Ooh. It’s seems racy, but, when you think about it, it’s really not, just like Las Vegas’s current hall-of-fame marketing slogan: “What Happens Here, Stays Here.” Las Vegas isn’t getting rid of what might be the most successful tourism slogan ever. According to the AP, it’s just looking for a complimentary slogan. If Las Vegas should ever tire of the “What Happens Here...” campaign, we might see the new slogan take its place. Or, maybe the city will turn to one of the many suggestions that have popped up in the last few years.

In 2005, the Las Vegas Review-Journal asked its readers for possible successor slogans. Among them:

“Las Vegas. Come with luggage, leave with baggage.”

“Vegas. Taking advantage of human weakness since 1905.”

“Las Vegas. Free liquor, but the water will cost you.”

USA Today has also been asking readers for slogan ideas. Among them:

“What happens in Vegas....can still be cured with penicillin.”

“Las Vegas. Come and enjoy the Hunter S. Thompson weekend package!”

“Las Vegas—Hell’s warm up act.”

I like the tweak on the slogan from Chris Ayres’s takedown of the city last year: “What Happens Here, Ends Up On Your Mastercard Bill.”

Why do cities—and some travelers—care so much about slogans? And how do cities come up with them? For a primer, listen to this NPR Talk of the Nation show from last year, “I Heart City Slogans.” One of the guests: Randy Snow, whose firm R&R Partners developed the “What Happens Here, Stays Here” campaign.

Related on World Hum:
* ‘What Happens Here, Stays Here’: The Dark Side of Las Vegas’s Tourism Slogan
* Las Vegas (Who Else?) Leads in U.S. Tourism Ad Spending
* Francis Fukuyama vs. Bernard Henri-Lévy: Battling Over Las Vegas
* R.I.P. Hal Rothman, Sin City Scholar

Related on TravelChannel.com
* Destination Guide: Las Vegas
* Video: Las Vegas: Must See

Photo of the Las Vegas Strip by mandj98, via Flickr (Creative Commons)