Homeless Living in Tunnels Under Vegas

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - Many people know Las Vegas for its glitz and glamour. But beneath the streets is a dark and dank world.

The Sun reports that there are as many as 700 people living in the 350 miles of flood tunnels below Vegas. Despite the risk of disease, Black Widow spiders and flooding, many have managed to create a relatively comfortable living situation. Some people have assembled spaces with furniture, shelves, small kitchens and even makeshift showers made from office drinking water dispensers. See photos .

One couple, referred to simply as Steven and Kathryn, has lived under Caesar's Palace for two years. The two find money by searching casinos for money or credits left behind by gamblers.

"We work our way down the Strip. The most I've ever found is $997 on one machine. I've found about $500 a few times. But normally $20 or so is enough to call it a night," Steven told the Sun.

Steven said he used to have a job working at a hotel front desk, but lost it because of a heroin addiction he said he's since kicked.

According to Matthew O'Brien, who wrote the book " Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas ," many people seek shelter in the tunnels because of unemployment, drug addiction and mental illness. He began a foundation called Shine A Light , which helps the people living underground in Vegas by providing food, shelter and counseling. O'Brien told CNN that within the past six months, more than a dozen people have received housing.

"I've always thought more should be done. I just think the history of Vegas PR is to ignore the bad issues," O'Brien told CNN. "I think the instinct of the city and the county is to ignore stuff that can be construed as negative press."

Last month homeless activist Dr. Joseph D'Angelo proposed building the nation's first planned homeless community north of the Las Vegas Valley where homeless could live and work without fear of being kicked out.