Talk:Brisbane/Brisvegas archive

Opening comment
I assume the "Vegas" comes from Las Vegas? The article should say it, because folks who don't make that connection will be very puzzled by this name, wondering, perhaps, why it is insulting to be compared to the star Vega. - DavidWBrooks 19:12, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Anyone that actually lives in Brisbane Queensland would know that this "Brisvegas" is merely a nickname given to Brisbane City, I personally do not believe that Australian's really want to copy the US, do they? Brisbane is Brisbane Capital of the Sunshine State, "Brisvegas" on the other hand is merely a nickname, someone's pathetic attempt at trying to make it the city sound more upper class. Real people live in Brisbane... !! == Brisvegas ==

This name is more commonly seen in print in Australia as "Brisvegas" not "Bris Vegas". At least in Sydney it is. There is already a link in wikipedia from 'Brisvegas'  to the article for Brisbane,  with no explanation for the name.

This word is indeed a neologism, but it is at least 15 years old and in fairly common use. It may well date back to the era when the Brisbane gambling casino opened. It's usage is at least as common as many of the other historical nicknames and epithets for other places which are mentioned in Wikipedia.

I see no good reason why this entry should be deleted. It serves a useful purpose because people who come across the term Brisvegas or Bris Vegas who are unfamiliar with it,  should be able to find out what it means. Thats what wikipedia is for isnt it?

Eregli bob 02:20, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

There seems to be already entries for 'Brisvegas' and 'Bris Vegas' which redirect directly to Brisbane without any explanation of the term, whereas this entry is 'Bris Vegas (term)'. That makes no sense. Nobody would think of searching for that. I am moving the content of this page to the 'Brisvegas' page.

I also note that this term has been on the page for city nicknames for longer than I can easily determine.

Eregli bob 02:30, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

The term ‘Brisvegas’ was first coined by Ray Pope in 1987 in correspondence to several friends while he was travelling in Amsterdam. The son of English parents he emigrated with them and his sister Katherine to Brisbane in the early 1970’s. He grew up in the strait-laced era of the Bjelke-Petersen Governments which at the time epitomised conservative right wing politics. He used the term ironically. In pre Expo 88 times, Brisbane was far from the glitz of Las Vegas. Expo 88 changed the city forever. Whether it resembles the desert city of Nevada is unlikely, it was never meant to be a literal reference. Ray was an extraordinary character with a vivid imagination who had an enormous capacity to communicate with a wide collection of friends. An avid oarsmen, mountain biker, surveyor, husband and father, he was tragically cut down by cancer well before his time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Buddha Brother (talk • contribs) 18:41, 20 June 2019 (UTC)

Brisvegas should remain
This page should not be deleted oh English person. Brisbane is widely referred to as BV. While I think this page is garbage, I'm chuffed that it's here. It should be improved, not deleted. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.104.150.186 (talk) 13:11, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Actually the term Brissie is far more popular than Bris Vegas which is not widely used in the city itself. The term River City is used about as much as Bris Vegas and these are used only occassionly. Notice the BBC reference suggests "some people" use the term possibily in relation to nightlife...who does? I believe the Bris Vegas tag is really an attempt at a putdown by those ignorant of what the city has had to offer. This very minor pejorative term is too vague, it has no notability and should be deleted. - Shiftchange (talk) 21:57, 1 October 2008 (UTC)
 * Never really heard of Bris Vegas.  Aaroncrick (Tassie Boy talk) 07:50, 21 March 2009 (UTC)
 * I had never heard of Bris Vegas, either, until I read the term in Wikipedia. Figaro (talk) 12:59, 6 April 2009 (UTC)
 * It's lucky to rate a mention on the Brisbane article, clearly NOT its own article, which will remain in stub purgatory forever.--Jeff79 (talk) 09:59, 25 April 2009 (UTC)

Brisvegas v Bris Vegas
Clearly anyone from Brisbane uses Brisvegas which is how this term should appear not the two word version.

Southerners might have used it disparagely once upon a time although I have only ever heard Brisbanites use it. Pretty much we use it as a term of endearment about the place. At least I do. I'm off to Brisvegas soon...etc etc. I've also never heard it emanating from the beginning of the casino. I'd go along with it appearing in the late 90's though and I think the casino was here long before that. Scovaisme (talk) 21:29, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

General comment
The term started getting exposure as a swipe from Southerners at Brisbane when it opened the casino in the mid 90's. As a Bisbanite, I use the term. I also us Brissie. Both BrisVegas and Brissie should be included in the Brisbane Wiki Entry, not as independent entries. 2 April 09

I cringe upon hearin "BrisVegas". Perhaps, it is because I come from the more culturally refined City of Melbourne. But I must say, this is a lame term at best and disgustingly sycophantic towards the US at worst. What a shame. 119.161.71.12 (talk) 00:27, 30 August 2009 (UTC)INFX

