Las Vegas faces an identity crisis amid recession

**ADVANCE FOR WEEKEND, JAN. 2-4** Elvis impersonator Jesse Grice drinks his martini at a bar while waiting for a music video shoot in downtown Las Vegas, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008. For the first time in decades, the population has shrunk. Casino projects are on hold. Airplanes full of tourists, seen from the ground as soaring dollar signs, are landing with less frequency. Las Vegas, long the embodiment of American confidence, is now a city in limbo. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)