New Vegas

New Vegas, originally known as Las Vegas in the wasteland before Robert House revived its reconstruction, is a city upon the remains of Las Vegas, located in southern Nevada.

Unlike the other major cities of the United States, Vegas emerged from the atomic fire of the Great War relatively unscathed, with most of the major damage caused by the downfall of society. Limited exposure to radioactive fallout has made New Vegas and the surrounding Mojave a very hospitable place, but the lack of any real authority besides Mr. House, who only really exerts authority and protection on the Strip, means crime is rampant in most parts and communities must fend for themselves. The NCR's interest in maintaining the law likewise extends only as far as protecting its citizens.

Background
The survival of Vegas is owed to the preemptive actions of Robert House. In 2065, House predicted that a nuclear exchange between the United States and China would take place within the next 15 years, and began dedicating his resources to the protection of his home city. He used his considerable intelligence and vast wealth to ensure that when the war finally came, he would be prepared. He created an army of securitrons, some to police the Strip, with the bulk of them hidden beneath Fortification Hill for activation at a later date. He also had his own hotel, the Lucky 38 Casino, fitted with radar-jamming systems, missile arrays, a laser defense network, and life-support systems.

House calculated that his defenses would see off the majority of missiles bound for Vegas, but at least some damage to outer Vegas and the surrounding towns was unavoidable. To this end, he had engineers in Sunnyvale develop the platinum chip, a data storage device that would upgrade his defense systems and securitrons to the Mark II OS, ensuring that Vegas and the surrounding area would be as safe as possible.

The Great War
The platinum chip was due for delivery by courier on October 23, 2077, the day of the Great War. The attack, however, came 20 hours earlier than House had predicted, and before the platinum chip could leave Sunnyvale, the city was reduced to rubble, the chip buried beneath it. House was forced to make do with his relatively primitive stasis systems and although most of Vegas was saved, he suffered numerous system crashes and was eventually forced into a coma. While many citizens were spared and even began celebrating, fallout from the warheads that did hit blew into the city, killing all of them. Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Game of the Year Edition p.462-463: "House Arrest When blaring civil defense sirens heralded mankind's doom on October 23rd, 2077, the citizens of Las Vegas bore witness to an astonishing spectacle. Huge laser cannons unfurled from secret housings in the roof of the Lucky 38 casino and Hoover Dam's intake towers and began spitting blasts of green fire into the sky, destroying warhead after warhead and sparing Las Vegas's urban center and the dam from direct hits. Citizens filled the streets and cheered. And then they died horribly from the lethal fallout that blew in from the dozens of warheads that detonated around Las Vegas. ''Though Mr. House's missile defense grid performed admirably, the Great War was in actuality the day of his greatest setback. Having spent decades preparing for the statistical inevitability of atomic war, house found himself forced to protect Las Vegas with buggy software. Had the Great War occurred even 24 hours later, House would have received and installed Mark II of his defensive systems' operating software. Instead, the disc containing the upgrade-which had just passed quality assurance-was buried in the irradiated ruins of the Sunnyvale, California lab where it was developed.'' ''Defending Las Vegas from atomic destruction set off a cascade of system crashes that plunged the Lucky 38 into darkness and nearly killed Mr. House. Running on a trickle of emergency power, the electrode-studded command helmet by which he controlled the Lucky 38 shorting out with maddening frequency, the replenishing salve bath and pharmaceuticals he'd spent billions to develop going rancid, his ensconced body aging, House battled to reboot his data core with an older version of the operating system. It was a daily struggle that would grind on for nearly five years, inflicting a physical and mental strain so severe that House lapsed into a coma when the reboot was finally achieved.'' ''When House finally came to, decades had passed. Immediately he began using his Securitron robots to search out human settlements, and eventually he was able to hire salvage teams in the distant west to search for the priceless upgrade disc in the ruins of the Sunnyvale. The disc was not to be found for many years, during which time House was forced to improvise an ad hoc defense of the Vegas region against the encroachment of NCR forces, namely the recruitment and employment of the Three Families to augment his downgraded Mark I Securitron robot defenses."'' Little is known of what happened in this period of Vegas' history, although evidence of riots scar the city even today, and at least one overweight gangster similar to Don Gizmo was known to have made his mark. In 2138, House awoke from his coma, but bided his time, watching the city be settled by tribals and raiders.

