The New Shanty Towns

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In the shadows of high-rise casinos, where gamblers blow millions of dollars in round-the-clock binges, a sprawling new neighborhood has sprung up in matter of weeks—a city of tents. Occupied mainly by people with homes in foreclosure, and people whose jobs have vanished leaving them with no savings, this tent city in downtown Reno is one of many makeshift homeless encampments that now dot the country. Nevada has one of the highest unemployment rates in the U.S., made worse by waves of new arrivals seeking work in the casinos (This week, a new Las Vegas casino received 25,000 job applications for its 1,000 available jobs.)

The photos in this gallery were taken on October 6, when the weather was still reasonably warm. This weekend, the nighttime temperature in Reno is expected to drop into the mid-thirties.