Once the city that never sleeps, Las Vegas now gets plenty of rest — it seems fewer bars and restaurants are open all night. As the witching hour shuts down, is Las Vegas losing something essential? We asked City Cast Las Vegas contributor and man about town Brent Holmes.
As someone who grew up in Las Vegas and later lived weird hours as an artist, what’s special about our city’s notorious accessibility and convenience around the clock?
“I can't imagine my schedule being (tied to), ‘Well, everything closes at 10,’ and no longer being able to have access to whatever odd, nefarious itch I have in the middle of the night. I need some Cap’n Crunch, it's 3 in the morning — I'm gonna go get me some Cap’n Crunch.”
It seems like a lot of places, like grocery stores, now have locks on their doors that they use! Can we even call ourselves 24/7 anymore?
“I don't think we really are. There's not the weird lounge act at 2 in the morning just killing it, right? They were really, like, This is my break, I'm playing Vegas. And they were really playing it. And that was the thing — there was this culture of entertainers getting off shift at 9 o'clock at night, and they would just pop from gig to gig, lounge to lounge, event to event, and hang out, play, drink, have a great time.”
Do you think we'll ever become a 24-hour city again?
“I hope so. I hope we're not headed the way of, you know, Albuquerque. I would like to see this city vibrant and strange at all hours. It's one of the most important things about our cultural identity — that this is a city that not just never sleeps, but never quits. We've always got something new for you, and it has a superb effect on the locals. There are people living their entire lives at night here. And it's really beautiful that way.”
