Do Insiders Ever Say Just "Vegas" or Is It Always "Las Vegas?"

Last weekend at a blackjack table at Aria, my wife said "Vegas" without the "Las." Another player at the table piped up to say that saying Vegas without the Las is a way that outsiders try to sound like insiders, but insiders never say say just Vegas, always Las Vegas. Is that true? (By the way, he sounded like a know-it-all, but it still stung my wife.)

We get this question every so often; the last time was six years ago and we fielded some excellent comments about it.

Also, we've heard this contention many many times since we moved here (and that was a long time ago).

It seems to us to be similar to the way it’s drummed into visitors’ heads that it’s hopelessly uncool to call San Francisco "Frisco." (The late San Francisco columnist Herb Caen was the point man on that detail; he published a book, as far back as 1953, titled Don’t Call it Frisco.)

Though we’ve never seen anything official or even unofficial about it, we suspect it’s just a way to separate us (the locals) from them (the out-of-towners), though it doesn't really. We call it Vegas on occasion, both in speaking and in print, as do almost other Las Vegans we know.

Case in point: The most successful marketing campaign this city has even seen was, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." And that was thought up by locals for sure.

For the previous answer, one commenter cited the Vegas Golden Knights as evidence that just Vegas is perfectly acceptable. On the other hand, we also have the Las Vegas Raiders, the Las Vegas Aces, the Las Vegas Lights, the Las Vegas Aviators, and if/when they show up, the Las Vegas A's. So that's certainly not definitive.

Also, our self-described "outside insider" blogger Bobby Vegas tells us, "Hunh. Well. I'm not changing my name to Bobby Las Vegas. Just sayin'."

Several commenters distinguished between Las Vegas as "a metropolitan area with a couple million people" and Vegas as the tourist corridor. "When I rent a car, I consider it a 'Las Vegas' trip. When I take an Uber from the airport and don’t plan to leave the resort area, I consider it a 'Vegas' trip." And this one: "Vegas is more of a state of mind, a place people go to have fun."

Another interesting comment was about the difference between Vegas and Frisco. "Saying Vegas is not parallel to saying Frisco. Not even close. When we say Vegas, we simply omit the Las; nobody simply omits San and refers to San Francisco as Francisco. When anyone says Vegas, everyone knows you're talking about Las Vegas. Bay Area folks are defensive about Frisco, because the word is a bastardization (while "Francisco" would not be). Just saying Vegas does no such thing. I can see how Frisco can seem disrespectful. But Vegas is not disrespectful."

Someone else took the same tack, but from an entirely different angle. "I've been coming here since 1963, have had a weekend condo since 2003, and have lived here permanently since 2013. I cringe when I hear Vegas. Nobody says, Angeles for Los Angeles, or York for New York, or Diego for San Diego. And those cities are as vibrant and tourist-oriented as Las Vegas. So for me, it's something tourists say and is uncool."

But then there was this. "People call things what they're comfortable with. Neither Frisco nor Vegas diminishes either one; they're more terms of affection than ones to demean. Even if I were to say Lost Angels, you'd know I mean Los Angeles. Bottom line, we all know what any of the terms means."

In the end, we like most what one commenter wrote, "Whatever you call it, this is the greatest metropolitan area in the world!"

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Comments

AL Oct-02-2024

Not parallel

The guy who mentioned saying just "Angeles", "York" or "Diego" was really off. None of those 3 single words is like saying just "Vegas". "Diego" connotes a Hispanic guy. "York" denotes a small city in England. Hearing just "Angeles" is less clear; most people would take a second or two and conclude it referred to Los Angeles. But none of those 3 single words has any zing to them. By contrast, the mere "Vegas" is very different; it clearly refers to Las Vegas, and it has almost all the zing of "Las Vegas". I think the main reason why outsiders use just "Vegas" is because they say to others: "I'm going to Vegas this weekend" or "I went to Vegas last weekend" and they don't also say "Las" because nobody needs to hear it in order to get the message. People like to say as few syllables as possible to communicate. Many folks just say "KC" instead of "Kansas City"; 'DC" instead of "Washington, DC"; and "Cincy" instead of "Cincinnati". Folks in Jacksonville refer to their city as just "Jax".

Donzack Oct-02-2024

Lately

Lately I’ve noticed I’ve been saying I’m going to Nevada probably since I don’t spend any time on the strip anymore.

Bob Oct-02-2024

VEGAS, BABY!

Sounds to me like the "Know it all" at the Blackjack table was an outsider trying to sound like an insider!

Thomas Dikens Oct-02-2024

Frisco, TX

Frisco is a city in Texas..........

Randall Ward Oct-02-2024

Vegas

it's BS, reminds me the way people correct your pronunciations of Nevada.  Or don't do this, you'll look like a tourist.

asaidi Oct-02-2024

Dont change the name, just shorten it.

People don't say "Angeles" or "York" but they do say "L.A." or "N.Y."  Shortening a city name is common, but changing the name - like calling it "Frisco" - I would think is a no no.  It would be like calling Las Vegas "Veg".

Michael Mendoza Oct-02-2024

not sure what the big deal is...

Its also been referred to as Sin City, Lost wages..all the same..overall fun times..no matter what you wish to call it :)

IPA Noah Oct-02-2024

Olympia, WA

My hometown is Olympia, WA. Plenty of us call it "Oly." Hope I was offending people, who if they don't really have anything nice to say to begin with, to badly. Bro should have told that guy to shove it and stop talking to his wife.

Henry Oct-02-2024

Las = The, Vegas = Meadows

People have been saying and writing Vegas since the 1800s, before the city was founded and long before anyone imagined such a trivial argument.

PaulaNH Oct-02-2024

Vegas

Vegas is a state of mind. Nothing compares!

Sandra Ritter Oct-02-2024

Shortened names

I am a culprit for calling it Vegas. It's easier than saying Las Vegas and I only say it to folks who also like going there, so it's a common interest that we have. They know what I mean. It has gotten to the point where most folks know where you're talking about when you say Vegas. This QOD made me think of another abbreviated name that I think is weird, but others don't. You see my name is Sandra. My family and friends know to call me Sandy. I cringe when I get something addressed to me as Sandi, I'm the Y generation. My clients often call me Sandra because that's the name they see in my business title. But for the life of me I don't get when someone calls me San. Plain old San. Hey San, how are you doing? Where did that come from? Usually it's someone I don't know well. I'm guessing it comes from the same place where abbreviating Las Vegas to Vegas is considered okay. So be it.

Kevin Rough Oct-02-2024

I've heard the same thing about NJ

Someone once told me the same about Jersey.  Never mind the musical Jersey Boys or that they sell Jersey Girl t-shirts at the Jersey Shore.  Vegas is perfectly fine.

Roger Gallizzi Oct-02-2024

It irks me.

Nobody says "Angeles" for Los Angeles. Nobody says "York" for New York.  Nobody says "City" for Jersey City or Kansas City.  Do I need to continue? The sign at the South of the strip says, welcome to "FABULAS LAS VEGAS." The sign at the beginning of the City of Las Vegas says "Welcome to Las Vegas."  People are just trying to sound hip or cool.

Hoppy Oct-02-2024

Re:Paula Hamilton

Good observation.  Cincinnati is also the 'Nati.

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