"Sin City": Las Vegas in Popular Culture
Online
Organization: PopCRN - The Popular Culture Research Network
PopCRN (the Popular Culture Network) will be holding a free virtual symposium exploring the many faces of Las Vegas in popular culture. The conference will be held online on 30-31 July 2026.
Las Vegas, a city of spectacle, excess, and reinvention, has been depicted in myriad ways across popular culture. From its neon-lit casinos and extravagant performances to its depictions as both a playground for high-stakes drama and a symbol of the American Dream, Las Vegas occupies a unique cultural space. This symposium seeks to examine the diverse representations of Las Vegas through a multi-disciplinary lens.
This is the city of the Strip, Fremont Street, the Rat Pack, the Bellagio Fountains, the Stardust, the Sands, Cirque du Soleil, Caesars Palace, the Mirage volcano, the Neon Boneyard, the Hoover Dam, Area 51, the Sphere, Liberace, Elvis weddings, shotgun weddings, 24-hour buffets, neon cowboys, high rollers, slot machines, magic acts, poker tournaments, World Series of Poker, the Venetian canals, the High Roller, Frank Sinatra, Bugsy Siegel, Ocean’s Eleven (1960 and 2001), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Leaving Las Vegas, The Hangover, CSI: Vegas, Pawn Stars, showgirls, all-you-can-eat extravagance, drive-thru chapels, Britney Spears residencies, Wayne Newton, Siegfried & Roy, mob legends, Elvis impersonators, David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, the International Hotel, the desert mirage, UFO conventions, and "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"—to name just a few.
We welcome papers from researchers across the academic spectrum and encourage submissions from postgraduate and early career researchers. Papers from this conference will have the opportunity to be published.
To whet your appetite, we have provided some suggested topics below. We will also accept proposals beyond this scope:
"Sin City" – Vice, morality, and reinvention in Las Vegas.
"Vegas, baby!" – Las Vegas as a pop-cultural playground.
"The House Always Wins" – Gambling and risk-taking in popular narratives.
"What Happens in Vegas…" – The myth of secrecy and indulgence.
"Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" – The aesthetics and iconography of the city.
"Elvis Has Left the Building" – The King’s legacy in Vegas.
"Diamonds Are Forever" – The city in spy and crime fiction.
"Vegas Residencies" – The evolution of musical performance culture.
"From the Rat Pack to EDM" – Shifting entertainment landscapes.
"Luck Be a Lady Tonight" – Gender, power, and performance in Las Vegas.
"Showgirls and Strip Clubs" – Vegas as a site of sexual spectacle.
"Fear and Loathing" – Drug culture and excess in Las Vegas.
"Neon Lights and Noir" – The city in film and television.
"Viva Las Vegas!" – The city as a setting for romance and reinvention.
"Desert Mirage" – The ecological and geographical contradictions of Vegas.
"The Vegas Wedding" – Love, spontaneity, and spectacle.
"Counting Cards" – Depictions of con artists and the allure of beating the system.
"Mob Ties" – The history and mythology of organized crime in Las Vegas.
"High Stakes" – The psychology of risk in popular media.
"The Strip and the Suburbs" – The hidden geographies of Las Vegas.
"Casino Royale" – The Las Vegas aesthetic in luxury branding.
"Glitz, Glamour, and Grit" – How Las Vegas shapes American identity.
Please submit by your proposed abstract by 28th February 2026
· Submit here - https://tinyurl.com/2hyksxn8
· Register here - tinyurl.com/mrxeys35
· Queries to popcrn@une.edu.au
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Dr Lisa Hackett
