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ManchVegas (also Manch-Vegas) is a local nickname for Manchester, New Hampshire. The term is a portmanteau of Manchester and Las Vegas.

"ManchVegas" was derived from illegal gambling in local businesses during the late 1980s or early '90s. Many pizza shops and local bars had video poker machines that would pay out real money. The nickname was coined following a city-wide bust of these machines. It was then adopted as a lampoon of the city's limited entertainment opportunities. Recently the term has become a source of pride as the city's entertainment scene has grown.

By 2003 it was well enough known that a note on Virtualtourist.com said "Residents reflect the regional dry humor by referring to sedate Manchester as 'ManchVegas'."[1] By 2005, an article in Manchester's Hippo Press (a local alternative weekly) in August 2005, said then-Mayor Robert A. Baines, "is pushing to replace the nickname ManchVegas with Manchhatten" (meaning Manchester+Manhattan).[2] It remains a half-joking reference for headlines in 2009.[3]

As of January 2006, nine businesses in New Hampshire had registered with the New Hampshire Secretary of State's Corporate Division to use the name "ManchVegas" in their business. The earliest was registered August 11, 1998.

Other, much less commonly used, nicknames are "ManchAngeles" (Manchester+Los Angeles), students at Manchester Central High School started using the term Manchvegistan (referencing the city's immigrant population). Central is known for having the most diverse student body in the state of New Hampshire.

Popular culture

The ManchVegas Roller Girls is a women's amateur roller derby league.
Manchester band Moes Haven released an album of pop songs entitled "September: In Manchvegas" in 2006 with 16 songs about people and places in the city.
An independent film titled "Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas", was released in June of 2009.

External links

"Oscar night, ManchVegas style"
ManchVegas: The Queen City's other name has stuck New Hampshire Union Leader. Sept. 26, 2005. (Requires registration)

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 "ManchVegas" was derived from illegal gambling in local businesses during the late 1980s or early '90s.  Many pizza shops and local bars had video poker machines that would pay out real money.  The nickname was coined following a city-wide bust of these machines.  It was then adopted as a lampoon of the city's limited entertainment opportunities. Recently the term has become a source of pride as the city's entertainment scene has grown.
-By 2003 it was well enough known that a note on Virtualtourist.com said  "Residents reflect the regional dry humor by referring to sedate Manchester as 'ManchVegas'."[[http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/New_Hampshire/Manchester-831355/Local_Customs-Manchester-R-1.html ] By 2005, an article in Manchester's [[Hippo Press]] (a local alternative weekly) in August 2005, said then-Mayor [[Robert A. Baines]], "is pushing to replace the nickname ManchVegas with Manchhatten" (meaning Manchester+Manhattan).[[http://www.hippopress.com/pubnote/pubnote05818.html ] It remains a half-joking reference for headlines in 2009.[http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090219/ENCORE01/902189893]
+By 2003 it was well enough known that a note on Virtualtourist.com said  "Residents reflect the regional dry humor by referring to sedate Manchester as 'ManchVegas'."[http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/New_Hampshire/Manchester-831355/Local_Customs-Manchester-R-1.html ] By 2005, an article in Manchester's [[Hippo Press]] (a local alternative weekly) in August 2005, said then-Mayor [[Robert A. Baines]], "is pushing to replace the nickname ManchVegas with Manchhatten" (meaning Manchester+Manhattan).[http://www.hippopress.com/pubnote/pubnote05818.html ] It remains a half-joking reference for headlines in 2009.[http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090219/ENCORE01/902189893]
 As of January 2006, nine businesses in New Hampshire had registered with the New Hampshire Secretary of State's Corporate Division to use the name "ManchVegas" in their business. The earliest was registered August 11, 1998.