The City of Las Venturas, commonly known as Las Venturas or simply Venturas, is the third and final city unlocked in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and is second largest city in the State of San Andreas.
Description[]
Las Venturas is a gambling city located in a desert region in the north east of San Andreas, bordered by the neighboring Bone County to the west and Red County to the south. It is famous for its renowned Strip, which runs through the middle of the city and is lined with numerous casinos including Caligula's Palace and The Four Dragons Casino. Everything that can be bought in Las Venturas, except the Pay 'n' Spray service, is 20% more expensive than in the rest of the state.
Las Venturas is Spanish for "The Fortunes", a reference to the gambling culture of the city and its inspiration.
Storyline[]
After buying an abandoned desert airstrip under orders from Mike Toreno, once Carl learns to fly as part of Toreno's plans he receives a phone call from the blind Triad leader Wu Zi Mu, whom Carl worked with in San Fierro. Wu Zi Mu has opened a casino called "The Four Dragons Casino" in Las Venturas, and he offers Carl part ownership in exchange for defending it, since Las Venturas is a Mafia-controlled town.
After stopping the sabotage efforts of the Forelli Family and Sindacco Family, who have part ownership of Caligula's Palace, with the Leone Family, Carl and Wu Zi Mu plan to strike back by pulling off a heist on Caligula's. Carl eventually meets Kent Paul and Maccer, a member of the Gurning Chimps. Paul knows Ken Rosenberg, who is currently the manager of Caligula's.
After helping Rosenberg out with his problems, Salvatore Leone himself arrives from Liberty City to take total control of Caligula's. Carl capitalizes on his relationship with Rosenberg to earn Salvatore's trust, and after performing numerous hits for him, is ready to begin the heist. When the heist team successfully robs Caligula's, Salvatore swears revenge against Carl.
In a different tempo, Carl also does a task once again for C.R.A.S.H., which is to retrieve a dossier for Frank Tenpenny. After some time, C.R.A.S.H. and Carl meet up in Las Brujas, near El Castillo del Diablo in Bone County, to give Tenpenny the dossier. In this event, Tenpenny knocks out fellow C.R.A.S.H. member Jimmy Hernandez with a shovel, since he was going to turn in evidence against Tenpenny. Later on, Carl himself kills Tenpenny's partner Eddie Pulaski, but not before Pulaski also kills Hernandez, who had tried to attack him.
Soon after this, CJ saves disgraced rapper Madd Dogg from an attempted suicide. and becomes his new manager. However, Madd Dogg wants to return to Los Santos to reclaim his mansion from a drug dealer named Big Poppa. The story then leaves Las Venturas.
Districts[]
Districts[]
The Strip at night
- Blackfield (University District)
- Creek
- Las Venturas International Airport (Harry Reid International Airport)
- Linden Side
- Old Venturas Strip (Fremont Street Casino District)
- Pilgrim (Chinatown Plaza)
- Prickle Pine (Summerlin)
- Redsands East (Las Vegas Arts District/Gateway District)
- Redsands West (North Las Vegas/Cultural Corridor Coalition)
- Roca Escalante (Downtown Financial District)
- Rockshore East (Whitney)
- Rockshore West (Henderson)
- Spinybed (Sunrise Manor)
- The Strip (Las Vegas Strip)
- Whitewood Estates (Westside)
Other Notable Places[]
- Blackfield Chapel (Guardian Angel Cathedral)
- Blackfield Stadium (Thomas & Mack Center)
- Greenglass College (Clark County Government Center)
- K.A.C.C. Military Aviation Fuel Depot (Nellis Air Force Base)
- La Conca (La Concha Motel)
- Las Venturas Bandits Stadium (Cashman Field)
- Las Venturas Souvenirs (Bonanza Gift Shop)
- Las Venturas Welcome Sign (Las Vegas Welcome Sign)
- Last Dime Motel
- Linden Station
- LVA Freight Depot
- Randolph Industrial Estate
- Rockshore Wedding Chapel
- Sobell Rail Yards
- Yellow Bell Golf Course (Angel Park Golf Course)
- Yellow Bell Station
- A mall near Come-A-Lot and The Camel's Toe featuring large 3D billboards (Showcase Mall)
Major Roads and Intersections[]
- Blackfield Intersection (CC 215-Harry Reid Airport Connector interchange/CC 215-I-15 interchange)
- Harry Gold Parkway (I-15)
- Julius Thruway (CC 215)
- Old Venturas Strip (Fremont Street)
- Pilson Intersection (US 95)
- The Strip (Las Vegas Strip)
Casinos[]
Wu Zi Mu (in person) and Julio G (on the radio), among others, talk about how corporations are moving in on the Las Venturas gaming industry and pushing out mobsters. This refers to the real-life trend in Las Vegas, also in the very early 1990s ("corporations" being Steve Wynn and Circus Circus Enterprises).
Most Las Venturas casinos are modeled on real-life locations in Las Vegas. Curiously, counterparts to some noteworthy Las Vegas casinos which existed in 1992 (when the game takes place), but were later demolished, do not appear in Las Venturas - these include the Dunes, the Desert Inn, and the Sands Hotel and Casino. Also, the Luxor Las Vegas (opened 1993), Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (opened 1995) and Treasure Island Hotel and Casino (opened 1993) had yet to be built.
Three casinos (The Four Dragons Casino, Caligula's Palace, and Casino Floor) can be entered by Carl Johnson. Inside, the player will find dealers and casino games along with many pedestrians. These pedestrians will be found ordering drinks, playing the table games (except Wheel of Fortune), standing in front of the slot machines, and making comments regarding the drinks they are ordering, about the table games they play, and about Carl Johnson's appearance. Casinos along The Strip include:
- Caligula's Palace (Caesars Palace)
- Casino Floor
- The Clown's Pocket (Circus Circus)
- The Camel's Toe (Luxor)
- Come-A-Lot (Excalibur)
- The Emerald Isle (Fitzgeralds)
- The Four Dragons Casino (Imperial Palace)
- The High Roller (Bally's)
- The Pink Swan (Flamingo)
- Pirates in Men's Pants (Treasure Island)
- Royal Casino (Casino Royale)
- Starfish Casino (Barbary Coast)
- The Visage (The Mirage)
- V-Rock Hotel (Hard Rock)
The casinos on the Old Venturas Strip have no names, but are modeled on the largest casinos in Downtown Las Vegas: Binion's Horseshoe, Golden Nugget Las Vegas, Fremont Hotel and Casino, and The Four Queens Hotel and Casino.
Transport[]
Las Venturas has a large freeway system circling and splitting the city into two. The Julius Thruway is the freeway system circles the city, and is split into four parts: Julius Thruway North, Julius Thruway South, Julius Thruway East, and Julius Thruway West. Julius Thruway North leads to an intersection, before splitting into many paths crossing the desert. Julius Thruway South continues to the west from the Blackfield Intersection to become a major highway in the south of Bone County, continuing to the Garver Bridge, and to Tierra Robada and the Gant Bridge. Thus Las Venturas has easy access to San Fierro and Los Santos and services numerous areas in the city. The Harry Gold Parkway is another highway, splitting the whole city into a western half and an eastern half. It mainly services the airport, some few casinos, and the central areas. It also leads to a highway to the south, crossing The Mako Span to reach the Montgomery Intersection and becomes the major freeway through Downtown Los Santos.
The Brown Streak Railroad services Las Venturas, with its two stations (Linden Station and Yellow Bell Station) being located in the northern and eastern part of the city. The Sobell Rail Yards are also in the east of the city, though it is not considered a stop for Brown Streak and Freight trains. Las Venturas Airport is an airport on the south-central part of the city, with two runways and a number of planes. It is serviced by Juank Air and tickets to Los Santos and San Fierro may be purchased.
