Free Economic Zone of New Vegas

The Free Economic Zone of New Vegas is a city-state led by Robert House in New Vegas.

Organization
House's Free Economic Zone is an autocracy, with all power centralized in the hands of the chief executive, Robert House. House states that he has no interest in abusing power, controlling the private affairs of people living in the area, or installing himself as a machine god messiah, with his judgment and utmost rationality being a guarantee of fairness as autocrat of the zone.

In practice, House adheres strictly to the letter of all contracts he signs and expects others to do the same. Violation of contractual obligations earns his scorn, at best, and violent retaliation, at worst. The latter is usually reserved for particularly severe violations, for example, if the White Glove Society returned to its noxious habit of eating people. Examples of his adherence include limiting the jurisdiction of Securitrons to the Strip, with casinos being off-limits except under extraordinary circumstances and withholding the original tribal name of the White Gloves, even in a situation where no adverse effect could be produced.

A direct result of House's disinterest in legislating people's behavior is the absence of any checks and balances on himself or anyone else. Although he would have the Free Economic Zone become an independent, dynamic, high-technology enterprise zone, he claims he would not intervene in the affairs of the people as long as his basic rules were followed. The New Vegas libertopia would be a place where the strong prey on the weak, ruling without limits as long as their strength lasts, and the weak are continuously trampled, lulled by the dream of becoming strong themselves one day.

Economy
Like Las Vegas' pre-War casinos, the Free Economic Zone's economy is based almost entirely on tourism and gambling. Nearly all profit is gained from NCR citizens and soldiers vacationing on the Strip and by frequenting its various casinos. To ensure profit from every entrant into the Strip, everyone must pass a credit check of 2000 caps or more at the gate. This is to prevent squatters and persons without means from detracting from valuable foot traffic. To supplement the income gained from tourists, Mr. House offers franchisee agreements to vendors who wish to sell foodstuffs, non-alcoholic beverages (alcohol being sold exclusively at casinos), and other items on the Strip. The individuals that work under the franchisee agreement must forfeit 50% of their profits to Mr. House at the end of each working day, while the franchisee keeps the rest.

Appearances
The Free Economic Zone of New Vegas appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.