Yes, this is a story about Nevada and gambling. It also includes three people whose last names are, seriously, Redd, Black and Green. Our Senior Business Correspondent Bob Moon spent part of his childhood in a little Nevada truck stop-town called Mesquite. He went back to tell the story of what’s happened there.

From Bob’s story on Marketplace:

Suddenly, tiny Mesquite became Nevada’s fastest-growing city — and for a time, the fastest-growing small town in America. In barely a decade, the population soared from a few hundred to nearly 20,000.

And then, quicker than it came, the boom suddenly went bust, capping a ruinous year for the whole state’s gaming and tourism business.

Breathless Las Vegas newscasters reacted to the surprise mothballing of the Oasis casino as if the whole community had just rolled snake eyes.

In addition to listening to the story or reading the transcript, you can see Mesquite for yourself. Bob put together two slideshows. Good stuff: