Las Vegas is apparently a great city to visit.  I would never want to live there , but it’s one of those places I’ll put on my list of “places to experience.”  Notice how I say “experience” and not “see.”  If traveling has taught me nothing else, it’s that travelers go to experience places and tourist go to see a place.  Vegas isn’t  in the same league as places like Paris or Athens, but Vegas has soul and I love cities with soul.

That being said, what makes Vegas such a gem is the fact that it’s a place where ordinary people visit with the specific goal of going crazy.  And that sound sounds like the perfect recipe for an “experience.”  Think of the great movie, “The Hangover.”  Where else could such a movie be based?  Not to many: gambling is legal and highly suggested, you can get married at a drive through wedding chapel (that’s totally the American Way), and last time I checked, Las Vegas consumes almost as much shrimp per day than the rest of the United States combined even though it’s roughly 275 miles from the nearest ocean.  If that’s not the iconic American Experience in a nutshell, what is?

But with such a recipe, does that mean people really go crazy in Vegas?  I’ve got my doubts and in the spirit of America, that’s a gamble I would be more than willing to make…

INTRODUCING

THE LAS VEGAS BAIL INSURANCE THEORY:

How Insuring Tourist against Bail may be the Best Odds in Vegas!

Yes, you read that right.  You are not going crazy.  The basic idea of the theory is that people generally say they are going to go crazy in Vegas, but in fact don’t.  And I personally think it’s the best bet in Vegas outside of owning a casino.

According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the city’s police force makes around 75,000 adult arrest per year for what the FBI classifies as Part 2 offenses ( everything that’s not: murder, negligent and non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, burglary, aggravated and non-aggravated assault, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson).  So basically the Part 2 offenses are stuff that tourist are generally going to be arrested for and if you are tourist and get arrested for a Part 1 crime…  I’m pretty sure that bail is the least of your worries.

So that leaves 75,000 arrests for the roughly 36,500,0000 visitors Vegas saw in 2009 plus the 500,000 residents of the city.  So for convenience, let’s combine those and say Vegas host 37,000,000 individuals per year.  Do a little simple math and that’s 1 arrest per 493 people.  That’s not bad sounding.  But how does that compare to the US Average?

Well thankfully the FBI keeps great records on crime statistics and according to their estimate, American law enforcement personnel made 11,377,221 Part 2 arrest during 2009.  And as the total US Population is estimated at roughly 300,000,000 (and that’s including the under 18 crew)…  Do the math and that comes out to be roughly 1 arrest per 26 people!  That’s a huge difference between the Las Vegas average and US National average.  And I highly doubt the under 18 crew is really getting arrested at a rate great enough to cause such a difference.  At least I hope not.

So what does that say about Las Vegas?  I honestly don’t know for sure, but I’m leaning towards the theory that people are pretty well behaved when they travel to Las Vegas.  And just for another comparison, the national arrest rate for all Part 2 offenses in suburban areas is  roughly 1 arrest per 28 people.  In other words, I’m not messing with soccer moms.

Anyone want to start a new business?!?