I don't usually make wiki posts but I would like "Bris Vegas", "Brisneyland" and "The Bane" to be either deleted or seperate from the proper Brisbane section. I don't know of any real "Brisbane" person that calls Brisbane those terms, a lot of people might call it Brissie , thats about it. Brisvegas sounds like an stupid American type term which is insulting to Brisbane Locals. I support leaving "Bris_Vegas" in its own section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.111.1.88 (talk) 07:44, 7 February 2010 (UTC)

The nickname Bris Vegas/BrisVegas should be dropped. There is only one casino in the city and while it looks great on the outside, once you step through the doors its anything but vegas. Why not create a new identity, rather than trying to feed off more popular places around the world. Surely the people of Brisbane, or visitors to the city can come up with something unique. And on a side note, Ipswich is a terrible place. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.245.110.50 (talk) 08:56, 15 February 2010 (UTC)

This has to be merged
It's just too small to be considered an article I think. As a few people have mentioned already, it's another word for Brisbane. So why not just merge it into the Brisbane article? N5606705 (talk) 02:58, 10 May 2009 (UTC)


 * agree, merge phocks (talk) 03:10, 10 August 2009 (UTC)
 * agree, merge ASAP. It would enrich the rather dull Brisbane article with some life Leeshipley (talk) 00:46, 4 December 2009 (UTC)

Supporting merge
"Bris Vegas", "Brisneyland" and "The Bane" are all nicknames I'm familiar with for Brisbane. The former two from southeners, the last from ex-Brisbanites. (me? I moved to Brisbane a week ago as of writing this comment). I think "Bris Vegas" (and maybe the others if they're more or less already well known?) should definately rate a mention in the Brisbane article. Does not rate an article of it's own though. --.../Nemo (talk • Contributions) 08:35, 20 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Do you think Edenglassie should be merged too? - Shiftchange (talk) 09:24, 20 May 2009 (UTC)
 * How about an article Nicknames of Brisbane patterned after Nicknames of Portland, Oregon? Calliopejen1 (talk) 22:43, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

"BrisVegas" and "Brissie" have been in common use for well over 10 years. Edenglassie is a histrocial fact and is highly relevant to the Brisbane page. "Brisneyland" and "The Bane" are recent terms and do not merit the same acknowledgement. I do not think these terms deserve their own page, however the definitely should be included on the Brisbane page. It shouls be merged. MyFavco (talk) 02:17, 21 July 2009 (UTC)
 * Support merge ROxBo (talk) 17:25, 15 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Support merge. It's really just a nickname that has risen to prominence over recent years. I can see a possibility for a Brisbane nicknames article. However, there probably aren't enough that are that well know to warrant the creation of such a page. Also, you can't compare Bris Vegas to the Big Apple page.


 * OK. It seems that most people who care enough to actually make their views known are supportive of the page being deleted and the relevant information be in the Brisbane article. Are there any admins to support this motion and carry it out? Depor23 (talk) 03:57, 22 August 2009 (UTC)


 * This hasn't been merged yet. I suggest it be merged under the Culture section of the Brisbane article. I think we should resolve this soon. SoCal L.A. (talk) 22:46, 10 January 2010 (UTC)


 * Brisvegas is just another name for Brisbane. It should definitley be merged. -1/5/2009-MCAspire (talk) 12:37, 1 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Definitely merge. Brisbane and Brisvegas are the same place, so they should be in the one article.  I'd say it's definitely entitled to a paragraph in the Brisbane article, but it shouldn't stand on it's own.Johnmc (talk) 00:24, 23 January 2010 (UTC)

It seems the consensus is to merge. I will get someone who can. SoCal L.A. (talk) 02:31, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

Meaning of Brisvegas
Brisvegas is a name given to Brisbane to show how culturally philistine the place is and also to depict the city as incredibly corrupt where fast money buys anybody or anything and knocks down any building with any heritage value and replaces it with a tacky highrise where a sleazy developer can make money at the expense of the common good of the people of Brisbane. Finneganw 14:04, 25 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I concur with this insight as to the general use of ‘'BrisVegas'. Also note that although it is a derogative term, in true Aussie style, it is embraced by Brisbanites as a way of acknowledging the many things lacking in the city. A Brisbanite can freely use this term, and it is never considered an indication that they do not truly love their city. MyFavco (talk) 02:14, 21 July 2009 (UTC)


 * I also agree. Being Brisvegan, many of my friends refer to Brisvegas, or even just Vegas. But for us it also reflects how there is very little to do, nightlife wise, in comparison to other nightlife cities, like Las Vegas. The saying amongst our friends is "Brisvegas, the city that always sleeps" or "Brisneyland, Where the fun stops". As part of the humour it involves a "tongue in cheek" love of the place too though. Many Brisvegans are proud of the term. From local lore, there was a t-shirt seller in the Valley markets who use to sell the shirt. That needs clarifying though. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Greggycollins (talk • contribs) 05:48, 8 January 2010 (UTC)


