I picture the Cuba of today being a weird cross between Nevada and Hawaii. The Hawaii part if obvious; tourists coming for the sun and all that (well, maybe mix modern Florida too, with all the old folks moving their to run out their clocks). You'd have beaches and all that.
The Nevada part comes from Cuba being a playground earlier in the 20th Century. As a State, I don't think the mob would have as much pull as their did in an independent Cuba (but they could still buy State officials), and they wouldn't be safe from the Feds there either, but I can see mob-owned casinos and the like still appearing. Like Lost Wages, it might turn more family-friendly over the decades (Vegas might just stay a small city too, since they'd be little incentive to flee there without the Reds taking over Cuba). I don't think it'd be as outlandish as Vegas since the island has its own nature beauty.
In short: Havana = Honolulu + Las Vegas?
The Nevada part comes from Cuba being a playground earlier in the 20th Century. As a State, I don't think the mob would have as much pull as their did in an independent Cuba (but they could still buy State officials), and they wouldn't be safe from the Feds there either, but I can see mob-owned casinos and the like still appearing. Like Lost Wages, it might turn more family-friendly over the decades (Vegas might just stay a small city too, since they'd be little incentive to flee there without the Reds taking over Cuba). I don't think it'd be as outlandish as Vegas since the island has its own nature beauty.
In short: Havana = Honolulu + Las Vegas?