Crime[]
In terms of crime, Las Venturas is unique compared to Los Santos and San Fierro. Firstly, Las Venturas is not plagued or controlled by any street gangs. Because of this, crime rate and gang violence is on a much lower rate compared to the other cities in San Andreas. Furthermore, the rate of drugs-trafficking is substantially lower compared to the other cities and almost non-existent; likewise, crack dealers do not exist in Las Venturas. However, major criminal organizations have influence in Las Venturas and contribute to the majority of the crime and illegal activities including murder, corruption, assassinations and extortion. These organizations include the Triads and three different Italian Mafia families: the Leone Crime Family, the Forelli Crime Family, and the Sindacco Crime Family. All of the organizations' main business interests revolve around gambling and big-time casinos (Caligula's Palace and the Four Dragons Casino).
The Triads and the Mafia entered a brief but violent war during 1992 for control of the gambling industry. The three Mafia families have been on rocky terms since, as they all had a stake in Caligula's Casino and each are trying to muscle the other out for its full control.
Sports Teams[]
Las Venturas is home to the Las Venturas Bandits baseball team. The Bandits play at the Las Venturas Bandits Stadium in the Redsands West district of Las Venturas.
Notable Residents[]
- Carl Johnson
- Johnny Sindacco (Formerly)
- Ken Rosenberg (Formerly)
- Kent Paul (Formerly)
- Maccer (Formerly)
- Millie Perkins
- Salvatore Leone (Formerly)
- Triad Assistant 1
- Triad Assistant 2
- Wu Zi Mu
Collectibles[]
A collectible horseshoe.
Las Venturas contains two types of collectibles throughout the city. The first type of collectibles are oysters which can be found in several bodies of water throughout the state. The second type of collectibles are Horseshoes which are horseshoe-shaped objects found exclusively within the city's boundaries, similar to the snapshots in San Fierro and the spray tags in Los Santos. Horseshoes increase the player's gambling luck by increasing the odds of winning. Upon collecting every horseshoe, the player will receive an M4, an SPAS-12, an MP5, and Satchel Charges at the Four Dragons Casino entrance.
Gallery[]
Influence[]
Las Venturas is based on the real life city of Las Vegas, Nevada and the unincorporated settlement of Paradise, Nevada in the Las Vegas Valley, which make up the metropolitan area of Las Vegas. Las Venturas also contains some influence from Sacramento, California in its location, layout, and freeway system.
Trivia[]
- Las Venturas has the highest concentration and numbers of suburbs of any city in San Andreas.
- Las Venturas has the most Burger Shot and Cluckin' Bell locations of any city/town in the GTA series.
- Various locales in Las Venturas are named after Cold War-era spies; the Julius Thruway is named after Julius Rosenberg, the Harry Gold Parkway is named after Harry Gold, and the Sobell Rail Yards are named after Morton Sobell.
- Behind The Clown's Pocket Casino, a large pink dome is under construction. The pink Adventure Dome behind the Circus Circus Casino in Las Vegas was also under construction in 1992.
- In GTA San Andreas, the printed map included with the game implies that The Clown's Pocket Casino was originally named the Ringmaster, which probably means the name was changed during game development.
- In Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, after killing Paulie Sindacco, his tombstone in the Liberty City cemetery will say Viva Las Venturas Baby, a reference to the common saying and Elvis Presley song "Viva Las Vegas".
- The official strategy guide for the game, published by BradyGames, lists several locations in Las Venturas where Adrenaline pick-ups are available, but in the game itself, no such items exist.
- In some safehouses, there are guidebooks for different places, including Las Venturas.
- Many streets in Las Venturas, mainly the ones on the outskirts of the city, seem to have sand on them, increasing the feeling of the city being in the middle of the desert.
- Las Venturas is named "Las Venturra" in the main menu background of the mobile version of GTA San Andreas, mostly evident on the save, load, or delete files background. It is unknown if this was a beta working name of the actual city during development, or is simply a misspelling.
- Images of Las Venturas from GTA San Andreas are used in one of the TV broadcasts in Grand Theft Auto IV, meaning the city exists in the HD Universe as well.