Google “West Las Vegas Riots” and you’ll be shown stories about an uprising that erupted in the historically Black part of Las Vegas — in response to the Rodney King verdict in 1992. Though that tragic event cost one person his life, another riot in the same place 23 years earlier, was deadlier.

Throughout its nearly 67 years in business, the Tropicana's ownership has changed several times, and some of its early history even involved the mob. "It opened April 4th, 1957, and it was called the Tiffany of the Strip," said Michael Green, a history professor and chair of UNLV's history department.

The world of this old Vegas-set video game remains so compelling, fans travel here to visit the real thing. As I stand in the Goodsprings cemetery, I do my best to be respectful of its residents, especially since only bona fide citizens of the town can be buried here. The place has a sepulchral serenity. Miniature American flags on headstones flap in the wind. There is a bench for contemplation. The sun shines all day. It’s a fine place not only to spend eternity, but also to reflect on the fleeting nature of life, the passage of time, and one’s own mortality.

Las Vegas loses one of its classic casinos this week. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with UNLV historian Michael Green about the glamor, gambling, and one-time mob connections of the Tropicana.

In February 2024, American anti-government agitator Ammon Bundy posted a video with a provocative title to his YouTube channel: ‘Want to know where Ammon Bundy is?’

The sports betting business is booming, with Americans waging a record-high $119.84 billion in 2023 as more states allowed it. One of the side effects of this particular gambling boom is the way sports betting is fueling a public health crisis.

The Tropicana is dead; long live the Tropicana. The storied hotel-casino closes its doors April 2, just two days shy of its 67th birthday, to make way for a Major League Baseball stadium and a new Bally’s resort. Over the next year, the land the Tropicana now occupies will be cleared, with the intent that the organization currently known as the Oakland A’s will claim the empty lot in April 2025 and begin to build.

The sports betting business is booming, and one of the side effects of this boom is the way sports betting is fueling a public health crisis. Dr. Shane Kraus is the director of the Behavioral Addictions Lab at UNLV, which conducts research on compulsive behaviors, including gambling. Saul Malek is a public speaker who educates the public on the perils of gambling addiction by sharing his personal story.

The Tropicana will be closing two days shy of when it would have marked 67 years of business on the Las Vegas Strip.

B-boy sensation JD Rainey goes from leg braces to the Vegas stage of Magic Mike Live. Then he takes us backstage to meet the Lady performers and get their take on the show's empowering message. Explore the Sahara Casino's history at the Neon Museum. Meet Chuck Frommer, owner of John Mulls Meats and Road Kill Grill, tracing his family legacy from the Hoover Dam to BBQ fame.

Despite being known for its gaming industry and casinos, Nevada is one of five states without a statewide lottery. That’s by design. A statewide lottery is banned in Nevada’s 159-year-old constitution. The constitution was written when lotteries were seen as corrupt and coincided with a series of national reforms, most famously abolition, that swept the United States in the 1800s.

Ask Erin Mantz why she loves personality tests, and she’ll tell you she’s a Pisces, an only child, and an introvert prone to self-reflection. “I’m constantly craving and searching for insights into why I do what I do, and what makes me tick,” she says. Since discovering them at her college career center, she’s taken many different kinds, but the most transformative was the one she took with her coworkers at AOL in her 30s. A new manager instructed Mantz and her colleagues to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, which revealed she’s an INFJ: intuitive, enthusiastic, impulsive, and prone to improvisation.