Sierra Madre The Sierra Madre is a pre - War casino resort in the wastes , a dead city surrounded by a poisonous cloud . Many traveler s in the Mojave have sought it out after claiming to have heard a woman ' s voice on a pre - War radio broadcast , never to be heard from again . The Courier is lured to the Sierra Madre by that same broadcast advertising the gala grand opening . Background . The city and the casino were designed and built by one man , Frederick Sinclair , his last venture a few years before the Great War . The Sierra Madre , especially the casino , was intended as a place for guests to reverse their fortunes and During its construction until the end , it remained a reclusive area . All conveniences were supplied to the inhabitants by unique vending machines , which provided a number of commercial and non - commercial services , and allowed the residents to live in self - sufficiency , even when cut off from the outside world . The goal of the entire enterprise was not only to create a great casino - it was to create the perfect shelter from the nuclear holocaust . Every element of the Sierra Madre ' s functions is to protect its inhabitants . In design , Sinclair was drawn to the nostalgic Art Deco era . This is reflected in the architecture of the villa and of the casino . To make it a perfect opening gala , Sinclair strengthened its frequency emissions , normally reserved for emergency broadcast signals before the war . The kitchens of the Sierra Madre aimed for a 5 star rating , and sought to bring in the best chefs from around the world . In order to meet deadlines and budgets , the construction of the Sierra Madre was handled by two different companies , a well performing company for the casino and a cheaper , slacking , corrupt company for the Villa , creating numerous incidents during the construction of the Villa . As guardian of his paradise , Sinclair forbade any other food or vending machines beyond the ones he ' d installed there and banned any personal contraband like chems , alcohol , and " foreign substances " , which created a black market from the workers within . Part of Sierra Madre security ' s role was to prevent such contraband from entering the Villa area . They were known to have conducted inspections of the Puesta del Sol construction offices , confiscating prohibited items . Obsessed with security , believed due to his own financial losses in the 2070s , Sinclair installed s , a futuristic technology purchased on an exclusive contract by Sinclair . The doors of the Sierra Madre were designed to hermetically seal in case of emergency and the speakers were shielded to prevent vandalism . The Sierra Madre Casino was equipped with an automated front desk that would escort guests to their rooms upon arrival ; and security systems that would stun those entering with foreign substances or contaminated by radiation . There is also a darker side to the Madre . In return for the technologies supplied by Big MT , Sinclair agreed to have the casino and the villa act as proving grounds for various experimental technologies such as the saturnite alloy , hazmat suit s and prototype matter recombinators . Sinclair was oblivious to the fact that previous such deals did not work out too well ( as is the case with Hopeville and its disastrous meteorological research project ) . In the Sierra Madre , the catch came in the form of the Cloud , a strange toxin created in the laboratories of Big MT . Appearances . Sierra Madre is mentioned in various posters and postcards in " " and in a terminal in the " " , " Old World Blues " . It appears only in " Dead Money " .