Vault 21

"Serenity / Dream Town"

Vault 21 is a Vault-Tec vault that was once hidden under Las Vegas, Nevada. It has since been converted into a hotel/casino and acts as one of many sources of income for Mr. House and his young New Vegas empire in 2281.

Background
Located in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, Vault 21 was one of the few vaults that successfully protected its inhabitants while fulfilling the parameters of its experiment. Everyone in the vault was equal, it was created with a perfectly symmetrical layout, and all conflicts and problems were solved through gambling. Chosen representatives gambled against each other in the main atrium and the winner earned the right to settle the dispute as wished by the collective. Reliance on luck to solve problems created what might be considered the perfect realization of anarchy: a society in which everyone is equal and no one has an advantage over the others.

However, as with all utopias, peace was not lasting. In 2274, Robert House contacted Vault 21's residents with an offer of inclusion in the resurrection of Vegas. While most of the vault dwellers wanted to refuse the offer, some residents were in favor of it. As a result, residents in favor of Mr. House's offer challenged each level's representative who was in favor of staying isolated. After a game of blackjack that lasted for many hours, those in favor of opening to the outside won in an extremely risky move. Once Mr. House gained access to the vault, he stripped much of its technology, and with the help of the vault dwellers, used it to rebuild the Strip. Soon after, Mr. House ordered most of the vault to be filled with concrete, in order to prevent former residents from retaking the Vault. At the request of Sarah and Sheldon Weintraub, Mr. House left some of the upper levels intact and allowed Sarah to establish a hotel there, which became another source of income for Vegas's growing economy. After their emergence, many of the vault dwellers went on to live new lives in the outside world, such as Doc Mitchell.

Layout
The vault's main blast door has been transformed into a sign advertising the vault/casino. "Vault 21" is emblazoned on it in neon lights. The vault entrance is an above-ground building that contains the Vault 21 gift shop. It is run by one of the only two native residents to have remained, Sarah. Stairs lead from the gift shop down into the vault.

There is a central atrium with gambling tables, a hallway with living quarters, including Sarah's room and a guest room that the player character can rent. Another door leads to the cafeteria/diner. The lower levels were filled with concrete by Mr. House and are inaccessible except for the maintenance level, which is accessible from the basement of The Tops, where the Chairmen appear to have tried to break in. This level consists of a long hallway with a few small rooms branching off of it. The elevator in Benny's suite leading to it is locked unless he is attacked in the Tops presidential suite, and the tunnel ends in another locked door.

Inhabitants

 * Carlitos Wayne
 * Martina Groesbeck
 * Michael Angelo (formerly)
 * Doc Mitchell (formerly)
 * Sarah Weintraub

Notable loot

 * The Strip snow globe - Behind an Average locked door in the northeast-most room (Sarah's room). In the same room, there is a Hard locked dresser beside the bed with 270 caps and several articles of clothing.
 * An oversized toy car and a sensor module - In the hotel lobby.
 * Strip letter 1 and Strip letter 2 - In the guest rooms to the southeast.
 * Strip letter 3 - In the guest room just west of the inaccessible door to the south.
 * Vault lab uniform - Occasionally sold by Sarah.

Related quests

 * Bye Bye Love
 * The Finger of Suspicion
 * Suits You, Sarah
 * Tourist Traipse

Appearances
Vault 21 appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * Vault 21 was designed by Jorge Salgado.
 * Vault 21 is geographically situated in the same real world location as the former Las Vegas Hilton, now Westgate Las Vegas, which contained a municipal fallout shelter in real life.
 * Vault 21 may be a reference to the card game "Blackjack," where 21 is the highest sum and its limit, usually declaring an instant victory. This supports its gambling theme. It could also be a reference to 21 as the minimum legal age a person must be in order to drink and gamble, therefore reinforcing the main theme.
 * Vault 21's lower levels being filled with concrete may be a subtle reference to the Silver Slipper Casino, as it was rumored that the mechanized slipper at the front of the casino was filled with concrete by Howard Hughes, the man who was the basis for Mr. House.
 * James Garcia created the 3D model of the neon sign letters.


 * The computer in Sarah Weintraub's room contains an email from a Charlene Tann who mentions her husband Biff Tann. This may be a reference to the Back to the Future trilogy, in which the antagonist is named Biff Tannen.
 * The vault guest terminal advertises pool sets in the gift shop with the line "Hustle it like Minnesota Fats!" This is a reference to the novel The Hustler by Walter Tevis and its 1961 film adaptation, starring Jackie Gleason as Fats.

Bugs

 * If you take the tour with Sarah Weintraub, your companions may disappear and not reappear when you exit the vault.
 * Sarah may not recognize Vault 21 jumpsuits as vault gear, but will trade for them normally at the usual price.
 * Sometimes when you take the tour with Sarah Weintraub, she will walk with you out of the gift shop and then stay still above the stairs leading to the hotel part of Vault 21 and will be unable to talk to.
 * Vault 21 has a high probability of causing the game to freeze during loading screens.