Robert Laxalt’s Nevada

by Peter Mires
"My father was a sheepherder, and his home was the hills."  -Sweet Promised Land (1957)

To many Americans, Nevada is a place of decadence and diversion. Considered shameful vices in much of the rest of the country, gambling and prostitution have been part and parcel of the Silver State since the mining boom days of the nineteenth century. Even the wholesome 1960s television show Bonanza portrayed the dichotomous morality of Virginia City and its environs. The current slogan marketing Las Vegas's casino culture - "What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas" - perpetuates t...