Lucky 38

The Lucky 38 is a hotel and casino on the New Vegas Strip in 2281. It is occupied only by Mr. House, the ruler of New Vegas, and his securitrons.

Background
The most prominent element of the New Vegas skyline, the Lucky 38 is a pre-War relic and an enduring monument to Mr. House's vision of Las Vegas: luxury without decadence, refinement without elitism, class without snobbery. But to assume that it was just a casino is erroneous, as in the years leading up to the war, Robert House thoroughly modified the building in preparation for the upcoming nuclear war. Accurate long range laser cannons linked to the massive processing centers inside were installed on top of the tower to defend the Mojave against nuclear warheads. A massive underground storage facility for securitrons was built into the foundations. But the greatest marvel was the reason behind Mr. House's withdrawal from society: a preservation chamber built into the core of the penthouse floor, where the potentate sacrificed his mortal shell in return for immortality. Wired into the Lucky 38's mainframe and its power core, House was ready to face the coming apocalypse, save for one last item: an OS upgrade for the Lucky 38 contained on the platinum chip.

The chip never arrived. Forced to work with an inferior OS, Mr. House nevertheless managed to destroy a majority of the warheads aimed at the Mojave, but eventually suffered a critical system crash and was forced into a coma. The Lucky 38 fell silent and for nearly two centuries lay dormant amidst Vegas ruins. Only the odd securitron, controlled by Mr. House after he awoke in 2130, left the premises occasionally to survey the wasteland and bring news of the developments.

The tower came to life in 2274, as securitron agents detected NCR scouts at Hoover Dam. An army of securitrons poured out of the Lucky 38, quickly destroying hostile tribals on the Strip and securing the location. Mr. House then struck a deal with the three largest tribes, providing them with clothes, tools and supplies from stockpiles in the Lucky 38 in return for renovating the city and preparing for the arrival of the NCR. The Lucky 38 once again became a symbol of New Vegas, as the domain of its mysterious leader. No one has set foot inside the tower ever since.

As of 2281, the Lucky 38 remains closed to the public. No one knows what is inside.

Casino
Inside the front door is the casino floor, with gambling tables and slots that cannot be played. The empty cashier's room is to the left. The many gun cabinets within are safe storage, which provide an alternative to the storage in the Presidential Suite, where companions are able to take items. Above the cashier's room is a VIP lounge, where a terminal can be found that is used in the quest The Moon Comes Over the Tower.

In the center of the floor is the elevator. Victor must be spoken to in order to use the elevator so long as House is alive, but otherwise the player can operate the elevator directly.

Cocktail lounge
The cocktail lounge is near the top of the Lucky 38, beneath the penthouse. Companions are not allowed inside, and will be left waiting in the previous room. The room is filled with empty tables, cash registers with small amounts of pre-War money, unplayable slot machines, and other assorted miscellaneous items. There is an Average-locked safe with some decent loot inside, and a hard locked briefcase. The Snow globe - Test Site can also be found here, tucked behind one of the cash registers. There is also a Hard locked briefcase containing C-4 plastic explosive x3, a detonator, and a silenced .22 pistol with some ammunition.

Penthouse
The penthouse is the highest level of the Lucky 38. Companions are not allowed inside, as with the cocktail lounge. Mr. House's control center is located here, down the stairs to the left of the elevator. Jane is right in front of the elevator, waiting to collect any snowglobes. To the right is a bedroom. The shelves are stocked with numerous pre-War books.

Unlike the cocktail lounge, there is a wall which prevents people from circling the entire room; this conceals the elevator to the control room. A terminal to open it is to the left of House's control center, which requires either a Science skill of 75, the platinum chip, or the Lucky 38 VIP keycard to operate. Inside are two Securitrons. Using the terminal opens a hidden door, causing the Securitrons guarding the room to turn hostile. However, upon exiting the room (taking the elevator downstairs and upstairs) the Securitrons will be non-hostile towards the Courier.

Presidential suite
The Presidential Suite is made available immediately after the Courier's first interaction with Mr. House. It's fairly spacious, consisting of five rooms. There is the master bedroom (which contains an owned bed), the guest bedroom (the two beds here are not owned), the kitchen and dining room, the study, and the bathroom (which has clean water). The fridge has some food in it, and various drinks are present. All of the storage within is safe. Through a terminal to the left of the master bedroom, additional storage can be purchased, as well as a workbench.

All inactive companions can be sent to the presidential suite in lieu of their original homes. Idle companions will wander around, talk to each other, and occasionally sit in the chairs or sleep. Most notably, however, they will help themselves to anything stored inside, so long as the items aren't considered stolen and the Courier is present in the suite at the time. This includes taking items from containers. This is usually limited to food and drink, but they may also take weapons.

Notable loot

 * Golden Gloves - at the casino's VIP section, near the access point terminal.
 * Snow globe - Test Site - in the cocktail lounge, behind one of the three cash registers.
 * Hard Locked briefcase containing ¡La Fantoma! and C-4 plastic explosive in the cocktail lounge. From elevator entrance, third table & couch set-up to the right.
 * Jake Juice – on a table in the presidential suite.
 * A large amount of alcohol, as well as one of the greatest sources of absinthe in the game (next to the Atomic Wrangler), on the center shelves of the cocktail lounge.
 * 40 bundles of pre-War money can be found throughout the casino.

Appearances
The Lucky 38 appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

 * The name "Lucky 38" is a reference to the 38 numbers on a roulette table. The sign looks like a stylized roulette wheel and betting layout, and the tower top is modeled after a roulette wheel. Pre-War posters for the lucky 38 have the slogan; "Take her for a spin!".
 * The building resembles the real-life Stratosphere Las Vegas and the Space Needle, as well as the now demolished Landmark Hotel and Casino.
 * Interestingly, the Landmark Hotel and Casino was bought in 1969 by billionaire Howard Hughes who was the basis for the personality of Mr. House.
 * James Garcia created the 3D model of the Lucky 38 neon sign.

Bugs

 * If you try talking to Victor, he does nothing. Getting a follower, bringing them into the Lucky 38 and saying "Time to part ways"  should get Victor to speak.
 * Upon exiting the Lucky 38, the game freezes or crashes - not only that, but the auto-save file becomes corrupted. This may be worked around by using the movetoqt command to bypass using the casino door and teleport to the target of the quest marker.
 * At the Lucky 38, the automatic doors before the real doors to go inside will not open and you won't be able to go in (talking to Victor won't fix it).