Salphabeta

US is still one of the least corrupt nations compared to the average. It's relative. Check out anywhere outside the bubble called Western Europe.

Who knows. If you are going to spend $$ to make a fake town, maybe it is a status symbol to simply visit it and pay the "native" prices.

I find this strange, because regarding other things, such as product/general liability, you can really get taken to the cleaners in Texas unless the law recently changed.

You should definitely keep looking. 250k is still something to someone and I would think you have a very clear cut case without a lot of litigating actually necessary.