A recent speech by President Obama happen to feature the words of 'You don't blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you are trying to save for college'. Whether this was just a punch line focused at pleasing a small crowd of people or whether he meant the words is an interesting issue.
Only in his presidential campaign did he paint a much rosier picture of Vegas and it's importance in the US economy. It contributes to the US in both gambling tax and also tourist dollars. Jobs are provided by Vegas, it feeds families and pays the bills. Vegas is such an important part of the red and white stripes that when overseas tourists think of the US, they think of Vegas, they think of New York, they think of LA. Clearly Vegas is far higher on the podium than worthy of a slight trash talk just to please a few conservative individuals.
The right to gamble is also every part of the American dream. The freedom that Obama probably mentioned a billion times during his campaign to work up the masses to vote in his favour. People often feel gambling is one of the national past times of the USA. A small line about Vegas can go a long way.