, so here they are in no particular order.

It’s Out of This World

While the Walt Disney amusement park complex materializes the world a child might want to dwell in, the City of Lights extends the same offer but for adults. The wealth and the glamour, the sex, the drugs, the alcohol, and even the free rides in the form of free drinks, free accommodation, etc. perks – it’s all there for everyone’s taking and it seems so easy to get that it’s too tempting not to do it.

It’s All about Pleasure

Not only kids feel carefree in Disney World. Grown-ups feel as if they’re kids once again. Moreover, anything is possible and everything is centered around getting instant gratification. The same goes for Las Vegas. Forget about making it everywhere if you can make it in New York. Sin City has a much better and way more memorable slogan – What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. That means you’re obliged to have a great time and do whatever you please because you’re surely going to get away with it.

It’s Better than the Real World

Because of everything I’ve mentioned already, Las Vegas seems not just an escape fantasy for a holiday, honeymoon or a couple of days but rather an all-around better version of the real world. There have been many films dedicated to human beings falling prey to their basic instincts and allowing the City of Lights to ruin them. I’m not saying that gambling is bad – not at all – but one should really fight the urge to succumb to this utopia.