BOULDER CITY, Nev. — Tucked away about 24 miles southeast of Las Vegas is a much smaller and lesser known community, Boulder City — the only town in Nevada without gambling.
While you might expect another "West Wendover" situation in Boulder, that's not the case. What's here is a vibrant, tidy community of 15,500 residents with more green lawns than you see in most of the state. Also, here are some 15 different religious denominations, creating what almost looks to be a church on every third street corner or so.
Boulder is such an attractive place to live — with wide streets, a tourist flavor and a less stressful atmosphere — that it adopted a controlled-growth ordinance in 1979.
"My general impression is there is a real family atmosphere here, stressing family values," said the Rev. Kurt Hedlund of Boulder City's Bethany Baptist Church.
Although he's only lived there a few months, he said his faith discourages gambling, and so this is a real hideout from the rest of Nevada.
Pastor Brent Williams of Faith Christian Church agrees.
"I do have the feeling this town is pretty spiritual," he said.
He feels at times Boulder seems like the good guy in Nevada, with "good, old-fashioned values." He believes the town's 15 different faiths is probably more than most Nevada cities of its size, but he said most of those 15 churches are very small.
Williams admits that many visitors to Boulder City probably don't notice what's not there. Sitting along U-93, the town is the main thoroughfare to Hoover Dam — one of Nevada's most-visited attractions. However, no entrance signs in town highlight the absence of gaming.
In fact, Boulder City started as the U.S. government's established town to house the builders of Hoover Dam, 1931-35. By 1958, Boulder broke away from federal hands and the city charter — approved by residents — prohibited gambling.
Joan Curran, realty agent with BC Adobe Realty in town, said she highlights the town as "Nevada's best-kept secret."
"Recognized as a family-oriented and community-minded city, we proudly maintain a wholesome quality of life," she said.
Williams also stressed that you go five minutes out of either end of town and you'll find the two nearest casinos. While many residents are retired or work for the Bureau of Reclamation, which maintains the dam, a considerable number of residents also commute to the Strip to work or play.
Indeed, superficial looks here may be deceiving.
"It is a very safe place to live in, compared to Las Vegas or even Henderson," said Pastor Duane Jordan of the Boulder City Assembly of God Church. "The gaming ban does make our community unique, but I am sure that it does not make people who live here any better or worse than any other person in Nevada."
He believes few people in town are really anti-gambling.
"If we were true purist against gambling, we would never participate in anything that had any connection to the gaming industry. We would not take revenue from taxes to help with our schools or the building of the infrastructures of our town," he said.
"The spiritual makeup of our town has nothing to do with the lack of gaming. People are people. There is a drug problem here; even though there are only three bars, there is a great drinking problem. I have heard of teen pregnancy, child abuse, incest, domestic violence and other immoral behavior. . . . So even in clean, green Boulder City, there are great needs," Jordan stressed.
There are four wards and two chapels of the Henderson, Nev., stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Boulder.
"It's nice to be different," said Gregg Ripplinger, second counselor in the Henderson stake presidency, who lives in Boulder.
Having grown up in Vegas, he said he got used to slot machines in grocery stores there.
He said there are a lot of churchgoing people in Boulder City, but he believes Nevadans are often misunderstood as being more liberal than they probably really are.
Jill Hardy, another LDS Church member in town, agrees that Nevada residents are generally more conservative than most realize. She said the city has LDS roots, much like Las Vegas. The first mayor in town was LDS, and some restrictions on liquor — a mini-prohibition — were tried for a time.
"I just think this is a wonderful town," she said.
The official LDS statement on gambling is: "The church opposes gambling in any form, including government-sponsored lotteries. Members are urged to join with others who have similar concerns in opposing the legalization and government sponsorship of any form of gambling."
The 15 religions in Boulder City are: Assembly of God; Baha'i; Baptist; Roman Catholic; Christian Science; Church of Christ; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; Community; Episcopal; Foursquare Gospel; Interdenominational; Lutheran; Methodist; Presbyterian; and Seventh-Day Adventist.
E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com