For the past three years the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings Nevada has thrown a Fallout fan event. I was lucky enough to get to go to the one this year on November 16-17th (on my birthday!). I wanted the full New Vegas experience so instead of just heading to Goodsprings I also wanted to trek to Hoover Dam, Prim, and the strip to name a few places. We decided to stay at a hotel called the Strat since it resembles the Lucky 38. Some would say the Lucky 38 was based on the Landmark hotel but that isn’t around anymore so the Strat is close enough. It also has a restaurant at the top called The Top of the World that resembles the cocktail lounge from the game. After settling in at the “Lucky 38” it was off to the event!
At Goodsprings we had to take a shuttle to the actual location since it’s too small for everyone to park there. The parking lot we stopped in was full of NCR tents and RV’s, parked there for who knows how long. The shuttles were quick and efficient although we were warned that there were similar shuttles taking people on a New Vegas tour ( very similar to ours) out of Goodsprings so don’t get on the wrong bus. After getting off the bus at the event and getting our free vault boy mask, half of us went to the vendors and the other stayed to check-in to get our VIP packages.
The VIP package was so worth it! You get a goodie bag with a shirt, a replica of the vault clear drinking water bottle (previously only available if you bought the replica of Lucy’s backpack from the TV show), a Fallout X Arizona Green Tea energy drink, and a lanyard that said VIP on it so you can get into the exclusive areas. They had a special VIP area in the saloon itself and I was told that you could use the VIP pass to cut in the official merch line but I never used that privilege. Right after we got our passes we went to the vendor area.
The vendor area was a little ways off from the saloon full of artistes and cosplayers selling their goods. This was also where all the cosplayers were hanging out, especially the ones with the large costumes. It was next to a large hill that NCR and Legion soldiers were going up and down planting their flags at the top. It reminded me of an anime convention but with more focus and honestly less crowd. This event was in that sweet stop of conventions where it’s popular enough to have the amenities but not so popular that it’s over crowded and the bad apples appear. After buying way too much at the vendors hall we went off to the saloon proper.
The Saloon itself was a little confusing to navigate. There was a long line to get into the general store which we mistook for the food line and we honestly thought we couldn’t get into the bar area unless you had VIP, so me and my other VIP friend went to the bar to grab everyone drinks. There was a catch, you couldn’t take alcohol out of the bar area. So we downed our Nuka Cola Quantum and whiskey sour( I was dressed as Cass so of course I had to get a whiskey) and got the rest of the group sarsaparillas. Outside the bar there was BBQ and a band was playing the golden oldies. There were more events throughout the day such as a costume contest and trivia but after all that excitement we decided to go to Prim.
The Vicky and Vance Casino as well as Bison Steve’s in the game are actually the same casino in Prim called the Buffalo Bill’s Resort & Casino. It has both the roller coaster (not operational anymore sadly) and the Bonny and Clyde car. It’s gold miner and old west themed and it was honestly an amazing place that I’ll definitely stay on my next Vegas trip. We ran into a couple of people from the event telling us we have to see Hoover Dam its beautiful but sadly it was too late at night so we decide to go check out Freeside aka Fremont street.
Fremont Street is something else, honestly too over stimulating for me. It has a large LED roof, people zip lining across it, girls dancing on the bars and giant gorillas twerking on people for money. We decided to chill at a bar called the Commonwealth (because ya know Fallout 4) and plan our next move. Tomorrow we will head to Hoover Dam.
Sadly by the time we got to Hoover Dam the next day the visitor center was closed and we couldn’t walk it so we just had to drive through. A lot of stuff was under construction and honestly the game made it look much bigger then it felt in real life. We did not end the trip there though because the Goodsprings Saloon had an afterparty. We went to this ranch in the middle of nowhere and we were a little early. There was a food truck from the saloon as well as a Victorian bar selling the same drinks that were in the saloon. That was lucky since we got to try more of the themed beverages without being in a crowded bar. We got our dirty wastelanders and irritated fries and mingled next to the fire barrels. Eventually the fire dancer and band came out. They also had raiders on stilts walking around growling at people. I wish we could have stayed at the wrap party longer but we had a flight to catch.
It’s amazing to be surrounded by people who are passionate about the same thing. I was beginning to feel anime and comic cons were lacking comradery. There was something special about being there for a similar reason, a love of Fallout. No matter what Fallout game you liked or hated we all still trekked to the middle of nowhere Nevada to celebrate it and that’s beautiful.
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