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Update 11 ? VEGAS. VEGAS NEVER CHANGES.
Outside the Strip proper we find Freeside ? a pretty shit and slummy area all told ? but it has its positives and its ruling gang that mostly keep order. It's solidly anti-NCR due to being pro-independence.
You can just see the sign for Mick and Ralph's in this screenshot, on the right side.
It's a poorly lit shithole but hey, what're you gonna do 
Mick's got the guns, Ralph has the general supplies. Ralph can sell you a pass into the strip if for some reason you can't pass the credit check, but we won't need that.
What's the deal with the Omertas?
I will definitely be doing this because the reward is hilarious 
If we tell him we DON'T work for a casino...
The wall behind him opens up and his inventory expands a little as long as he's standing in here.
No real point to Mick & Ralph's right now though, so let's keep moving.
You'll get attacked by random thugs ? would be muggers ? in Freeside. Kill 'em, there's no consequence.
I hhhaaaaaate this kid so much.
We move on into the next section of Freeside ? the one with the gate into the Strip proper.
Vegas. Vegas never changes.
Freeside itself has a casino ? the Atomic Wrangler. The Wrangler does not pay out as much as any of the Strip casinos though.
This is our seed money for this entire scenario.
Imagine that! 
I also make sure to save and reload in the casino, so I can show this:
Every time you reload, there is a one minute timer before you can gamble again, to make savescumming inefficient. In reality you just need to do shit in batches but yeah.
HighLuckNewVegas.jpg
Here's the slots payout legend, by the way.
The Wrangler also has roulette, so I spin the wheel a few times.
Roulette sucks to play though because it won't remember bets and there is no max bet button, so you need to manually move shit up to whatever the max bet is every fucking spin and fuck that.
You also get little gifts from the casinos for doing well ? the Wrangler pays out in some alcohol and a gambler suit.
The Wrangler is owned by the Garrets, Francine and James.
Francine can send us out on some debt collection. We'll do that.
For now though I cash out (I haven't broken the bank here yet) and head back outside Vegas.
This here's the Crimson Caravan ? they have some quest relevance and Ringo can pay us the rest of the money he said he would ? but it's not where I wanna go.
On the other side of the Caravan is the New Vegas Medical Clinic!
Dr Usanagi sells implants to raise SPECIAL stats or give slow HP regeneration or enhanced DT. You can have one implant per natural point of Endurance
We cap out our Luck to 10 to make the next sequence easier, at the low low price of 4000 bottle caps.
I HATE THIS KID
SHUT UP JESUS CHRIST (disable just despawns him so that I don't have to listen to him go WE'VE GOT STUFF WE'RE NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO SELL PEOPLE 
every fucking time I walk by)
James is present when we get back to the Wrangler. He's got the fun quest 
What sort of "proclivities" are we talking about?
Our wealthiest client has a thing for ghouls, and a thing for cowboys. He wants an escort who can satisfy both fetishes.
Plenty of customers said they'd be willing to pay extra for a suave talker, someone who can fake the "boyfriend experience" real good.
Best quest. Best fucking quest.
With our new 10 luck, we get the super jackpot no probs and get banned from the Wrangler.
The proper casinos have a floor manager tell you these things and hand you the gifts, by the way, but the Wrangler is too crap for that.
Let's head on out and look for those sex workers. Vegas never changes.
Why wouldn't I want to go past the greeter?
Those bots are programmed to vaporize anyone who enters the fenced-in area without authorization from the greeter.
Thanks for the free advice. Who are you?
The name's Old Ben. I've been living in Freeside since the day I was born.
What's your story?
Some of which I'm not proud of, but I do my best to help around town when needed.
You said escort? Like armed guard?
Well, I suppose you could look at it that way, but I was packing a whole different kind of heat. No, escort just sounds better than man-whore.
So you got paid for sex?
Yep. I was damn good at my job, too. But after a while I just felt like a piece of meat and had to quit.
I'm retired, but life has been a bit dull without some kind of action. What's the job?
James Garret needs a real 'boyfriend experience' for more discerning patrons.
I got out of that work because it just made me feel empty inside. What makes you think I would ever go back to that degradation?
I suppose I could be a loving muse to some, while simply relieve stress and tension in others. Thanks for that insight. Tell Garret I'd be happy to start at the Wrangler immediately. This should be a nice change of pace from retirement.
