What happens in Vegas can happen to gays, too

The Wall Street Journal ran a story about how Sin City has been making an effort to court gay travelers in recent years, and the main thrust of the piece is "what took them so long?!" The article notes that major properties on the strip are now offering lavish commitment ceremony packages (gay marriage is still not legal in Nevada), running gay-specific ads and taking on a "gay-friendly" image in an attempt to attract gay travel dollars.

The piece features an interesting statistic in noting that gay travelers spend up to 30% more than straight travelers, which is one of the key reasons some of the properties have rolled out the pink carpet to gay couples. As pop soothsayer Cyndi Lauper once observed, "Money changes everything." Especially in Vegas.

Still, this change is a recent one, and they caution that gay travelers shouldn't expect Las Vegas to transform from a bachelor party to a circuit party overnight. As Gay Vegas author Steve Friess puts it, "I just don't know that it's a good idea to be holding hands at the Nascar Cafe or Margaritaville."

I'd see that "holding hands" and raise it a "be caught dead at the Nascar Cafe or Margaritaville," but point taken.