A meeting of elite street level figures discusses 2016 on the street _ Photo by Royal Hopper
Two days before the New Year began a child of about 10-years old walked up to me while I was at work looked me squarely in the eye and stated out loud “You stink.”
After a few minutes of trying to covertly sniff my underarms to see if my deodorant was failing I realized something in this young child’s mind and experience had made me the symbol of his ” no good very bad” (Winnie the Pooh) 2016.
It says a lot about 2016
By Royal Hopper
It was a relatively safe New Years Eve by Las Vegas standards. No one was killed as a direct result of New Years activity in the City of Sin. They got drunk and ran off the road, they took to much medication and forgot that head butting cars would hurt, they forgot they were old and tried to do the twist all night long but New Year’s Eve itself didn’t do anything to them.
Las Vegas is a colorful place _ Photo by Royal Hopper
The Beetlemania band they listened as they remembered the old days likely werent even in first grade when the Beetles broke up. That didn’t stop one Baby Boomer from doing the twist like it was 1965 and this trendy new band from Liverpool was Rocking her world. Somehow she didnt fall over or pass out. She was an experienced drinker. She was an experienced everything as the vintage clothing she retreived from her closet and her knowing all the words to 50 -year old songs, even stoned, drunk showed.
A man and his dog _ Photo by Royal Hopper
Because of truoble in years gone by casinos tend to double up on security and local police go on high alert and go into the “Don’t you cause no trouble and there won’t be no trouble mode they are justly famous on infamous for.
This usually means trouble makers are faced with the stare of authority figures every time they make a move and must wait until after New Years to commit a crime. Which is often here.
As he left the place I was standing the young lady or man I was talking (I honestly could not tell) to, their face still lit with the rage of whatever pissed them off, stalked away secure in their clueless anger. 2016 was a lot like that youngster. Mean, loud and clueless and I for one am grateful it is gone. Take Care fellow Sinners. I love you guys.
This is the desert too _ Photo by Royal Hopper
A Few Facts:
By this time last year there had already been three murders http://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/feb/22/a-killing-every-46-hours-so-far-in-2016/ with 17 being logged by February of 2016.
More than 36 million people visited the City of Sin in 2016 paying an average of $126.00 and change for a night’s stay.
http://www.lvcva.com/includes/content/images/media/docs/ES-YTD-2016.pdf based on 2015 stats 47 percent came to the City of Sin for pleasure, 11 percent came to visit relatives, 10 percent said they came to gamble and 32 percent lied their asses off and refuse to press charges when the hooker rolled them because their wives and/or husbands were scary bitches who trained UFC and love shotguns. 
They spent an average of $578.00 and change and 67 percent of them were employed. Please tell me .. I mean. If you don’t have a job what are you doing in Las Vegas?
http://lasvegastourism.com/lasvegas_conventions.htm
9 percent of those 36 million visitors go to conventions . In my time I have seen Target shooting conventions, PH.D conventions, Anime conventions, black hat and white hat hacker conventions and a My Pretty Pony fan club convention… I kid you not……You haven’t seen anything until you have seen a grown man wearing pony ears, trying to look intimidating as he asked for directions ot the My Pretty Pony convention. I swear to you I didn’t giggle. Events on tap for this year include The World of Concrete, (I kid you not it is a huge convention) The Asian/American Business Association, The Sports Licensing and Talgate Association folks The Adult Entertainment Conventions (It means Porn genius)and the country’s car and acessories show CES that starts in a few days.
http://www.lasvegas.net/conventions-calendar/2017/1/
Thats life in the City of Sin
Have a great 2017 Sinners
Royal's Sin City Journal 