New Vegas Strip

The New Vegas Strip, officially the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas, is a location in the Mojave Wasteland.

Background
Founded on May 15, 1905, Las Vegas was a golden jewel in Nevada and the entire Southwest Commonwealth. Las Vegas's main strip and surrounding areas were saved from complete destruction thanks to Mr. House's foresight in preparing for eventual worldwide war. As the Great War started, Mr. House used his considerable genius and wealth to ensure that most of the missiles would miss the city of Las Vegas with the use of his surface-to-air long range missiles and long-range laser turrets on the roof of his Lucky 38 casino. Though a few warheads did manage to get through these defenses, a good portion of the main city and strip were spared from nuclear destruction.

For some years, the Strip was run by tribal familes, until, in 2274, Mr. House sent out PDQ-88b securitron scouts to negotiate with them using his considerable resources, up to and including threats of violence. Mr. House's stockpiles could be used for or against the tribals in exchange for their help. Some of the tribes resisted, but three of the largest and most powerful tribes eventually gained Mr. House's favor. They became the Omertas, the Chairmen, and the White Glove Society. These tribes began running the Gomorrah, Tops and Ultra-Luxe casinos respectively, shortly after House discovered the New California Republic exploring the Mojave. The rest were either evacuated into Freeside or promptly killed. Because Mr. House was dedicated to restoring the Strip, he insisted on transforming the tribes into families with cultures that hearkened back to Vegas' glory days.

In the process of rebuilding the Strip, Mr. House won control over the residents of Vault 21 after a gambling match with the vault's best players. After they evacuated, House had the vault stripped of useful technology, most of its actual volume filled with concrete, and the entrance turned into a gift shop with the lower levels remaining converted into a small hotel. While the families were rebuilding the casinos, the rest of the locals were hard at work erecting an enormous wall around the Strip. When NCR traders and explorers arrived on the scene, they were amazed at the Strip and returned back to California with tales of opulence and great wealth awaiting travelers.

Eventually, when the NCR military itself arrived, they were surprised to find the Strip so well-protected and heavily policed. Though they struck a deal with Mr. House to establish a base in the area (along with control of Hoover Dam) the NCR has never had control of the Strip. After the First Battle of Hoover Dam the NCR negotiated to allow for a military police presence on the Strip, but their influence still remains small.

Though the tribes that became the Strip's families were once hatefully opposed to each other, the demands of Mr. House have forced the families to play nice. They continue to hold long-standing grudges, but do not act openly against each other for fear of angering Mr. House.

Layout
The Strip is 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 leads to The Tops casino, the Ultra-Luxe and the Camp McCarran monorail. Beyond that through a third gate is Vault 21, Michael Angelo's workshop, and the NCR Embassy.

Entering the Strip
The entrance to the Strip is guarded by several securitrons, therefore preventing the Courier from walking right into it. There are 7 possible ways to gain entrance:
 * The securitrons at the gate will permit entrance with 2000 caps. They will not take the money, but merely check to ensure that the visitor has a large amount of caps.
 * Having a Science skill of at least 80 (which is difficult to get if the player makes a direct run to the strip), the securitron can be hacked to gain entrance.
 * Alternatively, killing all the securitrons at the gate will allow access. Note that this triggers hostility in case of witnesses; the rest of the securitrons inside will also fight and give infamy.
 * The securitrons will also allow access with a New Vegas passport. A Speech of 50 or more allows convincing Ralph, from Mick & Ralph's to forge a passport for 500 caps. It can be gotten for 375 with a Barter check of 50, or even get it for free, with enough NCR reputation.
 * A passport can be acquired for free and without needing to pass the Speech check by completing the G.I. Blues quest given by the King and choosing access to the Strip as one's favor.
 * Having a "Liked" or greater reputation with the NCR or wearing an NCR uniform will allow travel via the monorail at Camp McCarran to Las Vegas Boulevard Station, bypassing the Freeside gate. After entering the Strip through this way the securitrons at the Freeside gate will allow leaving and entering the Strip freely without having to pass a skill check or showing caps.

Appearances
The New Vegas Strip appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Bugs

 * Sometimes, when advancing in "For the Republic, Part 2" or "Wild Card: Side Bets", the door to the Strip is locked.
 * One solution is to travel to the Strip by monorail from Camp McCarran (unless it is already destroyed).
 * Another solution is to kill a gate securitron to get a key but you'll lose reputation (and all the gate securitrons will attack you). If you use a silenced sniper rifle or Christine's CoS silencer rifle (with Old World Blues installed), you should be able to kill one of the securitrons without alerting the remainder.
 * Another solution is paying your way again to the securitron, you could also add the 2000 caps needed by using the console command.
 * You can use a console command to get the key:, or you can open the console, click the gate, and type "unlock" into the console.
 * Reloading a previous auto-save seems to fix this problem.
 * Going near the gate to New Vegas Strip sometimes causes an extremely loud buzzing noise.

Interactive map
