Examining Delfino

In his essay, A Bit Bright, Delfino examines the science, history and development behind Las Vegas’s entertainment attractions through their advertising. He focuses on the methods that Casinos and other businesses have employed in order to draw more customers by tracking the development and change of these methods over time. Delfino suggests that the development of neon signage eventually led to the architectural developments of today’s megaresorts in order to prove how Las Vegas’s tradition of relentless competition leads to the desertion of history.
Delfino introduces the history of neon lights in Las Vegas by presenting us with the character of Vegas Vic, the 90 foot tall cowboy we all know and recognize from countless sources of media. He presents the signs historical importance when he mentions the first instance of a sign being an attraction all by itself, “There was even a billboard pointing out Vic to drivers and pedestrians, as if the sign itself was enough of a spectacle to warrant another sign, furthering the advertising success of the Frontier Club.”
Delfino moves on to present the next development in advertisement and neon signage in Las Vegas. He infers that the city’s “growing pedestrian scale” caused the integration of signs into the actual structure of buildings. He remains that the purpose behind a rival casinos employment of a neon façade was solely to stay competitive in luring more customers.
In focusing on the old downtown Vegas itself, Delfino explains how the development of the Fremont Street Experience was caused by their competitiveness. He mentions how all of the Casinos on the strip have to come together in order to keep up with the newer megaresorts by building a 90ft canopy over the four main blocks of Fremont Street that plays shows and music daily.
Delfino then moves to developments of neon spectacles and advertising on the Strip. He mentions the space that newer hotels and casinos had compared to casinos on Freemont Street was gigantic. They were able to erect a massive tower in front of the Flamingo for instance, something impossible on Freemont before. Neon pylons in front of their perspective casinos were also erected. He mentions how these pylons also changed in accordance to time and competition with other businesses and how it even ushered the “Golden Age of neon Strip signage.” The pylons served many purposes; they advertised their casino not only to cars but also to people on the streets.
Delfino argues that the next development in advertisement came when the casinos started building megaresorts appealing for their architectural marvels. The competitive nature of casinos caused them to start building incredible fantasy resorts in order to supplement their diminishing gaming profits. Due to the megaresort’s ability to stand alone without any spectacular advertisement other than itself the actual use of neon lights continues to dissolve.