Living and Playing in Vegas

[LeavingMA]

I am leaving MA for sure. Vegas and Tampa are two places I'm considering and where I can play poker. At least initially playing poker will be during weekdays as I have a 10 year old on my own.

My main question is not about playing poker but about living in Vegas so I'm looking for general feedback on that. I recently visited and know I can take the heat, so to speak, it hit 109. I do like the Mountains Edge development, even though building and sales seem to have stalled for now. It is closer to the strip than Summerlin, it appears. Not sure whether I should buy or rent though initially I'd likely rent. My concern is that total selling fees are higher than in MA, for example, so if you own a home for just a few years you may lose money selling.

I am looking for an area preferrably where my son can safely ride his bike to friends and to school, walking distance to restaurants, access to own or community pool?

How is the quality of life, are people as friendly as they appear to be, the traffic situation?

As an aside, while in Vegas on 215 the cops gave me a ticket for driving in the breakdown lane when there were no lanes marked and I was preparing to exit. There was no amount written on the ticket and obviously I can not appear in court so any tips on how to handle this from afar would also be appreciated.