Beginning of Essay
Hell is expensive. This is my first thought as my plane lands in Las Vegas. The Luxor hotel's glass pyramid seems dangerously close to the runway's edge, as do its chocolate-and-gold sphinx and rows of shaved palms. I wonder if these rooms tremble when jets land. ....

Middle of Essay
.... expansion, yet the most talked-about suicides -- those of tourists leaping from hotel balconies after losing everything they had -- are dangerous myths for a city poised to become America's newest economic icon. In fact, tourists taking their own lives surrounded by the glamour of the Strip comprise only a small percentage of the fatalities. The bulk are those who moved here for jobs, who live just beyond the lights. Eight times as many residents kill themselves here as do visitors. Second, I am told that in Las Vegas I will feel more alive. Anything can be had here; this is the last place before the millennium where real money can be made. ....