Cheer up, Nevada — a survey by travel website Gohop.ie has revealed that Las Vegas is the number one preferred destination of Irish citizens, even if money wasn’t a consideration in picking a vacation spot. Of course, with the Irish economy currently being only a notch or two above, say, Bangladesh, money is a very real consideration for would-be Irish travelers. But at least it suggests that even with Las Vegas’ own economy being dubbed the worst in the nation, Sin City has yet to lose its worldwide allure.
So if the Irish did come to Vegas, what would they want to check out? Obviously, the newly opened Cosmopolitan might garner a few curious looky-loos. But will the Cosmopolitan be able to weather the economic storm? The last resort hotel to open in Vegas, CityCenter, never got around to finishing its Harmon hotel complex, and may actually implode the thing rather than let rats take up permanent residence where tourists were expected to rest their drunken heads.
If the Cosmopolitan doesn’t survive, at least bits of it might enjoy an alternate form of immortality in Las Vegas’ Neon Boneyard. First opened in 1996, the ‘Yard features iconic signs and remnants of former Vegas landmarks, including the Stardust, Aladdin, various wedding chapels and the entire shell-shaped lobby of the 1960’s-era La Concha Motel (which had to be carved into eight segments for transport to the ‘Yard).
While the site has been open to visitors in the know for 15 years, there are plans to open an official museum and public park in 2011. So even if the Cosmopolitan did become a casualty of the harsh economic climate, some part of has a long and promising future in the Boneyard.
