Lucky 38¶

Return to The Strip, where your goal is The Tops Casino, where Benny - the man who shot you in Goodsprings - awaits. First, however, it would be wise to visit the Lucky 38. It can’t hurt to hear the old man out and find out what New Vegas’s overlord wants from you, can it? Head up to the Lucky 38 and talk to Victor, outside, who will tell you the bossman awaits beyond.

Enter the Casino floor of the Lucky 38. Alas, there is no gambling here, but there’s plenty of loot to be had. Mr. House has waited this long, he can wait a little longer. Head through a doorway behind some stairs to the west to to find Cartons of Cigarettes and four Safes full of loot (particularly chems). Once you’ve looted this area, head up the nearby stairs and search behind a bar counter to find plenty of bottles of Nuka-Cola, Sunset Sarsaparilla and Whiskey. Above these beverages you’ll find some Golden Gloves , unique Boxing Gloves, which are in front of an issue of Boxing Times. Finish up looting this level by heading to the ground floor and head east to find more food and beverages behind another bar.

Talk to another Victor-bot near an elevator across from the entrance and head up to the Penthouse. When you reach this level, talk to another unique Securitron named Jane, one of the fem-bots here to “entertain” Mr. House. She’ll talk to you about the families of New Vegas, the casinos, other strip attractions, and of course, Mr. House. Be especially sure to ask about Mr. House’s Snowglobe collection. Seems some ancient dictator is a sentimental collector. You should have Snowglobes for Goodsprings, Nellis AFB, Mt. Charleston, the Mormon Fort and The Strip, which leaves only two left… both of which can be obtained soon.

Head down some stairs to the south, then go through a curtain to the east to find Mr. House… or at least a still image of him on a monitor. The big man on the strip trusts you enough to let you in his crib, but not enough to meet you face-to-face. Activate the console under his monitor to start talking to the man; there’s a lot to digest here, but since you can read it all, so the broad strokes will be covered. Simply put, one of Mr. House’s employees robbed him, and it’s time for you to finish the job you started so long ago. Recover the Platinum Chip from Benny and - like a good Courier - and he’ll pay you four times the stated pay on your contract. 1,000 Caps isn’t a bad bit of money, but it’s still woefully less than this job has been worth, all things considered. Pass a [Barter 50] check to get him to up your pay to 1,250 Caps, then agree to the deal.

Afterwards, you can ask him some questions, namely you can learn that there’s a myriad of ways you can go about reaching Benny, which he’ll detail for you. You can also learn about Benny, a one-time potential protege for Mr. House (a position he’s willing to offer to you), and the Platinum Chip (he won’t go into full detail about it yet, but he promises more). If you pass a [Speech 50] check after asking about the Platinum Chip, however, he will suggest that it has some use tied to computers. If you ask him about himself, he’ll give a dry, factual and brief summary of his credentials and claim to still be human. If you pass a [Medicine 35] check you can point out that 200+ years is a little old for man… because a character with a Medicine score of 34 or less might not know this? In any event, once you’re done talking to Mr. House return to the elevator and talk to Victor, who will announce that you’ve been comped a suite in this casino. Might as well check out the new pad, since we’re here an all.

Travel to the Presidential Suite, which honestly, is pretty damn swanky, as far as safehouses are concerned. It’s got water, storage, and beds. What more could you ask for? More storage? A Workbench? Fair enough, access the terminal in the hall and you can buy two Crafting Lockers, a Fridge, two Guest Wardrobes, two Master Wardrobes, a Sunset Sarsaparilla Vending Machine, two Weapon Trunks and a Work Bench, all for just over 100 Caps each. It’s just a shame you can’t travel here more directly and have to go through so many loading screens to get here…

Anyways, once you’re done in the Presidential Suite, head down to the Cocktail Lounge, another new area open to you as a consequence of meeting with Mr. House. This circular level can be split up into concentric rings, starting with the area behind the bar. Search ever Cash Register for some Pre-War money, then search behind the Cash Register on the northern side of the ring to find the Snow Globe - Test Site . Only one left to go. The other two rings - the middle ring with round tables and chairs and the lower ring with sofas - are less interesting.

You are now done with the Lucky 38 for now, so head back to the Casino floor. Your destination now? The Tops, but before this, why not pick up that last Snow Globe? It can be found at Hoover Dam which not everybody will end up at… at least, not before the end of the game when it’s a moot point. If you take a trip there now, not only will you have it on your map for future reference, but you can obtain the last Snow Globe and get a reward for doing so.