 * I believe the term is far older than people are saying. I think I first saw it in the The Cane Toad Times or at least in that era. It was not about casinos. It was about the kind of shows on offer in Las Vegas. My recollection is of some kind of sneer from a theatre reviews that Brisbane audiences weren't turning up in their droves to some avant-garde theatrical performance because all Brisbane audiences were too unsophisticated for such productions and only wanted to see Las Vegas style productions. Kerry (talk) 11:03, 11 June 2013 (UTC)


 * I agree that it is older than people are saying. My recollection is from the early 1980s. There was a well known international hamburger restaurant on the corner of Queen and Albert streets, with an amusement arcade next to it on Albert St called Las Vegas.   High school students of the early 1980s would say "Meet you at BrisVegas" meaning to meet in the queen st mall near that corner.   They continued it when they grew old enough to travel. I remember hearing someone say "You wouldn't see this in Brisvegas" while enjoying the night life somewhere in Europe. (RosBardon)  Rosbardon (talk) 03:11, 17 November 2014 (UTC)

BrisVegas - Who coined the term ?
The term ‘Brisvegas’ was first coined by Ray Pope in 1987 in correspondence to several friends while he was travelling in Amsterdam. The son of English parents he emigrated with them and his sister Katherine to Brisbane in the early 1970’s. He grew up in the strait-laced era of the Bjelke-Petersen Governments which at the time epitomised conservative right wing politics. He used the term ironically. In pre Expo 88 times, Brisbane was far from the glitz of Las Vegas. Expo 88 changed the city forever. Whether it resembles the desert city of Nevada is unlikely, it was never meant to be a literal reference. Ray was an extraordinary character with a vivid imagination who had an enormous capacity to communicate with a wide collection of friends. An avid oarsmen, mountain biker, surveyor, husband and father, he was tragically cut down by cancer well before his time.

It is noted there is no evidence of this correspondence. Therefore, the only real evidence is that of the alternative genesis theory. That is the theory that in fact noted luminary Matthew Isabella created the term in 1998 This is all unsupported and unverifiable which is not permitted in Wikipedia articles (see below). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.45.86.132 (talk) 05:57, 19 February 2020 (UTC)

Who coined the term Brisvegas? An alternative genisis theory.
Not to disparage the previous poster - whom deleted my post which I inserted in 2016 the origin of this is clearly evidenced from the facts. The facts being, in October 1998, Matthew Isabella was at a Flight Centre at Robina Town Centre purchasing a flight to the United States of America.

During this transaction, Matthew, whom is very good at wordsmith was viewing a brochure for Las Vegas, while during this perusal, he was interrupted by an incredibly painful and talkative sales consultant - Louse Channels, who was known by Matthew at the time, as Louse was the cousin of Michelle a girl Matthew was at the time dating. Louse asked Matt where we was staying that weekend and Matt said "Bris Vegas" - Louse laughed as had never heard that before, and as Matt had just said it - it was clear this is where the word came from.

The poster who deleted mine - and added his version of history is wrong as Matthew has three witnesses to this event and also had relations with Louse that night on his Aunts Couch. Bris Vegas was coined by Matthew Gennaro Isabella on 21 October 1998.
 * This is all unreferenced original research which is not permitted in Wikipedia articles. Cullen328 (talk) 18:30, 14 February 2022 (UTC)

The Truth by Jim
I don't mind that others make this claim, but I would like the real reason the term was invented to be known. A simple reason by an ordinary blue collar worker, that actually makes sense and has relevance to Brisbane history.

The Term Brisvegas was coined in the mid 90's by James Cockburn. It was a direct reference to the Treasury building being converted to The Treasury Casino (check the Treasury Casino rebuild time for confirmation). Any Brisbanites who were in the city in those days should know exactly what I am talking about.

Prior to that Brisbane was a quite city, and James coined the term as a joke saying "Oh, what are we, Brisvegas now?"

At that time James worked for P&O Cold Storage as a forklift operator and order picker in -30 degree freezers, distributing Australia wide to Sizzlers and KFC and on every pallet for the sender location James wrote Brisvegas. The bosses never complained so he did this for years, spreading the term Australia wide.

Since then a lot of people have claimed to be the originators of the term but NONE of them know the true inspiration, The Treasury Casino. James Peter Cockburn (talk) 18:31, 14 February 2022 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia Talk pages are not a forum for OR or soapboxing, but feel free to make an edit request that includes reliable sources to back up your assertion. Star   Mississippi  18:45, 14 February 2022 (UTC)