Thursday, January 16, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Viva Gay Vegas

Gay and lesbian tourists have become a lucrative niche for Las Vegas resorts

By Bob Shemeligian

If ever there was a city that flaunts unbridled heterosexual passion, it is Las Vegas. Heralded heroes in the recent history of the world's entertainment capital include Elvis Presley--who demanded that only sexy young women occupy the front row at his concerts--and Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, who during the '60s protest era carried placards demanding "More Broads."

Straight sex is even more upfront in today's Las Vegas. With countless strip clubs that seem to spring up overnight, legions of skimpily clad cocktail waitresses with cavernous cleavage in every casino and stage productions focused on erotic fantasy, is it any wonder that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority advertises the city as a place to experience "freedom from Dullsville?"

But despite the overt caveman approach to boy-girl romance in Las Vegas, there has been a gradual broadening of the city's sex scope. More and more casino corporations are catering to gay and lesbian customers--at least discreetly. Many properties conduct celebration unions for gay couples at hotel wedding chapels. They conduct sensitivity training sessions for staff members. And they are not shying away from gay-themed activities.

An example is the Nevada Gay Rodeo Association's BigHorn Rodeo set for April 4-6 at Horseman's Park. This year, grand marshals will be Mayor Oscar Goodman and Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation and mother of Matthew, who five years ago was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming. The event, hosted by the Castaways Hotel (formerly the Showboat) on Boulder Highway, includes dancing and entertainment each evening after the rodeo. This is the third year the Castaways has been the rodeo's host hotel, says hotel spokeswoman Teri Tratos.

"I think it's been wonderful for the hotel and the rodeo," she says. "We welcome them with posters and we [advertise the rodeo] on our marquee."

Brian Rogers, rodeo director and board member of NGRA, says the Castaways approached the NGRA about being the host hotel. He says such a sympatico relationship with a casino would have been unlikely three or four years ago.

"When we asked for sponsors, we used to hear things like, `Gay what?'" Rogers says. "You could almost hear the phone drop."

But things have changed since Frank, Dino and Sammy wowed folks at the Copa. NGRA president Ben Avant says he expects record crowds again this year at BigHorn, mostly people from out of town.

"Everybody from across the country loves to come to our rodeo, and so there is a lot of excitement from people who don't live here," Avant says. "But our challenge is to reach out to the local community, to get business owners and others to pull together to make the rodeo a success."

To NGRA officials, reaching out to the community and networking with local businesses is crucial to the success of the annual event, which contributes thousands of dollars to charities such as Pedregal House, Aid for AIDS of Nevada, Golden Rainbow and Reach Out.

But in fiercely independent and hard to define Las Vegas, this is not an easy task. After all, voters in November overwhelmingly approved Question 2, amending the state constitution to say that marriage can be only between a man and a woman. Proponents argue the ballot simply preserves the sanctity of marriage. But others argue the measure at best is redundant, and at worst shows that feelings really haven't changed much in a state where only 10 years ago it was a felony for two consenting adults of the same gender to be intimate in private.

"Proposition 2 really wasn't needed," says Patricia Vazquez, an English professor at the Community College of Southern Nevada. "Same-sex marriages were already against the law in Nevada, and here they were pumping in so much money to pass a law that already existed. That's what made it so strange. This was just hate legislation."

Strange, perhaps, but not surprising, Vazquez adds. "I've dealt with a lot of hostile reactions to my sexual preference," says Vazquez, who says that two years ago she was accused of passionately kissing a girlfriend at a local restaurant and was asked to leave. In reality, Vazquez explains, her girlfriend was spoon-feeding her in a nurturing gesture because Vazquez was not feeling well. "The customers were complaining that we were deep throating," Vazquez says.

But perhaps the climate is growing more friendly in Southern Nevada.

"I do think Las Vegas has been behind the times, but the community is catching up," says Sasha Scarlett, owner of Sasha's, a gay restaurant and bar on Paradise Road that offers drag queen shows. "The learning curve has been shortened. I believe the future looks great. People are becoming more educated and I believe we can look forward to greater tolerance here."

Bob Bellis, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, agrees.

"Yes, there is still hostility, and passage of Question 2 is an example, but, still, it's definitely better [for gays] today," Bellis says. "I believe many people realize such measures are discrimination. Just like they recognize that 25 years ago when interracial marriages were banned, that was discrimination."

And while it's not leading the charge to end discrimination against gays, the casino industry is certainly helping the cause.

"Several large hotel corporations such as the MGM Mirage and the Rio have actually joined the center as business partners," Bellis says. "Just a couple of years ago that never would have happened."

There are two obvious reasons for casinos coming around. One, in today's age of political correctness, casino officials are all too aware of the painful consequences of being targeted by a minority group as insensitive. Recently, the MGM Mirage initiated a comprehensive corporate diversity plan after a lawsuit was filed by 14 employees of MGM Grand Detroit alleging racial discrimination, and after demonstrations were conducted at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas by members of the National Action Network. And two, following 9/11, the economic consequences to the tourism and travel industry were severe and long lasting. Las Vegas was particularly hard hit, and tourism officials began to market more aggressively to all groups--including non-mainstream ones. And they soon discovered that many gays and lesbians have significant amounts of disposable income to spend on vacations.

"We're talking about a very affluent group," Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority spokesman Rob Powers says. "They tend more often than not to not have children, and to have a very high annual income, and they love to travel."

So, the casinos are more than happy to accommodate them.

"Gays and lesbians represent a substantial niche market," says Robert Wilson, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association. He says gays and lesbians spent $55 billion on travel last year, which translates to about one-tenth of the travel industry total.

Among Las Vegas hotels that are participating members of the IGLTA are New York-New York and the 47-room, off-Strip Blue Moon Resort, which is slated to open next month as the first Las Vegas hotel to cater specifically to the gay community. Punam Mather, MGM Mirage's vice president of community affairs, says marketing to different groups makes sound business sense.

"Gays and lesbians spent more than three-quarters of a trillion dollars in 2001 in total purchases," Mather says. "That's $756 billion. It's a huge market. And here are the characteristics: They tend to be comprised of two-income families, they tend to travel more frequently, they tend to place a higher priority on luxury and they demonstrate higher product loyalty than any other segment. In terms of sheer business calculus, this is a very viable market segment."

Chapels at all MGM Mirage properties routinely conduct celebration unions for gay couples. And New York-New York, in particular, is considered to be a gay-friendly Las Vegas hotel.

Other major Las Vegas hotel corporations also are courting gay and lesbian customers. David Strow, spokesman for Harrah's Entertainment, says celebration unions between gay couples are performed at the Rio, and officials at Harrah's are sensitive to the needs of gay and lesbian customers.

"This is the customer service business, and our job is to make every customer who comes through our doors feel welcome," Strow says. "Inclusiveness is not only morally right, but it is also crucial to the success of our business. That's why we're committed to delivering the best entertainment and gaming experiences to customers of every race, creed, gender and sexual orientation."