In America’s gambling capital desperate people are seeking refuge in the network of tunnels running under the city
Donovan walks into the tunnel, where he stays, on Nov. 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
/Bridget Bennett for Huffpost
By John L. Smith | Huffington Post
Donovan looked out on the swanky casino looming in the distance. Traffic whizzed along the nearby highway overpass. He stood, sockless in tennis shoes, at the mouth of the concrete tunnel where he lives, a five-minute walk from Caesars Palace hotel. Graffiti covered the tunnel walls that disappeared into darkness behind him.
After arriving in America’s gambling capital from California in 2013, Donovan had planned on working, but things didn’t turn out well. “It all went downhill, and here I am,” he said. Like others in this story, he agreed to be identified by first name only.
Donovan has been taking shelter in the concrete flood channels and tunnels that run directly under the Las Vegas Strip for the past two years. These dark passageways are part of a huge drainage network designed to protect the glittering casino district and its sprawling suburbs from flash flooding. And Donovan’s not alone down there. It’s estimated that nearly 300 homeless people live in these tunnels.
