"We know it happens, and we welcome it," said Lonnie Grey, Bureau Chief for Idaho's ABC enforcement. "It's more tax dollars for us."

The two extremes

If Utah is known for its liquor laws, Nevada may be known for a lack thereof. Most of those are laws dictated by the federal government for age limits and to prevent drunken driving; any other laws, zoning regulations and licensing requirements are left to the counties.

Many states allow their counties or cities to pass their own liquor laws, although most of those will only let local governments further tighten state law. Some places, like Idaho, permit locals to extend hours or allow Sunday sales despite state law. Only a few states leave liquor decisions almost exclusively in the hands of local governments, and two of those states — Louisiana and Nevada — have some of the United States' most liberal laws.

Nevada counties or cities very seldom go beyond state laws, which means that almost anywhere in the state a person can drink around the clock, purchase alcohol and drink it anywhere, and do so for a relatively small amount of money.

"We are a 24-hour town," said James Heyden, supervisor for the Clark County Department of Revenue. "We don't tell anyone when they can open or close."

Although the local-option liquor control has allowed liberal laws to flourish, it has also kept Prohibition alive in states throughout the South, where more than 200 dry counties can still be found.

Those laws top Utah's in creating confusion for travelers. In Texas, for example, Dallas visitors will find plenty of alcohol in some parts of the city, yet will find no alcohol in some of the suburbs. Oklahoma, like Utah, sells only 3.2 beer in the state. Much of Kentucky has remained dry, and voters have continually reaffirmed their desire to keep alcohol out of their counties.

About two-thirds of Alabama's counties are wet, yet draft beer is still illegal in some of those counties. The dry counties do attract curious questions from visitors, yet have pretty much died as an issue for Alabama residents, said Chief Roy Houlton of the Alabama Beverage Commission.

"As people have become more mobile, it has become less of an issue," he said. "It's a pretty well-accepted thing."

The tug-of-war

The majority often rules, and the LDS majority in Utah has continued to rule the state's liquor debate. If other states, especially those with a strong religious majority, can be looked at for a trend in liquor regulation, the economic majority of the tourist industry could gain more control of Utah's laws.