The line at the Last Stop convenience store on the highway between Las Vegas and Phoenix, not far from the border between Nevada and Arizona that runs through the Colorado River, is longer than usual. The reason: a desire to fill out a form for “Power-Ball”, the American lottery, in which the Emir won an imaginary sum of almost two billion dollars this week after again not finding a winner in the last lottery. Rumors about the relatively short lines at this remote gas station store in the middle of the desert bring hundreds of cars here with eager gamblers who just want to “make the hit”. I talk to some of them, and the almost constant joke is that they need to win a prize to be able to pay for the gas it takes to get here and back home.
There is no doubt that the increase in prices in general and the increase in gas prices in particular are the main issue of the elections that will be held tomorrow (Tuesday) in the USA, and in huge states like Nevada and Arizona, where just to get from one place in the big city to another you sometimes have to travel tens of kilometers, fuel is a basic consumer product .
This is one of the main reasons why most commentators predict a loss tomorrow for the Democratic Party, which is currently in power in both Congress and the White House. But beyond the conversations with concerned citizens, perhaps more than anything else, the store’s merchandise pages tell the story of this election. With the exception of two types of hats documenting the coronation ceremony of Joe Biden in January 2021, all other merchandise is pro-Republican, and more than that – pro-Trump. In the attached video you can see cups, shirts, scarves, hats – which clearly indicate the political direction, at least in this part of America.