New Vegas Strip Gomorrah and LVB monorail station

The Strip is run by the Three Families, who owe their allegiance to Mr. House. When he first showed up, he gave the local tribes the choice of working with him or getting the hell out of his way. Given how things turned out, I know which way I’d have gone, but hindsight’s twenty-twenty, right?
Rotface

The Strip is an exciting, exhausting, overwhelming, and exhilarating place, and especially strange after spending so much time alone in the desert.

Locations

# 323 – New Vegas
# 324 – New Vegas Strip
# 27 – The Strip North Gate
# 206 – Las Vegas Boulevard (LVB) station
# 217 – Gomorrah
# 410 – Big Sal’s office
# 411 – Brimstone
# 412 – Gomorrah suites
# 413 – Gomorrah courtyard
# 414 – Gomorrah third floor
# 415 – Joana’s room

Location Details

# 323 / 324 – New Vegas / Strip – New Vegas is based on the city of Las Vegas and the attractions within. In our world, currently, is the number 28 in the nation for population, first in the state of Nevada and Mojave Desert with 2.5 million people in the metro area. In the game, although population is scaled for apocalyptic devastation, it remains the most commercially dense region of the map.

In the game and real life, the Strip is a distinctively separate portion of the whole of Vegas – in our world, a 4.2 mile stretch of South Vegas Boulevard and in game, an enclosed, gated section. Similarly, the areas around the Strip in both our world and the game consist of the central map, ruins to the south, and the neighborhoods of Westside, North Vegas Square, and Freeside.

# 27 – The Strip North Gate – I always start my “strip days” at the equivalent of the north gate, aptly named the Gateway District of Las Vegas, just southeast of the intersection of I-15 and NV-159. In our world, the technical Strip is not in the city limits of Las Vegas, but just south in the towns of Paradise and Winchester. Although the Strat is the northern-most “must see” in game location in our world, I always start at the Sahara, because that is where the monorail begins and you can park in the ramp there for free. My favorite on the Strip hotel is the Sahara and I recommend it if you are from out of town because it is farther away from traffic and not as intimidating for parking, check in, and has direct access to the monorail.

From the ramp at the Sahara, you can take the elevator down to the ground floor and then up the massive escalator to the walkway overpass towards the monorail station. Right in front of the escalator is a series of huge mirrors. Below you can see the difference in daylight – the left is January and the right is July at 4:30 PM in front of the same mirror!

# 206 – Las Vegas Boulevard (LVB) station – In our world, the monorail does not connect to McCarran (although it really should), but instead runs the length of the Strip, beginning at the Sahara and ending at MGM Grand and vice versa.

You can buy a 24 hour monorail pass for $13 (single ride and multiday passes are available too) which you can screenshot with your phone for easy comings and goings. I usually buy them ahead of time, since sometimes the kiosks are broken and the station does not have attendants available all the time. You can use the tickets any time, and do not have to buy them for specific days. They “start” the first time you scan at the turnstyle.

I highly recommend using this method of transportation, not only because of affordability, but because walking the entire length is exhausting, confusing, and disorienting – at least for me. I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, being a courier and all, but the way they weave you around the shopping areas, through casinos, underground, and then over roads – always wipes me out physically and mentally. Taking the monorail stop by stop is an easy way to see the main points of interest without getting lost or super tired really fast. Plus if you ride from one end to the other, it is only a short ride and you get to see the entirety of the Strip from up above!

# 217 – Gomorrah – I included the Gomorrah in this entry due to the resemblance to the Sahara. In our world, the Hotel Sahara opened in 1952, featuring the same African Sahara theme as seen in-game. Today it has a more sophisticated gold and white Deus-Ex Human Revolution sort of feel to it, which may be why I like it so much. The new sign looks like those “S” patterns we all drew in junior high school.

A lot of Gomorrah’s exterior and interior look similar to the old Sahara, including the decor, theme, building structure, and exterior signage.

The hotel has changed names a few times, but as I write this in 2020, it is once again called the Sahara. Below are some pictures of the hotel and sign before it was renovated in 2011. Today, you can see the original sign in the Neon Boneyard.

There was also a huge stained glass window that was set back in a semi circle, which looks like the in-game lobby. And the carpets of both look pretty similar as well, at least the rectangle pattern. The lighting sure is spot-on, too.

# 413 / 415 – Gomorrah courtyard / Joana’s room – The former Sahara also featured a courtyard and pool, similar to the in game version.

Another likely inspiration is the former Dunes Hotel and Casino, marking resemblance in the sign and tower structure. The Dunes was demolished in 1993, replaced with the Bellagio. Boo!