The closest state-lottery outlet to Las Vegas is at the convenience store at Primm. Conveniently and not coincidentally, it's right across the border in California (roughly 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas).
It's perennially the California Lottery's leading retail outlet. In fact, it's been called the nation's busiest lottery store. It's placed number one, out of the more than 18,000 state lottery outlets, in sales nearly every year since it opened in 1992 (the convenience store at Hallelujah Junction, 30 miles north of Reno, takes that honor in the odd year). So it's not surprising that the name of the store is the Primm Valley Lotto Store. In really good years, this store nearly doubles the amount of the second highest outlet's sales.
To get there, just put yourself on Interstate 15 heading southwest toward Los Angeles. Get off at Primm and keep heading south; the market is just south of the state line past the Outlet Mall.
When you walk in, you'll immediately notice that this place is loaded for high-volume lottery mania, with a dozen or so Lotto ticket machines behind the counter, a half-dozen self-serve Lotto machines, and a few scratcher-ticket dispensers. The store expanded the lottery terminals just before Powerball tickets went on sale in 2013.
In fact, the first winning Mega Millions jackpot ticket of 2017 ($188 million) was sold at the store in late January.
Nevada is one of six states in the U.S. that doesn't have a lottery. No surprise, since nearly one out of three Nevada employees works in the casino business.
In order for Nevada to institute a lottery, lawmakers and residents have to vote to change the state constitution, which outlaws it. Both the Nevada Assembly and Senate have to vote in favor of a lottery in two successive sessions (taking four years); then the voters have to approve it.
We'd say that you have a better chance of hitting MegaMillions than Nevada has of getting a lottery.
In 2015, it was the 28th time the Nevada legislature considered (for about five minutes) instituting a state lottery for the 28th time since 1973 and killed it with extreme prejudice. Not a chance in hell. Never a breath of life. Over the casinos' stiff corpses. At the risk of repeating ourselves: dead dead dead.
Of course, a lottery bill is already being planned for the 2017 legislative session.