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Las Vegas in Africa

University of Cape Town, South Africa

Pia Bombardella

Department of Social Anthropology, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Recent years have seen substantial capital investments in ‘destination resorts', many of which utilize heritage themes to attract consumers. This movement was led by the renaissance of Las Vegas and by major urban destination projects, and coincided with South Africa's reintegration into the global economy from the early 1990s onwards. As a result of new legislation in 1996, South Africa has seen the opening of a number of major destination resorts, in partnership with international interests that include Las Vegas-based multinationals, which reinterpret heritage to provide themed entertainment for the postapartheid middle-class consumer. This article looks in detail at four South African destination resorts, and shows how established themes in the representation of Africa and its history have been reappropriated by the heritage industry in the material culture of casinos and associated retail and entertainment facilities.

Key Words: consumption • heritage • Las Vegas • South Africa • tourism

Journal of Social Archaeology, Vol. 5, No. 1, 5-24 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1469605305050141


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