Ok, so I agree with you as far as 'las vegas' and 'reno' are concerned. However, there was a stretch of highway where you would go >100 miles without a rest stop and I believe the ranchers out there loved the atmosphere for raising kids! No neighbors at all and their driveways averaged around 1-3 miles from the highway -- the only problem was it was a LONG busride to school and to get supplies from the store! :0)

Tracy

>>>>>Anyone who gambles is a sucker. I have never gambled nor do I intend to start.
>>>>
>>>>Paraphrasing a popular Spanish humor program, "I have never gambled, nor will I do it again..."
>>>>
>>>>As a Bahá'í, my position is very simple: Bahá'u'lláh has forbidden gambling.
>>>>
>>>>Apart from that, it does make sense, too. Actually, the math is very simple: The "house" has calculated everything so it makes money, AND it has to cover its operating costs, so the players lose money (on the average), since there is no added value involved.
>>>>
>>>>Hilmar.
>>>
>>>Hilmar;
>>>
>>>When I was a teenager a neighbor of mine obtained a mechanical slot machine (a one armed bandit as they are called). We took the case off and inside there was a lever, which had different markings. I remember 250,000 to 1 and 750,000 to 1. These were the lowest numbers and there were a few more. This is how you established the odds of payoff for that machine.
>>>
>>>When you would go to Nevada people would sit at a slot machine all day with a 505 can of coins. Many said, “This is my machine”! They were sure they would win. Today the slot machines are electronic and you can still set the odds to win. A casino owner told me men are employed to "set the odds of each machine several times a week"! So this is a full time job for some lucky person. When business goes down they decrease the odds. So weekdays and weekends are treated differently. Lots of people during the weekends so not too many winners.
>>>
>>>Casinos even employ people who win. When you win lights and sounds of all kinds go off to indicate you are the winner. Then people gather around and the winner walks off for a few minutes only to return and win again sometime later. By then a new crowd is in the area and the act continues.
>>>
>>>My memories of Nevada, include buffets in casino restaurants which required walking through the gambling areas. Children were not allowed to loiter so you had to walk quickly before the security people came over to you and gave you a bad time. The huge casino rooms were filled with smoke from cigarettes and cigars. Old men who could hardly walk were pushing small green oxygen tanks using small handcarts and had oxygen masks tied to their faces so they could breath.
>>>
>>>We have a friend who moved to Nevada and she has an identical twin sister. The sisters work as security guards at a large casino. They work the same shift and opposite ends of the building. Some people are observant and say, “I thought I just saw you at the other end of the building”!
>>>
>>>It has been over 9 years since I visited Nevada and I do not miss it at all!
>>>
>>>Tom
>>
>>
>>You experiences and observations mirror mine exaclty. I was in Las Vegas to demonstrate Savvy for Excalibur corp at the 1983 Comdex. Little old laides spending their social security checks, younger folks spending their welfare checks on 10 cent one-armed bandits. I saw a newspaper dispensing device but it didn't have a coin slot. I was amazed! Besides free breakfast, dinner and lunch they give away the newpaper! I got one, anticipating to read the news of the day. It was filled with photos of young girls... advertizing brothels. After demo hours I'd walk around to the vrious casinos on the stip to observe folks gambling. What amazed me is that the casinos bragged about the highest return on the gambling dollor. One would advertize .94 and another would claim 0.96. One smaller casino advertized 0.98 of every dollar gambled was "returned" to the gambler. So, at one place you could using your money 17 times before you eventually lost it all, and ot other you could go 50
>>tries before it was all gone. They didn't seem to catch on to the fact that eventually they'd loose it all. Some, however, go to gamble with the intent of 'having fun' and set a limit on what they will gamble. When they reach that limit (not if), they quit and go home. Not too many of those kind of 'gamblers'.
>>JLK
>
>Jerry;
>
>We explored the possibility of living in Nevada during the last recession and visited the Las Vegas, and Reno areas. We ended up moving to Minden, Nevada, near Carson City.
>
>Las Vegas, and Nevada in general, is not an area to raise children as far as my wife and I are concerned. Las Vegas leaves memories of prostitution, nude dancers, drugs, gambling, lots of lights, drunks and glitz. I also believe they have the world record for the largest number of 7-11 stores in a given city.
>
>Trying to walk through a casino to get to its restaurant was difficult with our 13 and 15 year olds with us. You cannot stop near a gambling area or security gets after you because of laws concerning minors, gambling and such. Also, the nude dancers were at the stage next to the front door for your viewing pleasure. This is not what I call a “family environment”. Just try to find a place to eat!
>
>For 9 months we lived in Minden and then returned to California, for better or worse. We have not visited Nevada for 8 years and I do not care to return. However, it is a good area for testing nuclear devices and storing nuclear waste.
>
>I guess subjects like this have to do with value systems. Not everyone shares the same values. It is obvious that there are people living in and visiting Nevada for exactly the reasons I dislike that state!
>
>Tom