Heaven or Las Vegas

I dreamt about casinos every night I was in Vegas. Does that happen to other people I wonder? Do hardcore gamblers dream about three lucky 7s flashing across the slots? While my dreams often involve complicated plots or scenarios with familiar people doing unexpected things, I have never dreamed so consistently about one place for three nights in a row. Each night once I closed my eyes I couldn't escape the casino's bright flashing lights and the incessant ringing of the slots. Sometimes I stood still, just observing everything around me. And in other dreams I was actively moving-- even at one point running-- through them, like on a treasure hunt, eagerly awaiting what lay around each corner.

Though I hadn't heard the Cocteau Twins song 'Heaven or Las Vegas' in about five years I kept thinking about its title while there. It seems like Las Vegas could be a type of heaven for some people-- people who can't sleep, or who are lonely, or who like to see different places without leaving the confines of one street, or who like the juxtaposition of crowds and a city with the quiet and solitude of the desert. On Sunday night we were driving down the strip and amidst a break in all the hotels I saw some mountains, outlined purple against the fading and quickly darkening sky. C. reminded us that Las Vegas really is a sort of mirage, this grandiose human-made place amidst the enchantment of the desert. It's easy to forget the desert is out there when there are so many fountain shows and fire shows and pirate shows and mock Eiffel Towers and Statues of Liberty and blackjack tables with white haired dealers who were working in Vegas when Elvis used to perform there to distract you. But the desert gives something unique to Vegas-- not just the air and the dryness but the feeling that you could blink and like a mirage, it could all disappear.