Monte Carlo and Las Vegas embodied opposing class cultures from their founding.

Evidence

At Monte Carlo there are still Wrong Forks, Deficient Accents, Poor Tailoring, Gauche Displays, Nouveau Richness, Cultural Aridity—concepts unknown in Las Vegas. For the grand debut of Monte Carlo as a resort in 1879 the architect Charles Garnier designed an opera house for the Place du Casino; and Sarah Bernhardt read a symbolic poem. For the debut of Las Vegas as a resort in 1946 Bugsy Siegel hired Abbott and Costello, and there, in a way, you have it all. — Marianne DeKoven, Utopia Limited, 307

Categorization

• CANDY: The Garnier-opera-house versus Abbott-and-Costello contrast is a funny, self-contained cultural tidbit.