In 2274, New California Republic (NCR) scouts arrived at Hoover Dam, piquing House's interest. These were no tribals, these were civilized people – somewhere, out in the wastes, a new society had begun. A society that would no doubt see Las Vegas and its power source, the dam, as theirs for the taking. House's securitrons finally emerged from the Lucky 38, offering an ultimatum to the raider tribes settled on the Strip: join House and be part of his New Vegas, leave the Strip, or die. Three tribes accepted his offer, eventually taking up the identifies of the Chairmen, the Omertas, and the White Glove Society, henceforth known as the Three Families. Only the Kings and the Great Khans refused, with the Kings settling in Freeside while the Great Khans were exiled to Bitter Springs. The Three Families, as well as the securitrons, would be enough to protect the Strip for now, but if the NCR tried to take it by force, they would not be able to resist in any meaningful way.

Instead, House had members of the Three Families, as well as a couple of his securitrons occupy the dam. When the main NCR forces arrived to assume control of the dam, House sent a securitron forward to call for parlay between the NCR's leaders and himself. Eventually, they reached an agreement in form of the New Vegas Treaty whereby the NCR would receive 95% of the dam's power output, McCarran International Airport as a base of operation, and permission to establish an embassy on the Strip. Meanwhile, the Strip would retain the remaining 5% power output – much more than required for operation – and immunity from annexation. The treaty also disallowed the NCR from forbidding their citizens and soldiers to visit the Strip, leading to a boom in New Vegas' economy. Tourists from all corners of the NCR, as well as stationed troopers on leave, would flock to the Strip and spend their hard-earned salaries on gambling, alcohol, and prostitutes. The Courier: "I'd like to know more about the NCR." Dennis Crocker: ''"I can provide a quick history lesson, if that's what you're looking for. In 2274, President Kimball sent the NCR army into the Mojave in force, with the objective of occupying and repairing Hoover Dam. Rangers and army scouts had confirmed that the dam was basically unoccupied and could be restored to an operable condition. Upon arriving at the dam, however, they discovered that a large force of tribals and robots had occupied it. This was our introduction to the Three Families, the Securitrons, and, of course, Mr. House. Using his Securitrons as intermediaries, Mr. House called for parlay. He claimed his forces had occupied Hoover Dam in order to safeguard it for our arrival. And that he was ready to turn it over to us, so long as we could agree to terms. Those terms became the Treaty of New Vegas. The Treaty recognized Mr. House's sovereignty over the Strip and granted us rights to establish military bases at the Dam and McCarran Airport. The NCR is legally permitted to send 95% of the electricity produced by the dam to our home states. The remaining 5% goes to the Strip. The treaty actually makes it illegal for the NCR to prevent its citizens, or troops on furlough, from visiting the Strip. Once on the Strip, our citizens are subject to arrest - or punishment - by House's Securitrons, though that's a rare occurrence. Our troops enjoy a different status. It's illegal for the Securitrons to take action against them. Of course, it's also illegal for our troops to carry firearms on the Strip, so there isn't much trouble they can get into. Our military police does an adequate job of keeping the troops on furlough in line. I don't envy them that task. The embassy was established a few weeks after the Treaty was signed. Basically Mr. House handed us a dumpy little building he had no interest in renovating. I'm the third ambassador to hold this post. And the first, I think, to accept its limitations. My predecessors had ambitions of engineering the annexation of the Mojave. They thought they'd convince Mr. House to join up. I've never even spoken to the man - or whatever he is. Maybe the situation will change once we've beaten the Legion once and for all."'' (Dennis Crocker's dialogue)

Around the same time, on the other side of the Colorado River, Caesar set his eyes on New Vegas. Feeling that the empire he was building lacked a true capital, a place he would be proud to call his Rome, he mobilized his Legion in the hopes of forcing the NCR out of the Mojave Wasteland and taking the city for himself. In 2277, this culminated in First Battle of Hoover Dam, which dealt a decisive loss to the Legion. Caesar did not retreat or abandon his plans of taking control of Vegas, and has waited patiently in his headquarters on Fortification Hill ever since his first defeat, waiting and preparing for an opportunity to strike again.

The continuous presence of the Legion has created a delicate power balance in the region. The NCR would have taken the Strip long ago, but the presence of the Legion means that if they attacked the Strip, they would be vulnerable to an attack from the Legion at Hoover Dam.

