Jan. 17, 2008 - "Give me your tired........"

Canon 5D, 24 - 105 mm f/4L IS @ 47 mm, f/6.3, 1/8 sec., ISO 1600

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Emma Lazarus, 1883

This famous quote can of course be found on a plaque inside the Statue of Liberty in New York. This replica - roughly 1/3 the height of the original - stands near the southern "entrance" to the Las Vegas strip. Given its intimate proximity to the very heart of Sin City, the words take on new meaning. Is this really the land of opportunity?

Well, if you're willing to operate within the "laws" of chance and probability, I suppose it could be!

By the way, this is probably one of the most photographed sites on the strip. I suppose that makes this image a cliche, but I like it a lot anyway. The two dots of light to the left of the statue's midsection are the "headlights" of a passing rollercoaster.