Last week was the 25th anniversary of Nevada splitting its area code into 702 and 775, which led to some fun back-and-forth on Friday’s podcast, a news roundup starring co-hosts Sarah Lohman and Dayvid Figler, with guest Andrew Kiraly:
Sarah: “In 1947, the entire state of Nevada was given 702. And then in 1998, after we went through a lot of growth in the ’80s and ’90s, that's when they split: 702 went to Clark County, and then the rest of the state became 775.”
Dayvid: “And they've never forgiven us.”
Andrew: “That was how the war began.”
Sarah: “And next year is the 10th anniversary of when they split Clark County between 702 and 725.”
Dayvid: “Andrew and I both have 702 tattoos across our abdomens, in large, Old English lettering.”
Andrew: “On my left ab I have 702; on my right I have 725.”
Sarah: “I had a feeling, Andrew, that you were going to be more embracing of the newcomers than grumpy old Dave.”
Andrew: “I have two thoughts. One is, when cool-ass people move to town, I try to welcome them and bring them into Vegas life. But it's funny, when I see their number is a 213 or a 646 or whatever, there's this little question in my mind: How long are they going to stay here? Are they really committed?
“On the other hand, anyone who's got a 725, I don't give them the side eye. If anything, we should be giving all the 725s the love because they're the folks who keep Vegas changing.”
Sarah: “Dayvid, do you feel 702 has that cachet?”
Dayvid: “Yes, in much the same way that a couple of us old timers try to hang on to our old license plate backgrounds. It's the same kind of thing — we grew so fast that hanging on to some vestige of that small town, which we all sort of revel in nostalgically, is in our phone numbers."
Andrew: “So can you acquire a 702 number, if you roll into town and you're like, 'Oh, I wanna be OG?' ”
Sarah: “At the moment it says that we are not in any danger of exhausting our area codes, all three of them, until 2064 or something. So, in theory, they're out there.”
