Secret Community

I came across this story recently and it really blew me away so I wanted to share it with you.

Beneath the glittering signs and lights of Las Vegas is a secret community living in the dark and dirty underground flood tunnels below the famous strip.

Nevada ranks high for homeless population, but while amongst the vegas strip, you would never realise that more then 700 people are living in these streets and in the underground tunnels.

Matt O'Brien, a Las Vegas writer, has been exploring this underworld for several years, He published a book, " Beneath the Neon" about the 300 miles of underground tunnels that crisscross beneath the city.

Steven and Kathryn are just one of the couples he came across that call the underground tunnel home, They keep a neat, compact space which consists of a little kitchen, furnished living area, bed, wardrobe and bookshelves all kept on crates due to water running along the tunnel floors.

They collected most of their belongings from the streets at night: "Our bed came from a skip outside an apartment complex. It's mainly stuff people dump that we pick up. One man's junk is another man's gold" he told a reporter.

They make their money from local casinos credit hustling, prowling the casinos searching the fruit machines for money or credits left by drunken gamblers.

Despite his established set-up, Steven claims he eventually wants to leave the tunnels but can't because of two outstanding arrest warrants from drug possession charges two years ago.

There are around 350 miles of flood channels running under Las Vegas. Most inhabitants are in the area under the city's strip. This is just one couple's story, for more on the tunnels head to google.