Children of Las Vegas: True stories about growing up in the world’s playground

Thirty-seven million people visit Las Vegas every year. It’s a city that offers to fulfil all your desires, without any repercussions. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas… right? But what happens to the people who have to grow up there?

Children of Las Vegas tells ten of their stories, recorded by award-winning author Timothy O'Grady- tales of overdoses, desert shoot-outs, suicides, casinos, desert air and broken dreams. They include the son of a casino owner whose father gambled their fortune away and died broke and alone; a mother of five whose partner kidnapped her children and is now a meth addict, living in the tunnels within sight of the glittering lights of the city; and a 23-year-old star performer, turned male prostitute.

These are the children of the card dealers and the cocktail shakers, the jugglers and the dancers, the limo drivers and the wheel spinners. These are the children whose parents don’t come home until they’ve left for school. These are the children whose parents might not come home at all.

Their stories are interspersed with short essays about the city by Timothy and portraits by highly acclaimed photographer Steve Pyke. There are horror stories in every city, but these things aren’t just happening in Las Vegas… they’re happening because of it.