A week after our nations tragedy and the domino effect of the World Trade Center is already hitting Las Vegas as well as the rest of the nation. I took a drive out to McCarran airport just to observe the real heart of this city to see how it was beating. Walking into the building there was a significant number of uniformed officers and I'm sure, plain-cloths cops too. There seemed to be plenty of passengers walking around but the atmosphere was tense. I took a small spiral notebook out to take notes but soon noticed I was being watched (or maybe I was just paranoid) but a guy taking notes these days in an airport just is not a good idea.

Since I didn't have a ticket to ride I sure couldn't explain my presence except that I was just curious and I'm writing an article about the airport and yah, sure ... I'd be hauled in "Vere iz your pazzport? Vere iz your credentials? Ve haf waiz uf making you talk." Or maybe the old American way..."OK pal, who was Miss Illinois last year in the Miss America Pageant? And who plays first base for the Florida Marlins?" something only us Americans would know.

In the airport restaurants they're using only plastic forks and knifes, no metal forks or knifes allowed (I'm not sure there were EVER any metal forks or knifes in the restaurants I visit anyways.) At the bar I noticed the bartender trying his best to tackle a lime with a plastic knife. "The bastards took my paring knife, they took all my fucking knifes, and in return they gave me a box of Albertson's finest plastic cutlery, and promised there were plenty more where that came from, the bastards."

At the security check there were even more $6 an hour workers with wands. Now they won't let you with a large walk-on, the small walk-ons are even worse, no aresole cans, no hair spray no deodorant, no disposable razors, no nail clippers, no safety pins, no tweezers or umbrellas. (So I guess my .44 magnum is out now.) But the lines are short, the incoming traffic is very slow and that's where I trace the next domino, to the Strip.

The Aladdin was the first to fall. Over 500 employees were laid off across the board, although it's only fair to say they were already planning layoffs due to their poor performance. Mandalay Bay has laid-off part-time dealers and are asking the full-time dealers to take their vacations or face more lay offs. Room occupancy that would normally run 85% is down to 50%.

The restaurants take hits across town as the dominos begin to fall. Alan Feldman, President of MGM Mirage held a meeting with 1,200 of his shift managers from all properties where job cuts are expected to be the result. To lighten the blow, the part-time extra board workers will go first, since they don't carry the burden of insurance and 401K's as well as already trained staff. Then as the table games slow down, the dealers will be forced to accept less hours and take paid as well as non-paid time off. In an industry that depends totally on commercial airlines to bring the players and vacationers in, a direct affect on the airline industry means a direct effect on Las Vegas.

The drop alone from the cancellation of conventions from nervous flyers is the next direct affect. Even though the old joke, "What does a conventioneers white shirt and a $20 have in common? Neither one gets changed while they're here." is still true, the affect of empty rooms hurts everyone. The fact that the dealers at Mandalay Bay might make the same per shift as a dealer at the Gold Coast, only the tips differentiates the two, now days. The dealers at the smaller local casinos may overtake the dealers at the major strip properties since they're not directly linked to the out-of-town airline traffic.

In the face of the downturn in the stock market, its clear Americans don't correlate their patriotic pride with their checkbooks. They may be purchasing American flags, but they aren't purchasing anything else.

I can tell you without doubt this is the best time to visit Las Vegas since there are so many good deals now. All the hotels announced huge slashes in their room rates, and the food rates should drop accordingly. The price of the shows may come down soon also which will be a great chance to catch the high priced shows at a reduced rate. The atmosphere in the restaurants is dismal right now, but with the passing of time this industry will be one of the first to bounce back since people everywhere need the distraction of this town. If there's anywhere people can go to forget their problems it's Las Vegas.

The weather's is cooling off enough to spend plenty of daytime by the pool and nighttime strolling the Strip. The only difference you'll notice are all the American flags draped across every casino with "God Bless America" and "One Nation Under God" on all the casino marquises. It's a little gushy and a little much after a while, but I'd rather see too much patriotism than none at all. The only place I used to see the American flag-flying daily was my local Terrible Herbst stations and the local fire stations. Now they're flying everywhere.

One used to get the feeling in Las Vegas that you weren't in any country in particular, but actually, like Disneyland, in our own country conceived with billions of dollars and plenty of imagination. Now we're forced to remember what a great nation we are as the daily sights of kids playing baseball and football on the local high school fields, the picture of children playing in the playgrounds serves as a reminder of the reason why we're ready to fight for our economy and our country. But we have to remember one way of fighting this terror is to bolster our economy as much as possible. The casinos are cutting room and food prices; the airlines are cutting ticket prices. Everyone's willing and ready to try to get this city back on course, and when the paranoia dies down we'll all be better American citizens despite the terrorists.

A lady told me the other day that her kids were afraid to go back to school or even go to a movie. I asked what she was doing to help the situation. She told me she was trying to comfort them, sing songs and read up-beat books to them. I asked if she had brought her kids with her to Vegas and she said they didn't feel like going. We as adults set the theme for our children. When they see us upset and depressed they follow, but when they see us up-beat and going out shopping and doing the everyday things we've always done then they'll see that their parents aren't afraid and they follow that also. So it's up to us to set the tone for this. Teach them patriotism and teach it to them in a happy way so they understand this isn't a war that's going to affect their lives except to bolster their American spirit.

If you've watched any sports you'll see the nation waving flags, singing together, crying together, but it's not tears of pain, it's tears of the beauty of being together and united in the greatest country in the world. The rest of the world is watching us, and damn jealous they can't unite their countries the way ours does.

Right now Las Vegas is a prime destination. Room rates are the lowest I've ever seen, airfare is the lowest you can imagine ($25 for a round trip to San Francisco, $99 to Chicago and back) so get on a plane, get your ass out of the house, and remember what got us here, our freedom as a nation.

UNITED WE STAND....

-Ken Pearlman