There’s a lot that has and could be said about dating in Las Vegas. It’s a chaotic dance between lust and love, is often fueled by chance encounters and cheap booze, and is anything but predictable. And nowadays, ghosting, love bombing, breadcrumbing—the dating world’s newest lexicon of absurdities also plays a part in our desert city dating scene.

A former partner of mine summed it up perfectly in a text during my research: “It’s some sort of weird hellscape.”

At first, I thought he was being a bit dramatic, but honestly, I get it. There are plenty of circumstances that can make it feel like some sort of purgatory, but there’s still something real to be found if you’re willing to sift through the muck and have fun with it.

Whether you’re a hopeless romantic or a jaded cynic, the truth is, dating here can feel like a never-ending game of chance and the longer you play, the more you learn about what you want—or what you’re willing to settle for.

Enter Pamela Dylag and Abbie Renzema, two locals who’ve lived through the wreckage and the romance, and last year decided to channel their experiences into Desert Dating Diaries, a podcast that’s part confession, part therapy and entirely relatable.

With more than 20 episodes, they’re talking us through everything from rejection to dating after divorce. The hosts sat down with the Weekly to pinpoint what they find to be the most common challenges of dating in Sin City. 

What challenges come to mind when you think about dating in Vegas?

Pamela Dylag:Something we’ve talked about on the podcast before is that Vegas is a transient city. … For me, that’s been a challenge over the years.

Abbie Renzema: Also, some say that the people that they meet are only interested in partying and having a good time. It’s less of a serious town. …We don’t have those same, settle-down-and-get-married, traditional values that, for example, my small hometown has.

PD: Yeah, it’s not such a focus here. Also, something we’ve discussed—and maybe it’s because we’re focused on Downtown, and we have similar interests—is the overlap of dating.

AR: I’ve started dating someone and then found out after that they had a history with at least one of my friends, if not more.

PD: I don’t think we’ve had an overlap, though…

AE: Well, remember we had that one bad date with that one person.

PD: Oh, thank you for reminding me about that experience! Yeah, it was both of our worst first dates.

Does that overlap ever discourage you from dating in your usual Downtown art scene?

AR: I’m very diverse in the way that I date. I’ve used the apps, and especially in the last few years I’ve been very open to how I meet people, whether it be through friends or going out.

PD: When I was in my early 30s, I was more focused on dating an artist and dating a creative Downtown. Now in my 40s, it doesn’t matter to me what you do, it matters who you are and if our frequencies align.

What about differing schedules or career fields?

PD: My schedule is kind of all over the place. So I have noticed that for me, I can’t do a last-minute, on-a-whim date. I have to schedule it.

AR: I’ve dated people that have nine-to-fives. I’ve also had a boyfriend who was a chef and he worked weird hours. It has been more of a challenge for friends of mine that work a traditional 9-to-5. You know, if she has a busy week, she’s like “I can only go on a date Saturday night,” and if a guy can’t figure out a Saturday night to meet, they’re just never gonna go on a date.

PD: But then it’s like, you just align with the person that has a good schedule for you. That could be one of the aspects you’re looking for.

AR: I think a shared similar lifestyle is one of the most important things to have.

Are we dating the same guy?

Illustration by: Courtesy

The modern dating scene’s dopamine hits might feel like a fleeting high, but what happens when you match with someone who checks all the boxes? You meet up, right?

But before you send that, “Wanna grab coffee?” text, you might want to consult your local Are We Dating the Same Guy? Facebook group.

The group, which initially began in New York in 2022, has found its way here. With over 47,000 members, the Vegas group is a private crowdsourced haven of gossip and cautionary tales aimed to equip women seeking to date men in the Valley. Women from all walks of life gather to swap stories about guys they’ve dated, saving others from potential heartache—or worse.

Sure, it’s a space for venting about the local “weirdos,” heartbreakers and serial ghosters, and could be used to badmouth a partner to a bitter ex’s advantage. But it’s also an invaluable tool for safety, especially given our modern world of meeting strangers on apps. Are We Dating The Same Guy? provides a layer of communal vigilance as well as some great content for late-night doomscrolling. –Gabriela Rodriguez

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