It’s a distressing measure of Las Vegas’ declining pop-cultural relevance that Catherine Price gets off exactly one inspired zinger at the city’s expense in her new book, 101 Places Not to See Before You Die. Luxor, she writes in the chapter devoted to Nevada, “combines the despair of an existential crisis with the ambiance of a parking garage.” Not bad! But the rest of Chapter 84 is all wan shots at atomic testing, Yucca Mountain and, uh, space aliens ...? Really? Time was, the city attracted world-class haters, your Tom Wolfes and A.A. Gills, writers of eloquent spleen. Now we get Price. Recession, indeed.