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1,000 people live in Las Vegas sewers
About 300 kilometers of complicated sewers lie beneath the glittering lights of Las Vegas. Inhabited by rodents and spiders, the tunnels are also home to 1,000 people, according to news reports.
One couple, Steven and Kathryn, has their underground home furnished with a double bed, a wardrobe and even a bookshelf, which they picked up from what other people threw away.
They have been living underground for five years since Steven lost his job because of a heroin addiction. Although he is clean now, he still doesn't have a job. The couple survives by "credit hustling" in casinos, picking the chips accidentally left behind in slot machines.
"I heard Las Vegas was a good place for jobs," another resident said. "But it was tough and we started living under the staircase outside the MGM casino."
The residents came to live underground after meeting others who already had their home in the tunnels.
Mathew O'Brien, a reporter who was researching a murder case, stumbled across the tunnel people and has set up "The Shine a Light Foundation" to help.
He published a book on the tunnel people called "Beneath the Neon" in 2007 to reveal the lives of people living underneath the city.
About 300 kilometers of complicated sewers lie beneath the glittering lights of Las Vegas. Inhabited by rodents and spiders, the tunnels are also home to 1,000 people, according to news reports.
One couple, Steven and Kathryn, has their underground home furnished with a double bed, a wardrobe and even a bookshelf, which they picked up from what other people threw away.
They have been living underground for five years since Steven lost his job because of a heroin addiction. Although he is clean now, he still doesn't have a job. The couple survives by "credit hustling" in casinos, picking the chips accidentally left behind in slot machines.
"I heard Las Vegas was a good place for jobs," another resident said. "But it was tough and we started living under the staircase outside the MGM casino."
The residents came to live underground after meeting others who already had their home in the tunnels.
Mathew O'Brien, a reporter who was researching a murder case, stumbled across the tunnel people and has set up "The Shine a Light Foundation" to help.
He published a book on the tunnel people called "Beneath the Neon" in 2007 to reveal the lives of people living underneath the city.
