Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

"New media" is often rightly maligned for being unable to devote the resources to chasing important stories that traditional media can. It's easy for anyone to listen to a quarterly conference call and offer their opinion on what the suits are doing wrong (or right). But how many local bloggers have the time and patience to sit through humdrum municipal hearings? Or the expertise and contacts to do hard-hitting investigative journalism?

Well, this new media explorer (and, full disclosure, Nevada Press Association (2nd place) award winner)wants to try his hand at the kind of serious news piece that one of our local dailies has been treating its online readers to. Since we've already covered the most dangerous intersections, the best free attractions, and the five unique pools on the Strip, I want to share with you a news story that is truly relevant and not at all content-free link-baiting: the letters of Las Vegas.

What are they, and what order are they in? Keep reading after the jump to learn the hard truth. Hey, if you're reading this from the TWHT main page, you'll only have to click once, not 15 times, so give it a shot. And if you came straight to the post page, you're already here, so enjoy as I use a technique made famous by ransom notes to reveal, in their full glory, the letters without which Las Vegas would be something else entirely.

L: Surprisingly, the 12th letter of the alphabet comes first for Las Vegas. What could this mean? Should you bet the farm on "12" next time you're at a roulette wheel?

A: But it's back to basics for the next letter, the first of the alphabet, proving Las Vegas will never get too far from its roots.

S: Next is an S, which can stand for lots of things. If you put a line through it, it represents money, which is something that is important in Vegas.

Then, a blank space, giving ample time for self-reflection, something that happens too rarely in Vegas.

V: Las Vegas picks up again with V. Which can stand for victory. Or vendetta. Or vermicelli.

E: I'd be that some of this has been consumed at Strip nightclubs. That's enough, apparently, to make it the second letter of the second word of Las Vegas.

G: A lot of casinos today are talking about going green. What they aren't telling you is that the problem is that guests aren't bringing enough green--the kind with pictures of statesmen on it--with them to town.

A: There is nothing new under the sun. What's old is new again. Yes, in Las Vegas there's a decided tendency towards recycling, whether it's lounge acts or promotional offers. It's appropriate, then, that Las Vegas finished up with some good, old-fashioned, recycling of letters.

S: And we finish with another S, which, again, can signify many things, including salubrious, salacious, and salsa, which, depending on your predilections, might be three ingredients for the perfect Vegas vacation.

Now that you know the letters of Las Vegas, your appreciation for the desert resort--and its hard-working local bloggers--will no doubt be enhanced.

And, if you're a real Vegas buff, it should be no problem at all to figure out where all of those letters came from.