Las Vegas, the Universe

Las Vegas? What, a world unto itself?
Nay! It is a sprawling universe
Where each casino planet spins its wealth
Played to the Music of the Bettor’s Curse,
Where though the dress be foreign and the air
Be dear there is compatibility:
The dollars making up the gambler’s dare
All drop away in black hole gravity,
These worlds endeavor to create facades
Promoting differences because they fear
Ex-patriots on outbound promenades
Who chance long blocks the measure of light years,
Their aim: to make it none the easier
To render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.

Ernest Cardenas

June 2000