Holdout weapons

Holdout weapons is a term used to describe weapons which can be brought into certain "weapon-free" areas — primarily the three Strip casinos (Gomorrah, The Tops, and Ultra-Luxe)— without being taken from the player. What weapons are classified as "holdouts" depends on the player's Sneak skill, with one list for all players regardless of skill level, and another for players with a skill level of 50 or above. Internally these lists are referred to as "Holdout Weapons" and "Improved Holdout Weapons", respectively.

Overview
At certain points in the course of the game, the Courier may have their weapons confiscated from them. In some of these situations the player will be presented with an option to retain some of their weapons in the form of a dialogue option which usually ends with the text " ". Selecting this option will allow the player to retain a small subset of their weapons; what weapons are retained depends on the player's Sneak skill.

The most common locations where the "holdout" option is offered are The Strip's three functioning casinos, but a number of other locations will offer the option when entered. The complete list of locations is:
 * Gomorrah
 * The Tops
 * The Ultra-Luxe
 * Fortification Hill
 * Camp McCarran interrogation room (when interrogating Silus)

"Standard" Holdout Weapons

 * See also: Category:Fallout: New Vegas holdout weapons

These weapons are always able to be concealed and brought into "weapon-free" areas, regardless of the player's Sneak skill. Many of these weapons can be purchased from the merchant Mr. Holdout, who can be found near the entrance of the Gomorrah casino.

Improved Holdout Weapons

 * See also: Category:Fallout: New Vegas improved holdout weapons

These weapons can be brought into "weapon-free" areas if the player has a Sneak skill of 50 or above. Bonuses from temporary effects, such as ¡La Fantoma! or Stealth Boys, are counted when determining the player's skill level.

Note that this list does not replace the "standard" list of holdout weapons; weapons from the "standard" holdout weapons list are always able to be brought into "weapon-free" areas, regardless of skill.

Bugs

 * The companion-specific versions of some improved holdout weapons are not included in these lists, and will be confiscated when these companions enter casinos. This includes melee weapons such as Cass's combat knife and Raul's lead pipe, which differ from the normal versions only in that they cannot be taken by the player.
 * ED-E's integrated weapons can be brought into weapons-free areas as holdout weapons, but only if the player's Sneak skill is below 50. This is caused by ED-E's weapons being included on the holdout weapons list but not the improved holdout weapons list.
 * Rex's Bite "weapon" is not classified as a holdout weapon and will be confiscated.