The Princess of Las Vegas

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death by suicide and sexual violence and harassment.

The novel’s setting in the casinos of Las Vegas easily emphasizes the theme of luck; however, both Dowling sisters are forced to consider the concept of fate after their experiences with Futurium. Out of the two sisters, Betsy is much more interested in fate, while Crissy—the sister who has lived the longest in Las Vegas—thinks more about luck. Crissy reflects that Las Vegas is built on luck and “what we supposed was good luck prevented us from experiencing better luck” (11).

To an extent, it is surprising that Crissy is much more focused on luck than fate. She is in a career that required a certain amount of fate to exist: She had to genetically look somewhat similar to Diana to even get her residency. However, because Crissy often takes on Diana’s personality and experiences as her own, she may be resistant to believing in fate because it takes away the career and identity she’s worked so hard to cultivate. This tension between her reliance on luck and denial of fate underscores Crissy's internal struggle with agency and identity. As a result of her resistance to fate, Crissy ironically comes across as the much more realistic Dowling sister, while Betsy appears to romanticize life and her relationship with Frankie that brought her to Las Vegas (and into danger).