Maybe it's some kind of ectoplasmic spillover from the let-it-all hang out hedonism promised by the Vegas brand - or maybe it's a testament to the personalities who built that image - but power doesn't exactly try to speak softly in Nevada. Oh no. This is a brash, brassy, big-stick, kinda place. Steve Wynn rails against Obama's economic policies during investor conference calls. Sheldon Adelson dashes off eye-poppingly fat checks to political causes and has developed a curious side hobby of fulminating against online gambling whenever a mic is nearby. Gaming and mining juggernauts mobilize instant armies any time the words "tax" and "education" get muttered in the same breath. Meanwhile, Tony Hsieh shouts with his wallet - and downtown is his sounding board...
The Power Circle of Downtown - Enlarge
The Power Circle of Gaming - Enlarge
The Power Circle of Politics - Enlarge