As the Las Vegas strip continues to struggle to keep up with the huge growth of Macau, American business owners are working hard to come up with new and exciting draws to the city. One solution is the creation of a new themed casino, which will feature a British theme. The proposed Ye Olde England Casino in Las Vegas will bring a little piece of Britain to the Las Vegas Strip.
The casino will feature restaurants that serve English fare, such as fish and chips, steak and kidney pie, and bangers and mash. According to The Mirror, refreshment booths will be shaped like black cabs and the cocktail waitresses will wear bobby helmets. The British are some of the most frequent visitors to Las Vegas, as over 450 000 English tourists have visited the city this year.
So, it makes sense that a casino would be built to cater to their culture. “It’s been a while coming, but so many of our visitors are from the UK this can only be a good opportunity” says Sandy Martinez, a Las Vegas councillor. “Everyone loves your Royal Family and the polite nature of the people, so this is a project which is way overdue. Many other nationalities are already represented here”.
However, we must wonder how successful this will be. Tourists from any country are unlikely to be interested in visiting a resort abroad that is based on their home nation – especially if it is full of caricatures of their culture. The reason tourists visit other countries is because they want to see the world. Do tourists from Italy want to stay at the Venetian? Are Parisian tourists interested in staying at Paris Las Vegas?
If anything, the resort would be more popular among Americans who have never visited England and want a taste of British life.