1Drinking In Public
In basically every movie featuring Las Vegas, there is a copious amount of drinking while in public. But is that just a liberty taken in the movies or can you actually live the dream and wander around drink in hand?
It turns out that the answer is yes—but, as with most legal issues, there are some exceptions to keep in mind. Within the city limits you are allowed to have an open container in public as long as the establishment where you bought your drink allowed you to leave the premises with it and your beverage is not in a metal or glass container—so no beer cans. And watch where you wander with your drink, since if you have it within 1,000 feet of a school, place of worship, or hospital you will be risking an unplanned tour of the Clark County Detention Center.
2Prostitution Is Not Legal In Las Vegas
This one has been a source of confusion among tourists for a long time. One of the things for which Nevada is known, for better or worse, is being the only state that permits legal prostitution. But the law only allows prostitution in counties with a population of less than 400,000 people. Why is that particular number the cutoff? Because when the law was enacted, Las Vegas wanted to keep the brothels out of Clark County, where the city is located. At the time Clark County was the only county with a population over 400,000, though today Reno’s population also prevents it from legalizing prostitution.
So why did a city that made its official advertising slogan “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” work so hard to keep out legal prostitution? Like many small western towns, Las Vegas had tolerated the presence of brothels since its founding. But as the city began to evolve into a national tourist destination it cracked down on open prostitution, in an effort to avoid scaring off visitors from more puritan parts of the country. That is not to say that illicit prostitution doesn’t exist in Las Vegas, as the hundreds of pages for “escorts” in the local phone book will attest, but the Las Vegas police regularly conduct stings to catch prostitutes and their johns.
So while sex workers in Nevada’s rural counties ply their trade at brothels regulated by the local health department and undergo legally mandated monthly STD screenings, Las Vegas has steadfastly rejected efforts to create a legal red light district, despite the city’s continuing problems with underage prostitution and human trafficking. Nevada’s legal prostitution industry certainly has its problems, but given that selling sex is unlikely to go out of fashion anytime soon, regulation may be the best solution.
3Janet Airlines
Nevada is home to one of America’s most secretive military facilities, the classified base known as Area 51. Located in a dry lake bed in central Nevada, the government refused to even acknowledge Area 51’s existence until this year, and the base has been rumored to house everything from a top secret test site to recovered alien spaceships. While we don’t know the base’s exact purpose, we do know that Area 51 employs hundreds of civilian contractors. And for those of you that have not been to central Nevada, the area doesn’t offer much for those accustomed to big city life. As a result, many employees reside in Las Vegas.
The federal government quickly recognized that it couldn’t expect the base’s employees to make an eight hour drive to work every day. That’s where a special restricted access terminal at McCarran International Airport and a fleet of white unmarked 737s come into play. The nondescript planes routinely ferry Area 51’s civilian employees between the base and Las Vegas. The fleet is unofficially known as “Janet Airlines” due to the call sign the planes use to identify themselves.
As for what the employees are up to when they arrive at Area 51, that’s still anyone’s guess. In August 2013, the CIA declassified a report stating that the base has previously been used to test prototypes for top-secret surveillance aircraft. However, there are still those who believe the base has more extraterrestrial functions.
4Gambling Is Illegal Just Outside Of Las Vegas
Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the world, with slot machines located in almost every supermarket and gas station in the city, so it may be surprising that gambling is strictly prohibited just 40 kilometers (25 miles) away from the Strip.
With its quiet streets and well-manicured lawns, Boulder City looks more like a small Midwestern town than the last stop before entering Vegas after crossing the Hoover Dam. The community was established by the federal government in 1931 for workers constructing the dam. Federal officials were understandably concerned that the construction workers’ paychecks would end up at local casinos rather than in their bank accounts, and so a gambling ban was instituted. When Boulder City was incorporated in 1960, the city council decided to maintain the gambling ban.
Even today, the suggestion of legalizing gambling in the city is met with staunch resistance by local residents, who prefer to shun the negative side-effects that come with gambling. Gaming and tourism are the lifeblood of Nevada’s economy, but it is refreshing to know that there is still a place for Vegas visitors and residents alike to get away from the glitz and glamour for a while.
5Oscar Goodman
Perhaps no one person epitomizes modern Las Vegas more than former mayor Oscar Goodman. Goodman got his start as a young criminal defense attorney taking on the cases of some of the city’s most notorious mobsters. After a decades-long legal career, Goodman beat out five opponents to become mayor in 1999.
Goodman presided over Las Vegas just as it was once again embracing its reputation as Sin City, leaving behind the brief fad to market itself as a family-friendly destination. And the city couldn’t have asked for a better spokesman than Goodman. He made a habit of attending public functions with two showgirls at his side while sipping a martini, and he dubbed himself “The Happiest Mayor in the Universe.” He outraged local parents during a question and answer session in front of a 4th grade class, when he responded that his favorite pastime was drinking gin. When called out for the impropriety of his response, Goodman said, “I can’t tell a lie. If they didn’t want the answer the kid shouldn’t have asked the question.” And when asked by a reporter how to handle the city’s graffiti problem, the mayor advocated cutting the thumbs off of any aspiring Banksys.
Besides making outrageous comments, Mayor Goodman brought about some actual policy changes, most notably the revitalization of downtown Las Vegas. The Downtown Project saw much of the dilapidated motels and high crime of the area replaced with high-rise condominiums and hipster-friendly bars, though like most urban renewal projects there was controversy over the displacement of the area’s low-income residents.
The law limits the office of mayor to three terms, so in 2011 the Happiest Mayor in America stepped down. But the city will still have a Mayor Goodman until at least 2015—Oscar’s wife Carolyn won the race to replace him, though she travels with Chippendale dancers instead of showgirls.
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