Rex J. Rowley, author of "Everyday Las Vegas"
John L. Smith, columnist, Las Vegas Review-Journal
James P. Reza, "Ask a Native" columnist, Las Vegas Seven
BY MARIE ANDRUSEWICZ -- When speaking of certain city dwellers, the term “local” is often used pejoratively (as in yokel).
Rex Rowley, author of “Everyday Las Vegas” grew up in Sin City, where he says the native vs. tourist divide is especially stark, and the word "local" is used frequently. But it doesn’t have the same negative connotation as it does in other tourist hubs.
“Why is that word used more in Las Vegas than in Orlando or D.C., where there are also outsiders living there?” asks Rowley. He thinks it's because of the gambing, the glitz, and other factors that make the city "special."
“Las Vegas has a sense of normalcy, but it’s kind of on steroids,” he says.
He also points out that Las Vegas has always and only been a tourist town.
“Orlando was a city, maybe not a big city or a great one, before it became Disney,” says Rowley. But he says, Las Vegas was always a city for visitors so the local vs. tourists distinction is just ingrained. “The gaming culture is what put Vegas on the map to begin with.”