The New Vegas Strip—which is what we see on the horizon in the Fallout finale—was saved from the bombs by Mr. House, but did not escape falling into post-apocalyptic chaos in the ensuing years. Mr. House bided his time within the confines of the Lucky 38 Casino. On the outside, raider tribes ruled, warring with one another in a constant cycle of violence.
When the NCR scouts arrived in the Mojave Wasteland, Mr. House decided it was time to come out of hiding and truly claim New Vegas as his own. But he’s a pretty-much-dead guy stuck in a super computer. Yeah, he’s got an army of robots, but you really can’t put a price on good old fashioned human labor, can you? House offered a deal to the raiders of the Strip to either leave, die, or join him.
Most of them left and some died; however, three groups (a.k.a. families) stayed in the New Vegas. Together, with House’s fairly vast Securitron army, it was a sufficient enough army to put up a reasonable defense against the NCR, should they need to. They all serve Mr. House and answer to his beck and call (including cutting him on ALL casino profits, of course).
The range from groovy fun to very evil karma vibes is part of what makes New Vegas so special. Here’s everything you need to know about the Three Families of the New Vegas Strip, and their respective casinos in Fallout.
The Chairmen: the First Family to Join Mr. House in New Vegas
The Chairmen, originally called the Mojave Boot-Riders in their tribal days, were the first to join Mr. House. They were given the Tops casino, a relic of slick atomic ’50s cool, where the bands are hoppin’ and the ladies are poppin’, ya dig? (I’m so sorry.)
The Chairmen (now in sleek white suits and armed with a litany of pithy slang) fully renovated the Tops, and it stands as a must-visit destination in New Vegas. There’s bars, gambling, and dancing galore—never mind the famous Aces Theater, which is always attracting a variety of artists and performers from around the Mojave Wasteland. One quest in New Vegas even allows you to scout talent for the theater personally.
The leader of the Chairmen (circa the events of Fallout: New Vegas) is Benny. He is the first character that the player sees in New Vegas, in fact. The opening of the game is Benny apologizing for your “eighteen karat run of bad luck,” and informing you that “the game was rigged from the start.” Oh, and then he shoots you in the head.
As for the Fallout TV show, I would love to see the Chairman family leader Benny in live-action, if only so we could hear one of New Vegas’ most legendary lines: “What in the goddamn?“
The White Glove Society and Their Cannibalistic Ways
The White Glove Society was the second tribe to join Mr. House. There was an interesting clause when the White Glove Society signed on with House; they demanded that the name of their tribe never be revealed. House agreed, under the condition that the White Glove Society would stop their nasty little habit of… eating people. (Hannibal fans, rejoice!) Not a great look when you’re trying to revive the tourism industry!
The White Glove Society was given the Ultra-Luxe Las Vegas Resort—often shortened to Ultra-Luxe—with Mortimer and Marjorie acting as dual leaders. Once restored to its pre-war glory, the Ultra-Luxe became the epitome of New Vegas class—and so far as I’m aware, as a frequent traveler of the wastes, it has the only gourmet restaurant in the American Wasteland, fittingly called The Gourmand.
The White Glove Society holds itself to a very strict standard, keeping to formal fashion and high society manners. The members wear masks, with the exception of Mortimer and Marjorie. They strive to provide the most luxury experience in New Vegas. Aside from the world-class meat-oriented cuisine at The Gourmand, there’s also the Top Shelf cocktail lounge, and the Ultra-Luxe art gallery. There is still gambling on deck, though nothing so base as slots. They offer blackjack and roulette only, folks.
Oh, and just to be clear, they’re still totally eating people. There’s a whole quest about it and everything. Though, if you have the Cannibal perk, you really will fit right in.
The Omertas: The Mafia Goons of New Vegas
Rounding out the Three Families of New Vegas in Fallout is the Omertas. They were the third and final tribe to join Mr. House. Trading in their snake-skins for the image of classic Vegas mafiosos, the Slither Kin became the Omertas.
The Omertas run Gomorrah, a den of vice and iniquity that calls to passerby with flames and mostly-naked women. Understandably, they get a lot of business. With a monopoly on sex work within New Vegas, the Omertas took their role as mafia goons to heart; they are deadly, they are greedy, and you don’t want to mess with them. Just about every extortion or racketeering scheme in Vegas can be traced back to these guys.
The casino is run by Nero, and his right hand man, Big Sal. The Omertas only really have one rule, above any code or moral grandstanding: don’t betray the family. Besides that, anything goes. The Omertas may not rival the White Glove Society in bizarreness, but they’re beating them by a country mile in cruelty. A common tactic for the family is to get their new hires on the casino floor hooked on free chems. (This is a slang term for drugs/more intense prescription medication in the Fallout universe.)
The Omertas then let them ride that high for a while, just long enough to get addicted—then they start charging. For each fix, they charge—and then a garnish on their wages to make sure they fall deeper and deeper down the hole. Another year older and deeper in debt, etc. Drugged out indentured servitude is truly a messed up business model. There is nothing the Omertas won’t do to get more money and more power.
I’m not sure what season two of Fallout has in store for us, but I can only hope that the show’s take on New Vegas does justice to the life and chaos thriving inside of it. What form it will take is anyone’s guess, but there is an incredible playground of opportunities to explore, and I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.