Laughlin (1983: Doomsday)

The Republic of Laughlin, commonly refered to as Laughlin, is an American survivor state in the former U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona.

Pre-Doomsday
Don Laughlin purchased the area that became Laughlin, Nevada in 1964, and it grew into a resort and casino town. Neighboring Bullhead City was first settled in 1864 as the settlement of Hardyville. Laughlin became a popular stop and camping place on the Route 66.

Doomsday
Neither Laughlin nor Bullhead City was hit on Doomsday, but the largest threat was fallout from strikes on Las Vegas. Luckily, fallout blew east into Utah. EMPs rendered the majority of electronics in Laughlin useless, but electronics have been repaired since then. Refugees began pouring in from Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. It soon became clear there would be no contact from Carson City or Washington DC.

Post-Doomsday
The swarm of regugees led to Laughlin to have a lack of supplies, also because of its desert climate. A food crisis went on until 1984, when sufficient farms were planted along the Colorado River. Laughlin declared its independence in 1985. Contact has been established with Sierra Nevada (1984) and Slab City (1988). There were talks of merging Laughlin into Sierra Nevada in the early 1990s, but the movement has since been dormant.

Boulder City Expedition
An expedition into Boulder City and attempt to restore and start up the Hoover Dam launched in 1992. Boulder City was found to be deserted and ravaged by firestorms; an airplane flying close to Las Vegas at an altitude of 4,000 feet reported that the city had been flattened, and nothing was salvageable. Boulder City was salvaged, and a large project to restore the Hoover Dam commenced in 1993. The Hoover Dam reopened in 2002, giving Laughlin a major, stable power source.

Economy
Laughlin is a largely industrial city-state, their economy mainly fueled by exports to neighboring survivor states. Gambling and tourism are still major industries in Laughlin.