Need a Vegas quote? Consult Hal Rothman, author and UNLV history professor, a man who's become the go-to guy for Vegas vagaries. He's frequently quoted in The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Chicago Tribune, CBS Evening News, National Public Radio, Denver Post and of course the local press. Subject doesn't matter: Elvis, Michael Jackson, lap dances, political corruption, implosions, traffic, car dealership — pretty much any topic that thrusts Vegas into the news. Here's a sampling from 2003.
"Elvis bombed here when he was young, taut and ripped. He succeeded here when he was a blimp."
— From a December AP story about Michael Jackson's presence in Las Vegas.
"Traffic is in the eye of the beholder ... If I'm a country boy, if there's a car in front of me and a car behind me, I'm in traffic."
— From a November 9 Las Vegas Review-Journal story on traffic.
"You don't see people rushing off to see people do tricks with butterflies, do you?"
— From an October 5 Boston Globe and Chicago Tribune article about Roy Horn's neck.
"Las Vegas is a place where the past is truly prologue. We don't really care about the past. Preserving what we were yesterday is not as important as divining what we will be tomorrow."
— From an October 2 Boston Globe story about the coming demolition of the Glass Pool Inn.
"It's a cash cow for the Stephens Media Group" — a chain that owns the Review-Journal and dozens of other newspapers around the country —
"and they milk it dry. We don't get enough coverage (of all the important stories). It's not the individual people (in the newsroom), it's the philosophy of the organization."
— From an October 13 High Country News story about the understaffed, overworked Las Vegas Review-Journal.
"Las Vegas is so good at imitating reality that it's often better than the real thing. If you go to the Venetian, you don't have to worry about pigeon droppings, and when you go to the New York-style clubs, they're not pretentious and there aren't as many rules."
— From a March 9 New York Times story about the Las Vegas lounge scene.
"Indian casinos can easily replicate the entertainment options that Reno can offer. The only real benefit Reno has is that there are eight to 10 casino and entertainment options next to each other."
— From a July 7 Sacramento Business Journal story about the impact of tribal casinos on Nevada.
"A classic case of NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard). Water is a cover. The anti-growth message has not changed. What has changed is the reason for it."
— From a May 29 USA Today article about the potential impact of the drought on future development.
"Compared to most of the leadership in this valley, he's tremendous. ... He hasn't done anything, but he can't do anything. He has no resources. But he's floated a number of ideas and he's ratcheted up the discussion to a level than hasn't been done before."
— From an April 3 Review-Journal story regarding Oscar preparing for another term.
"If there is ever a place that is logical to have a 24-hour car dealership, it is here. ... That's because we're a three-shift town. We're a wide-open town."
— From a February 9 Review-Journal story on all-night auto sales.
"Beats me. I have no opinion on that subject."
— OK, we made this up, an affectionate tip of the newsman's hat to an always-reliable source.