Nevada Named Most Deceitful US State in Questionable Report

A new report published by The New York Post claims that Nevada is America’s most deceitful state, leading the nation in lying, cheating, and creative paperwork. This is, of course, an indictment of Las Vegas, where more than 70% of Nevada’s 3.27 million residents live.

AI renders a photo of a lying Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. (Image: Microsoft CoPilot)

The tabloid’s story says it relied on data tallying up multiple flavors of modern dishonesty: fraud reports, romance scams, identity theft, fake doctor’s notes, fake IDs, and Google searches for Ashley Madison, the notorious cheating site that refuses to die no matter how many data breaches try to kill it.

“There’s a reason they say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” the Post wrote.

According to the report, other states excelled in individual categories. Florida was No. 1 in fraud, with over 2,100 reports per 100K residents. Arizona led the nation in romance scams, with $53.7 million lost in 2024.

But Nevada took the overall dishonesty cake. According to the Post, 1 in 5 Nevada residents surveyed “admits to frequent fibbing.” (Hmm, do liars tell the truth about lying?)

Worst-Case Scenario

Las Vegas resident Aurora Phelps allegedly committed bank fraud, ID theft, and a kidnapping that resulted in death. (Image: FBI)

To back up its case, the Post cited a “romance scam on steroids” in which a female Las Vegas resident allegedly lured older men via dating websites, drugged them, and emptied their bank accounts.

In this case, uncovered by the FBI in February 2025, Aurora Phelps, 43, faces life in prison if convicted on bank fraud, ID theft, and one count of kidnapping resulting in death.

However, this case was unrelated to the data compiled for the Post’s report. That data came solely from “researchers at online tarot reading site Tarotoo,” according to the newspaper.

In addition, no such study or survey is mentioned anywhere on Tarotoo.com — or anywhere else on the internet other than in The New York Post story.

Could The New York Post itself have been taken in by a scam?

Nah, impossible. Tarot card reading websites are renowned for their honesty. Except probably the ones based in Nevada.

And Tarotoo.com is based in Ukraine.

Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas.

Corey spent six years covering the Vegas Strip for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he also wrote the most popular humor column in the city’s history. (For “Fear and Loafing,” he tried out 176 Vegas jobs, including poker player, blackjack dealer and Follie Bergere dancer.)

Corey has won more than 100 local, state and national awards for his journalism, which has also appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and the New York Post.

Corey is a New York native whose hobbies include playing guitar, trying to be a better husband, and arguing with strangers on Facebook.

Contact Corey at corey@casino.org.

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  • BS
    Bugsy Siegel January 30, 2026
    That’s not true. We have a very honest and ethical way of doing business here. Just ask my business partners David Berman and Gus Greenbaum.… That’s not true. We have a very honest and ethical way of doing business here. Just ask my business partners David Berman and Gus Greenbaum. I should also mention that I was always able to trust Frankie Carbo and Eddie Cannizzaro. The two of them wouldn’t harm a hair on my head.
    Reply
  • D
    David January 30, 2026
    When I dine, go to a cashier or have any interaction with any worker, I usually ask where they are from. I would say… When I dine, go to a cashier or have any interaction with any worker, I usually ask where they are from. I would say 90% proudly say they are from CA, then you have some that try to fake you out and say they are a CA refugee. Remember the CA 3 strikes rule? You get three major arrests you go to prison. That was well before Gavin Newsome where you get as many strikes as you like. Anyway, when the three strikes rule was in place, the rule of thumb was, get two strikes, move to Vegas. Vegas does not attract the best, that’s for sure. Just walk down the strip one day and see all the graft happening. Oh well, my dad always said you can’t fight City Hall. “City Hall” has created this and won’t fix it.
    Reply
  • K
    KM January 29, 2026
    Please provide the statistics to back up your assertion.
    Reply
  • H
    Hobo January 29, 2026
    Nevada, especially Las Vegas and Reno; most lowlife-low/ low integrity place on the planet, hands down. Followed by Texas, Washington DC, and Florida.
    Reply

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