I've never been to this country but I've been to Vegas once and I somehow expect the whole experience to be very similar and to attract the same kind of people
Sorry to hear about your experience. Mine was wildly different, and I came away with entirely opposite impressions of their service industry.
> no public transport to speak of
How did you manage to miss all the huge flashy light rail stations? It was really convenient to use for travel throughout the city. Especially as a tourist -- just about all tourist destinations are close to a station.