The Other Sides of Sin City

Las Vegas has a heart, and not just a savage one. Photo via Gary Yeowell/Getty Images. Turn any article into a podcast. Upgrade now to start listening. Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall. I arrived in Vegas in 1984, a 25-year-old kid from suburban Buffalo, certain I would be here for only a couple of years on my hopeful career path to the New York Times. A great place to cover the night cop beat, maybe, but no place to build a life. I had grown up in a cultured environment, with a professor father who listened to opera and read constantly and a well-educated mother who stayed home, and volunteered at the local art museum.There was a constant emphasis on erudition and education; my dad even tried (somewhat unsuccessfully) to limit how much TV we watched. Jon Ralston is the CEO of The Nevada Independent, a nonprofit site and the only statewide news organization. He has lived in Las Vegas for 42 years. More Where I'm From