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Mr. House's Lucky 38 casino towers over the New Vegas Strip, mysterious and impenetrable to visitors and locals alike.Fallout: New Vegas loading screen

The Lucky 38 is a hotel and casino on the New Vegas Strip in 2281. It is occupied only by Mr. House, the ruler of New Vegas, and his Securitrons.

Background

The most prominent element of the New Vegas skyline, the Lucky 38 is a pre-War relic and an enduring monument to Mr. House's vision of Las Vegas: luxury without decadence, refinement without elitism, class without snobbery. But to assume that it was just a casino is erroneous, as in the years leading up to the war, Robert House thoroughly modified the building in preparation for the upcoming nuclear war. Accurate long range laser cannons linked to the massive processing centers inside were installed on top of the tower to defend the Mojave against nuclear warheads. A massive underground storage facility for Securitrons was built into the foundations. But the greatest marvel was the reason behind Mr. House's withdrawal from society: a preservation chamber built into the core of the penthouse floor, where the potentate sacrificed his mortal shell in return for immortality. Wired into the Lucky 38's mainframe and its power core, House was ready to face the coming apocalypse, save for one last item: an OS upgrade for the Lucky 38 contained on the platinum chip.

The chip never arrived. Forced to work with an inferior OS, Mr. House nevertheless managed to destroy a majority of the warheads aimed at the Mojave, but eventually suffered a critical system crash and was forced into a coma. The Lucky 38 fell silent and for nearly two centuries lay dormant amidst Vegas ruins. Only the odd Securitron, controlled by Mr. House after he awoke in 2130, left the premises occasionally to survey the wasteland and bring news of the developments.

The tower came to life in 2274, as Securitron agents detected NCR scouts at Hoover Dam. An army of Securitrons poured out of the Lucky 38, quickly destroying hostile tribals on the Strip and securing the location. Mr. House then struck a deal with the three largest tribes, providing them with clothes, tools and supplies from stockpiles in the Lucky 38 in return for renovating the city and preparing for the arrival of the NCR. The Lucky 38 once again became a symbol of New Vegas, as the domain of its mysterious leader. No one set foot inside the tower ever since.

As of 2281, the Lucky 38 remains closed to the public. No one knows what is inside.

Layout

Casino

Inside the front door is the casino floor, with gaming tables and slots that cannot be played. The empty cashier's room is to the left. The many gun cabinets within are safe storage, which provide an alternative to the storage in the Presidential Suite, where companions are able to take items. Above the cashier's room is a VIP lounge, where a terminal can be found that is used in the quest The Moon Comes Over the Tower.

In the center of the floor is the elevator. Victor must be spoken to in order to use the elevator so long as House is alive, but otherwise the player can operate the elevator directly.

Cocktail lounge

The cocktail lounge is near the top of the Lucky 38, beneath the penthouse. Companions are not allowed inside, and will be left waiting in the previous room. The room is filled with empty tables, cash registers with small amounts of pre-War money, unplayable slot machines, and other assorted miscellaneous items. There is an Average-locked safe with some decent loot inside, and a hard locked briefcase. The Snow globe - Test Site can also be found here, tucked behind one of the cash registers. There is also a Hard locked briefcase containing C-4 plastic explosive x3, a detonator, and a silenced .22 pistol with some ammunition.

Penthouse

Main article: Lucky 38 penthouse

The penthouse is the highest level of the Lucky 38. Companions are not allowed inside, as with the cocktail lounge. Mr. House's control center is located here, down the stairs to the left of the elevator. Jane is right in front of the elevator, waiting to collect any snowglobes. To the right is a bedroom. The shelves are stocked with numerous pre-War books.

Unlike the cocktail lounge, there is a wall which prevents people from circling the entire room; this conceals the elevator to the control room. A terminal to open it is to the left of House's control center, which requires either a Science skill of 75, the platinum chip, or the Lucky 38 VIP keycard to operate. Inside are two Securitrons. Using the terminal turns all the Securitrons hostile.

