188 Trading Post



The 188 trading post is a location in the Mojave Wasteland in 2281. The trading post is located on the intersection of Highway 93 and Highway 95, directly north of El Dorado Dry Lake, west-northwest of Boulder City.

Background
The interchange of Highway 95 and Highway 93 has seen high traffic both before and after the Great War. The current trading post was established in 2281, when a pair of traders from Primm set up shop here after the NCRCF prison break forced them to flee the city the wave of escaped convicts.

Samuel Kerr and his daughter Michelle chose this location after realizing just how much traffic was going to flow up Highway 95 to Vegas now that the I-15 was shut down, adding to the usual troop movements between Hoover Dam and Camp McCarran. Capitalizing on their experience in Primm, they established the 188 Slop & Shop, offering food, water, supplies, and repair services to travelers.

The 188 trading post has since become a hub of commerce frequented by soldiers, merchants, and NCR citizens either heading to New Vegas with pockets full of caps or returning back home with nothing but the shirts on their backs. Even the Gun Runners took notice and set up shop, with an independent arms merchant selling wares out of the back of her truck.

Layout
The location is a small outpost made up of makeshift shacks and tents on a pre-War overpass, containing derelict vehicles and barrel fires. Veronica, a recruitable companion, stands near the center by a picnic table. She mentions she is here to pick up supplies for her family who live in an underground bunker. There are a few NCR troopers wandering around a tent on the northern side of the overpass. Beds can be found here and used by the Courier.

Later on, at high levels, some of these NCR troopers will be replaced with NCR heavy troopers equipped with various high-level weaponry such as heavy incinerators. The trading post may be attacked by legionary assassins searching for the Courier when they are in the proximity of the location. Shops and vendors here include:
 * 188 Slop & Shop: Samuel Kerr and his daughter Michelle run a small shop cooperatively, the bar area of which is created using scrap from City Liners. Samuel is the bartender and can make equipment repairs. The vendors will share the shop's motto, "It’s Better Than Nothing," and have a variety of items in stock, sold by Michelle in the daytime and Samuel at night. There is a reloading bench behind the shop.
 * Arms merchant: There is an arms merchant at the western side of the overpass, near the long trailer with useable beds. Near the military truck, the merchant can provide weapons and armor at a discount, and information about the NCR and Bravo Company.
 * Gun Runners: Underneath the overpass is Alexander and his bodyguard who run a satellite location for the Gun Runners. Alexander will sell weapons, weapon mods, junk, and ammunition to the Courier if a Guns skill check is passed.
 * Forecaster: A young boy named The Forecaster sits by the wall and will sell three different "thoughts" to the Courier for 100 caps apiece.

Notable loot

 * Sunset Sarsaparilla star bottle cap - Lying on the bar.

Appearances
The 188 trading post appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * The 188 trading post is based on the real world location of Railroad Pass Casino in Henderson, Nevada. The original junction of Highway 93 and Highway 95 was once located in front of the property before the present-day interchange between these two routes was constructed about one mile to the east in Boulder City, Nevada.