Once you exit the Lucky 38 wait around for a moment and you should get a nice bit of The Strip Fame for being seen exiting the Lucky 38. Just for this, you’ll become a person of interest on the strip, because anybody so openly receiving Mr. House’s favor… well, it’s a big deal. An NCR Trooper should also show up and direct you to meet with Ambassador Crocker. Since this is part of the pro-NCR ending, put it off for now, there’s still plenty of things to do before you ultimately choose to pick a side. This will also wipe any NCR Infamy you have, as the NCR is willing to put differences aside to work together with you.

Before any of that, however, fast-travel to Ranger Station Delta then head north and follow a road to find Hoover Dam. Don’t bother talking to people here or any of that nonsense, this is a quick run-in, grab, and run-out diversion. Enter the Hoover Dam Visitor Center building to find the final Snow Globe - the Snow Globe - Hoover Dam - sitting on the eastern-most counter. Grab it, then return to Jane in the Lucky 38 Penthouse and hand over the Snow Globes for a cool 2,000 Caps each… or 14,000 Caps in total.

Return to the strip and head over to The Tops Casino, where, as usual, your weapons will be confiscated. Benny is lurking around on the casino floor with his bodyguards, just beyond north of) a depressed gaming area to the north. If you get near him, he’ll talk to you and set events in motion… but for now, you’re in a brand new casino. You know what that means, time to gamble and maybe complete the odd quest. Benny can wait a bit. First do some gambling, which shouldn’t need to be explained to you. The Tops has a gaming limit of 10,000 Caps and will reward you as you rob them, first by giving you some Vodka, then a Brahmin Steak and some Wine and finally the High Roller’s Suite Key. Now you should have a pad in the Ultra-Luxe, The Tops, and the Lucky 38. Score. If you have hit the gambling caps at the Ultra-Luxe (15,000 Caps) The Tops (10,000 Caps) and Gomorrah (8,000 Caps) you’ll get the Achievement/Trophy “The Courier Who Broke the Bank”.

Talent Pool¶

Leave the gambling floor and head up some stairs west of the entrance, then continue west to find the doors to The Aces Theater. In here you’ll find a man with an eye-patch named Tommy Torini, who performs at and manages this theater. Unfortunately, they’re in need of some new talent, but if you offer to send any interesting folks you meet to him, he’ll offer you a 3% cut of the profits (5% if you pass a [Barter 50] check. Agreeing starts the quest Talent Pool . Before you go off in search of new acts for The Tops, ask him about Benny and pass a [Speech 25] check to get him to give you some news about Benny, namely that he is gone from The Tops often, and that he’s secretive about whatever is in his room.

Another search-and-deliver quest, this one should be pretty easy, since you’ve already explored the whole Mojave. First up, head north from The Tops to find a man named Billy Knight standing on the sidewalk near the gate to the northern section of the strip. Mention the job at The Tops and he’ll decide to go… he’s a pretty self-depreciating, desperate guy. Talk him up by passing a [Barter 25] check and he’ll bargain more aggressively with Tommy Torini, which means more Caps for you when you return to The Tops; either 45 Caps (if you didn’t pass a Barter check with either Tommy or Billy) 90 Caps (if you passed one check) or 150 Caps (if you passed both.

Next stop, the Atomic Wrangler, where you can talk to the disgruntled, under-paid Ghoul comedian, Hadrian. He’s only too eager to head for greener pastures, but there’s one problem; his contract with the Garrets. Talk to Jame Garret and ask about Hadrian’s contract, where you’ll have a number of options ahead of you. First, you can buy the contract off him for 150 Caps (100 Caps with a [Barter 35] check). Second, you can pass either a [Barter 50] or [Speech 50] check to get the contract. Or third, if you’ve done favors for the Garrets (completed the quests Debt Collector and Wang Dang Atomic Tango ) you can just call in a favor. Once done, return to Hadrian and tell him the good news, then return to Tommy for your reward.

Two down, two to go. Fast-travel to the El Dorado Gas & Service map marker and follow the highway north to find the Lonesome Drifter, who is camped out near a Sunset Sarsaparilla billboard. Talk to him and offer him a job at The Tops, then either give him Tommy’s card or pass a [Barter 50] check to get him to give you his unique .44 Magnum, the Mysterious Magnum , along with .44 Magnum Rounds x18.

Lastly, head to Novac and enter the Motel Room just south of the northern-most room on the top floor to find Bruce Issac, who will readily join up just to enjoy the relative security of the strip. Return to Tommy Torini and cash in on this last act for a quest reward - both for recruiting Bruce and for finding all the acts Tommy needs.