The future of Vegas
House has grand plans for Vegas - he calculates that on the back of tourism from the NCR, Vegas' economy will be strong enough to restart the development of new technology within 20 years, put people in orbit within 50 years, and within 100 years, have a colony ready to leave Earth behind and settle a new planet, untouched by war. And that is why he cannot let either side win. House spent over 812,545 caps hiring salvage teams to recover the platinum chip from Sunnyvale in just one year, with countless more spent during other years. Having finally recovered it, House arranged for it to be transported back to him. Fearing, however, that the leader of the Chairmen, Benny, was conspiring against him and would try to steal the chip upon its arrival in the Mojave Wasteland, he had his trusted Securitron, Victor, contact the Mojave Express in Primm, to hire six couriers. Five of the couriers were going to carry various novelty items, acting as decoys for the sixth courier, who was given the chip, effectively placing the future of New Vegas in that person's hands.

Layout
New Vegas is situated within a basin within the Mojave Desert, surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides. Settled relatively recently in the 19th century and subsequently blossoming in the 20th, the post-nuclear Vegas features a wide variety of socio-economic situations, ranging from the affluent New Vegas Strip, through the impoverished Freeside and North Vegas square, the fields of the NCR sharecropper farms, the resourceful Westside, to the derelict South Vegas ruins, and northeast hub of commerce, consisting of the Crimson Caravan Company, Gun Runners, and the 188 trading post. A vast network of sewers, some of which are inhabited by humans and other creatures, exist underneath the city.

Freeside
Freeside is the main slum of New Vegas. Controlled by the Kings and the Van Graffs, the streets are dangerous and lack the luster of the New Vegas Strip. Many gamblers and tourists find themselves under attack by thugs looking for a quick source of caps. Recent tensions between the NCR and the Kings have worsened the situation. Similar to the rest of outer Vegas, Freeside shows resentment towards the NCR, who are seen as unwelcome oppressors.

Freeside is divided into two sections. The first section is C-shaped and comprises the western, northern, and eastern parts of the district. Both of Freeside's external gates are found here. Several bodyguards stand near the gates, offering protection services in exchange for caps.

The second section covers the central and southern parts of the district. This section is reached from the north by passing through a wrecked-vehicle roadblock that divides the two parts of Freeside, or from the northwest through a door at the back of a ruined building between the Silver Rush and the Atomic Wrangler casino, or from the south via The Strip North Gate.

New Vegas sewers
Located under the New Vegas area is a sewer system with exits to most of the settlements around the city. There are no entrances to the sewers located inside the walls of the Strip or Freeside. The sections of sewer are the north sewers, the central sewers, the east central sewers, and the sealed sewers.

New Vegas Strip
This section serves as the heart of New Vegas. When entering through The Strip North Gate, Gomorrah is to the right and the Lucky 38 is to the left. Further down the street is a gate to another area of the Strip, which contains The Tops casino, the Ultra-Luxe, and the Camp McCarran monorail at Las Vegas Boulevard station. Beyond that, is Vault 21, Michael Angelo's workshop, and the NCR Embassy.

North Vegas Square
Like Freeside, North Vegas Square is part of the slums of New Vegas. Most of the buildings are decrepit and falling apart, similar to other areas surrounding the Strip. The only places of interest are an apartment building called The Gray and a manhole to the North Sewers. The citizens living in this area pride themselves on their independence and tend to be suspicious of outsiders. The area is self-policing, with Jules at the helm of protecting the area and community members.

Westside
Though it is one of the poorer residential areas of the city, Westside supports its own militia and has become self-reliant, growing its own food and maintaining its own water supply. The residents often complain of problems with the Fiends, who often harass and kill them in constant raids. A smaller gang, the Scorpions, have also remained a threat to the citizens.

The larger neighborhood, exposed to the Mojave Wasteland, is surrounded by a small network of ramshackle walls. The residential and commercial areas are enclosed completely, with the exception of two gates. The Westside's services include a food store, a brothel, a liquor store, a pawn shop, and a fighting arena where matches can both be fought and bet upon.

North Vegas Square

 * The Gray

North Vegas Square

 * Andy Scabb
 * Crandon
 * Jules

Appearances
New Vegas was first mentioned as Las Vegas by Tycho in Fallout, and appears only in Fallout: New Vegas. The in-game iteration of the Fabulous New Vegas sign appears in the Atomic Command game in Fallout 4. Las Vegas is also mentioned in the Fallout 76 add-on Wastelanders.

Behind the scenes

 * New Vegas is based on the real world location Las Vegas, located in Clark County, Nevada. Many locations in game are based on real world equivalents in and around the city, such as the casinos, neighborhoods, landmarks, and businesses.
 * Las Vegas was one of the main and most central cities in Wasteland, the predecessor to the Fallout series. Like Wasteland's Las Vegas, New Vegas was not heavily damaged by nuclear weapons.