Showgirls (1995) is a film about a young woman's rise to the top of the Las Vegas showgirl circuit. Loosely based on the 1950 Oscar-winning Hollywood classic All About Eve starring Bette Davis, Showgirls features a snakelike chorus dancer lying in wait to star in a popular Las Vegas revue. Director Paul Verhoeven expected great success by adding nearly naked women to this familiar story.

Reno 911 is a television series that airs on the Comedy Central network and features members of the fictitious Reno Sheriff's Department. Envisioned primarily as a spoof of reality television shows such as Cops, Reno 911 has become a cult favorite for its improvised comedy sketches and willingness to cheerfully crash through boundaries of taste.

"Welcome Mob Bosses" read a Reno casino marquee for an entire day in 1997 and oddly enough, no one seemed to notice this proclamation that would never occur in real life—it was a gag for the spoof Mafia! filming in town that week. Movies, television, and history have forever linked Nevada and the mob in the public mind, so that audiences easily accept any plot element involving casinos run by organized crime.

Movies will tell you that much of what women do in Nevada involves work and marriage, but with the state's unique twist. When it comes to jobs, entertainment is a big field for women, with more singing and dancing opportunities than found in most states. Nevada is also the only state where women can work legally as prostitutes. And while marriage is common throughout the rest of the country, Nevada offers a strong lure with themed wedding chapels, originally flourishing because of less stringent license requirements.