Presidential suite

The Presidential Suite is made available immediately after the Courier's first interaction with Mr. House. It's fairly spacious, consisting of five rooms. There is the master bedroom (which contains an owned bed), the guest bedroom (the two beds here are not owned), the kitchen and dining room, the study, and the bathroom (which has clean water). The fridge has some food in it, and various drinks are present. All of the storage within is safe. Through a terminal to the left of the master bedroom, additional storage can be purchased, as well as a workbench.

All inactive companions can be sent to The Presidential Suite in lieu of their original homes. Idle companions will wander around, talk to each other, and occasionally sit in the chairs or sleep. Most notably, however, they will help themselves to anything stored inside, so long as the items aren't considered stolen and the Courier is present in the suite at the time. This includes taking items from containers. This is usually limited to food and drink, but they may also take weapons.

Notable loot

Notes

  • Victor explains that companions are not allowed to visit the penthouse. This holds true even if Mr. House is killed or incapacitated. This also applies to the cocktail lounge. The companions will remain wherever the player left them (usually the casino level or the presidential suite) in "wait" mode. The player must return to them and request that they follow using the companion wheel before they will follow again.
  • The poster of the Lucky 38 in 2025 shown in the game's opening sequence is not actually there in-game. This is probably an oversight by the developers.
  • The Lucky 38's roof is fitted with lasers designed to shoot down missiles during the Great War.
  • The Lucky 38's reactor is powerful enough to allow a signal to be sent as far as The Fort to activate the Securitron vault.
  • The casino and presidential suite may appear very dark when Screen Effects are set to None or Bloom. Choosing HDR fixes this.
  • Most of the items in the casino can be taken without Karma loss.
  • The design of the Lucky 38 makes it impossible for the second elevator to Mr. House to exist.
  • The whole casino can be used as player housing as all storage containers on all levels are safe.
  • Strangely, when the doors of the Lucky 38 are shot at, it makes the same noise when shooting glass.
  • Upon leaving the Lucky 38 for the first time, all non-player characters will be looking at the Courier and will comment on how he/she was the first to be seen coming out from it. This also results in increased fame on the strip.
  • The Lucky 38 sign appears to have graffiti on parts of it. The second "V" in revolving appears to be crossed out and replaced with a "T", so it says "revolting cocktail lounge" instead of "revolving cocktail lounge".
  • If the player uses the Complementary voucher bug to climb the front of the Lucky 38 above where the player enters, it is possible go under the 38 and a computer will be present, named "Tops Radio," with only introductory and leaving dialog.
  • The Lucky 38 can be seen from a distance.
  • The other doors in the casino are not able to be opened.
  • The basement is only accessible when Mr. House or Yes-Man demonstrates the securitron upgrades.
  • In the Presidential Suite, there is a pool table with 5 pool balls in the shape of an arrow. The ball numbers add up to 38, and the arrow points to a Lucky 38 poster.
  • Oddly enough, Victor remains outside the doors of the casino, but when The Courier enters, he is right next to the elevator.
  • If The Courier kill Victor outside the casino, then go inside, he will be there again and will attack.
  • If securitrons are killed, Mr. House's screen will say "connection lost".

Appearances

The Lucky 38 appears only in Fallout: New Vegas.

Behind the scenes

  • The name "Lucky 38" is a reference to the 38 numbers on a roulette table. The sign looks like a stylized roulette wheel and betting layout, and the tower top is modeled after a roulette wheel. Pre-War posters for the lucky 38 have the slogan; "Take her for a spin!".
  • The building resembles the real-life Stratosphere Las Vegas and the Space Needle, as well as the now demolished Landmark Hotel and Casino.
  • James Garcia created the 3D model of the Lucky 38 neon sign.[1]

Bugs

  • Playstation 3Playstation 3Playstation 3 If you try talking to Victor and he does nothing. Getting a follower, bringing them into the Lucky 38 and saying "Time to part ways" should get Victor to speak. [verified]
  • PCPC Upon exiting the Lucky 38, the game freezes or crashes. This may be worked around by using the movetoqt command to bypass using the casino door and teleport to the target of the quest marker.[verification overdue]

Gallery

See also

References

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