Vegas Vs. Los Angeles

Today, the L.A. Times displays an ominous portrait of Las Vegas juxtaposed against Los Angeles. It almost feels like the Times is sleeping with The Strip. After all, they have a blog dedicated to it. The article made me feel like L.A.'s economy is going to rumble and the city will be deserted. That means culture too:

Los Angeles also lost out on at least two popular Broadway shows. This year, billionaire hotel mogul Steve Wynn is leading the city's efforts to bring first-run Broadway productions to Vegas permanently.

Thanks to his exorbitant offers - $5 million for "Avenue Q" and $10 million for "Spamalot" - the shows won't tour the region, blacking out theaters in the L.A. area.

Of course, in the broader picture, none of this sense of panic is true. Los Angeles is already quite an astonishing city that is in an infancy of a wonderful flourish of things to come. Within the Culture industry, we are strong and only getting stronger. While City of L.A. Cultural Affairs Department may be seen as weak these days, other efforts in the works are on its way. Vegas' success can only help Los Angeles...especially when Vegas will be a suburb of L.A.