“Since its emergence as the world’s gambling and neon Mecca in the 1950s, successive waves of astonished visitors have believed they have witnessed the ultimate excesses of Las Vegas’ resort district, that the boom and expansion of the city cannot go on. . . . And the resort district itself has consistently outdone itself to the point where in 1996 it is in a fascinating state of transition from an adult-oriented gambling centre employing neon lights, glamour and glittery showgirls to sell its wares, to a full-blown tourist destination offering sanitised sex, sin and all-round entertainment in an environment that is a hectic amalgam of theme park and multimedia, multi-sensory experience. In the 1990s, spectacle, performance and monumentally scaled, themed architecture are replacing neon as advertisement for the casinos.”

—Frances Anderton and John Chase, from Las Vegas: The Success of Excess, 1997.