You'll meet the better people in town, the Latino community, and you may avoid that smug SUV-heavy area known as 'Summerlin,' which took its name from Howard Hughes' mother's maiden name. You'll know East Charleston Boulevard like the back of your hand. You'd be surprised how few people at the Dem office speak Spanish--you'll be a real asset.

Here's some good airplane reading for you:

Next to Hughes, written by a friend of my father's, particularly the chapters about Hughes' residency at the Desert Inn in the early 70s. Forget Steve Wynn, Howard Hughes made Las Vegas.

The Enforcer, a really quick true-crimer that tells the story behind the movie 'Casino.' Much of the formative 70s and 80s in Las Vegas centered around the ambitious mafia soldier Tony Spilotro (who's fewer than six degrees separated from current Senator Harry Reid and of course Mayor Oscar Goodman, former mob consigliere). This book goes a long way toward explaining why the main private high school in Las Vegas has a plaque commemorating Moe Dailitz, the Mayer Lansky of LV. The best part is the story of the casino skim operations at the Stardust and other casinos.

Also, the book to the movie 'Casino,' by Nicholas Pileggi, is quite well-researched and much more well-written.

It's an interesting place.