Although Las Vegas is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States, with a population of more than 1,200,000, little attention has been paid to that part of the city where people actually live--the city apart from the Strip and the flashy older gambling strip of Downtown. This book representing the work of young reporters from all over the United States who spent the better part of a year examining the "Real Las Vegas." Each one looked at a single aspect of life--the lives of teenagers, senior citizens, Mexican immigrants, the homeless, houses of worship, prostitutes, education, labor unions, pawn shops, housing, water supply (in a desert). Eventually they came to realize that no other city could duplicate the Las Vegas experience because no other city has depended for so long on the profits of gambling.