When we considered it there were a lot of reasons. Now, I actually do like casinos/gambling to a mild degree. That is, I play some of the table games but not for high dollar. If I lived in the LV area I would probably go there occasionally but not every day by any means.
Things I liked about the area:
1. The climate was acceptable to me. Yes, yes, I know how hot it is in summer but being from Texas that was acceptable to me. Basically, I wanted something in the more mid to southern half of the US.
2. The cost of living was acceptable to me. The cost of houses was acceptable. In fact, both were better than most places.
3. Southern California was a place we rejected basically due to excessive costs of housing and natural disaster risk. However, it is a nice place to visit. it is easy to do so from LV.
4. Travel costs to and from LV are generally low. Our family mostly lives in Texas (although it is scattered in many places). It would be cheaper for them to visit us and us to visit them if we lived in the LV area than most other places out of state from where we were.
5. There is a lot to do in LV even if you are not gambling. There are shows to see, wonderful restaurants to eat it, lots of retail, etc. I liked that idea of always being able to go and do something not that far from where I live. Again, I wouldn't do that everything day but I like the idea of having the option always.
6. The size of LV was acceptable. While we probably would have lived in Henderson, I like the idea of being in a large Metropolitan area. While not huge (by my standards) it was acceptable. And, because of how it has developed, LV itself has many of the entertainment, food, and retail amenities of many larger metropolitan areas.