A real-life Vegas landmark, the Old Mormon Fort survived the apocalypse and is now home to the Followers of the Apocalypse in Freeside.
We head on inside ? someone we want to hire is in here.
So, who are you?
I've been around for a while. Currently working for the Followers as a gun for hire, but it's getting rather dull. Aside from protecting them from the occasional thug looking to intercept supply shipments, there isn't much to do around here.
The one researcher I liked who I could chat up about liquor got transferred, and the rest of the docs are pretty uptight about my kind of fun.
I bet you've seen a lot over the years.
I've been around long enough to observe patterns of human behavior. Physical and mental anguish are especially exciting to explore.
Sounds like you're a bit of a dom, Beatrix.
Interested in working for the Garrets?
They already have that pig McCaffery working for them. Do they need another guard?
This would be as an "escort".
When I say "escort", I mean "prostitute".
I'm all boot knives and leather, friend ? and a ghoul, besides. What kind of weirdo wants what I've got?
Turns out there are customers looking for someone just like you.
Weirdos into bullwhips and necrosis, eh? Doesn't sound half-bad...
If I get to choose my customers, if I get to be a little rough with them, if my cut is fair, and if I get that discount? That just might work. Tell the Garrets I'll stop by to work out terms.
There's a bit more to do in the Fort. Meet Arcade Gannon.
Arcade "Esteem Issues" Gannon.
What kind of research?
Oh, you know. Finding alternative treatments for common illnesses and injuries. Stimpacks out of barrel cacti and other fantastic improbabilities.
As far as fruitless wastes of time go, it's quite noble in its aims.
You don't sound too enthusiastic about it.
I'm enthusiastic about helping people, but nihil novi sub sole.
Isn't that the language that Caesar's Legion speeks?
It's unfortunate that the language is now associated with the gentlemen across the river.
Where did you learn that?
Not from the Legion, if that's what you're getting at. Books. Sheet music. Gladiator movie holotapes. Bits and pieces here and there. The Followers have extensive libraries, but we all draw water from the same old well. Even Caesar.
Do you know much about Caesar?
He wanted to rebuild the new world in the image of the old. A sad story of good intentions gone bad. In that regard, he's hardly unique. If you set aside his leadership capabilities, extensive knowledge, and ruthless cunning, he's just another jerk who steps on people to get his way.
Nihi-what?
Oh. Sorry. "There is nothing new under the sun." If agave and mesquite were that miraculous, the locals would have figured it out a few thousand years ago.
Do you need any help?
I'm sure she can find something for you to do. It might be kind of... depressing and terrible, though. Caveat Samaritanus.
Why do you do research instead of providing medical assistance?
Out of sight, out of mind. There are worse things one can be, though I do admit, it is a bit boring. Though it has a noble goal, I don't think this research will yield much fruit. No pun intended.
Why don't you come with me?
No offense intended, but why should I go anywhere with you?
Uh... probably not. Until things settle down around here, alleviating my boredom isn't a good motive to leave. Sorry.
Damn, we can't have Arcade yet. He's cool, has some history, and hates the Legion as much as Boone ? if for entirely different reasons. He's also into dudes, not that it comes up much since Obsidian didn't feel like making the sexuality of their characters a major part of their personality. A good design decision, I think.
Anyways, we can also do some work for Julie Farkas, like Arcade said (giving drugs like Fixer, Rad-Away, Med-X, etc). Doing this gives us Followers fame. She also asks us to find a steady source for the drugs.
Roaming around Freeside, we can also find Grecks.
Grecks is one of the people Francine Garret wants us to collect from. He's also an opportunity to be a tremendous dick.
If you are lucky, you can find this little kid running around Freeside as well:
We will, in fact, give him a thousand caps for that gun. It is actually a very cool gun, even if I haven't done the quest to set it up yet (because there is an opportunity for Arcade trusts you points in it if you take him along).
Santiago is also a debtor, but we can't be as much of a dick to him.
In retrospect I wish I'd gone for Option 3, since this comes after getting scammed out of 25 caps for a code word at Mick and Ralph's that doesn't exist. I can also hire him as the smooth talker for James Garret but I already got Old Ben for that and he actually gives a better reward. (I can technically convince both for the xp for both but can only cash in for one, I just shakedown Santiago and leave)
NEXT TIME ON NEW VEGAS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGSVYgcy24Q
(No route so far this time since we pretty much just stayed in New Vegas)