Having worked in Las Vegas back in the early '80s, I can tell you that as strange as that place might seem to tourists passing through, you can't fully appreciate its oddities unless you've lived there and seen it close up, 24 hours a day. It does strange things even to good people, and if you weren't that good in the first place it can really do a number on you. It is a town built on ruined dreams, and the stories I could tell ... but won't.

The video for this new song by Nikki Lane get the ambiance of the place right, though.

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Peggy Harris (foreground) stocks the shelves at Sandy's IGA, which is the only grocery store in town, Tuesday, October 7, 2025, in Sparta. Hancock County has one of the highest rates of childhood food insecurity in the country. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC