 Set in 1960s Las Vegas, the series centers on Sheriff Ralph Lamb (Quaid) and his dealings with Chicago mobster Vincent Savino (Chiklis), who moved west to set up his own operation.The Lamb character is based on a real-life former rancher of the same name who served as Sheriff of Clark County from 1961 to 1979.The idea for "Vegas" first came to Pileggi while he was researching the book "Casino", and as a result of his research into the Las Vegas of the 70s and 80s, he decided to also write about the city in the era of the 60s.