The Other Side Of Vegas: Songs About The Less Glamorous Casinos

New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Las Vegas is probably the first association that comes to mind when people think about casinos. They think about expensive cars, glitter of diamonds, tuxedos, and the dizzying sound of coins. Moreover, Sin City is often equal to expensive and luxurious gambling venues where you can both win thousands of dollars as well as lose everything.

Such tracks as Walking Up In Vegas by Katy Perry or Love in Las Vegas The Residency by John Legend are examples of glorifying the luxuries of Sin City. At the same time, many songs describe Las Vegas from the other side - as a place with budget casinos and entertainment that everyone can afford. This article aims to review these songs in detail.

Setting the Scene: The Less Glamorous Side of Vegas

The difference between high-end and budget-friendly casinos is quite apparent. Glamorous venues. They offer more services, high-tech games, and many opportunities to spend money. The service level is usually very high. Here, you can spin reels or place a significant bet on roulette, have dinner in an expensive restaurant, visit a cigar room, or even swim in the pool. 

At the same time, budget casinos have a somewhat more modest service and perhaps a smaller selection of games, internal bonuses, cheap amenities, etc. As a good example, you can easily play with $50 after a $10 deposit and experience some great casino experience. At the same time, expensive casinos often can not boast the same friendly atmosphere as more affordable venues. 

In such Vegas establishments, you can feel the Wild West vibe in the 30xx years when gambling was only legalized in Nevada. These differences can be heard in songs and especially seen in video clips. There are always shiny suits, limousines, diamonds, and so on in songs about luxurious casinos. They create an atmosphere of exclusivity for the rich. 

At the same time, the song about budget-friendly casinos often describes ordinary people who can come and test their luck. Such songs are often about the spirit of freedom and equal opportunities.

Song Analysis

Here is the list of the most popular songs dedicated to budget-friendly casinos. Though they are well-known in mass culture, not everyone understands their true messages.

"Viva Las Vegas" by Elvis Presley

It makes sense to start with the song that, in contrast, describes the glamorous side of Sin City life. Viva Las Vegas is one of the most popular songs performed by the king of rock-n-roll in 1964 in the same-named movie. 

The song describes almost all the cliches of an expensive gambling lifestyle, including a lot of money, as well as a variety of games to spend them on, including roulette, blackjack, or poker. Elvis sings about how expensive casinos can turn day into night and vice versa and that once you've experienced it, you'll never be the same.

"The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers

This song is definitely not about luxury venues and glistering diamonds. In this song, Kenny Rogers describes a meeting between a singer and an experienced gambler who has seen a lot in his life. On casino examples, he shares life's wisdom and teaches her when it is better to hold on and when to fold and walk away. 

Using poker examples, he shows the importance of our choices and their consequences. The song captures the essence of life's uncertainty and reminds us of our power to shape our destinies.

"Atlantic City" by Bruce Springsteen

In general, the song "Atlantic City" is characterized by a fairly gloomy atmosphere. The main hero decides to visit a casino with his girlfriend to win cash and improve their financial situation. During the play, an unknown person approaches him and offers some cash for doing a crime. The main hero agrees, and this leads him into a dangerous world. 

But he doesn't do it out of greed or malice. The song's chorus, "Everything dies, baby that's a fact / but maybe everything that dies someday comes back," shows that everything in life is transient. But it also highlights the idea that it is important to fight to the end.

"Tumbling Dice" by The Rolling Stones

This song describes the opposite side of the glamorous gambling life. This song is about a lonely gambler and his relationships with women. He cannot be faithful to one woman. The song also describes the transience of life and the pain of lost love. 

So, the main character becomes a lonely shooter who tests his luck every night. The song's very name reflects life's unpredictability by comparing it with rolling dice.

"Poker Face" by Lady Gaga

In this song, the author uses the poker face metaphor to describe the main character's feelings. In this song, Lady Gaga hides her true feelings from the outside world, including her bisexuality. 

This can be explained by the fact that Lady Gaga was at the dawn of her career at the time of the song's release. Thus, such a closed status also had a fairly practical purpose. She simply did not know how a frank statement could affect her career.

The Cultural Impact of These Songs

All songs described above are top examples of when art is firmly embedded in mass culture and how it can change people's perceptions. Now, it can be stated that it has been a rather long time since those songs were released and how often they have been used in different aspects of mass culture. 

For example, Viva Las Vegas is often considered an anthem of Sin City and gambling in general. Often, land-based casinos use these songs to influence and tune their visitors to the right mood and evoke pleasant associations. All songs except the first one describe various aspects of gambling but obviously do not have its luxurious side. 

Here, gambling is used rather as a tool for a clear and powerful message about relationships, struggle with difficulties, love, and so on. They help create a realistic view not only of gambling but also of life in general.

The Reality Behind the Music 

The special value of these songs is that their authors are directly related to gambling. Like Drake, who spends millions and even cooperates with some brands. They have experienced not only positive emotions and thrills of big wins but also serious losses. 

That is why they can use this theme effectively to describe such important and, at the same time, difficult topics as lost love, crime for the sake of a loved one, searching for oneself, and so on. That gambling experience helps them sound believable and look 100% harmonious in the images they demonstrate and sing about.

Conclusion

As you can see, music can be a powerful tool for creating images and impacting people's perception. It can be used to describe rich and glistering gambling life as well as a powerful tool to highlight important, even philosophical topics. 

The songs described above are perfect examples of this. They all have been etched in the minds of millions of people across the globe. In some cases, they have become almost synonymous to gambling life and the unpredictability of fate. 

But not all people understand the deeper messages related to love, the problems of making the right choice and its consequences, trust, and so on. That is why these songs are worth attention both as symbols of gambling and as examples that convey important, universal themes.