“This town wasn’t built on winners.”

Only two months until I use my one way ticket to Las Vegas! I’ve been packing up, shipping things, and getting mentally prepared for the big move. In preparation, I recently asked my fiancé Scott what advice he would normally give to people who want to move to Las Vegas:

“I tell them that this town wasn’t built on winners.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, casinos don’t make money because people win.”
“Oh, I get it.”

When some people think about going to Las Vegas, they dream of hitting a progressive jackpot or a royal flush or a hot streak at blackjack. And for some of them, that wish can come true. When other people think of Vegas, they think of expensive restaurants to try and nightclubs with bottle service. It’s an expensive but truly memorable night out. Las Vegas is an amazing town for getting lost in, and then emerging with a smile on your face.

But it’s different if you live there. To survive as a local, you have to learn when to stop, when to say no, when to stay away. If you don’t, you could lose everything and go back to your old hometown poorer than when you left. “Some people come here and think they’re going to get rich,” my fiancé warns me. Few people do.

It takes self control to live in a 24 hour town. And it’s not just the many temptations of the famous Las Vegas strip. Slot machines are everywhere, including gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores and even the airport. The first time I saw a row of slot machines at a gas station, I was stunned. “Never play those ones,” Scott said, “they have the worst odds.” Despite that, there were two people sitting there playing the slots.

What I’ve been learning in my many visits to Las Vegas is that beyond the strip, it’s a town just like any other. It has schools and small businesses and homes and communities. It’s not a bunch of people who struck it rich on the strip who are living the high life.

So no, I will not be a jackpot winner. I won’t be partying every night. I won’t be hypnotized by the neon lights. My win will come from something much more important than that: my new married life in my new hometown.