Nevada’s favorite Halloween candy is what?!

Nevada's favorite Halloween candy? If you think about it, the name of the confection in question is oddly appropriate.

PayDay? 100 Grand Bar? Even, maybe, chocolate coins?

Nope. Rather than the money-fueled glitz of Las Vegas, think instead of Nevada's more rural side and you'll eventually think of Jolly Rancher, the flavored hard candy that actually may well be the perfect treat for a happy Nevada rancher to enjoy as he or she tends the ranch.

The coronation of Jolly Rancher as Nevada's favorite Halloween candy comes via the website Influenster.com, which compiled a ranking of what it says is every state's Halloween candy preferences (www.influenster.com/article/americas-favorite-halloween-candy-state-by-state).

According to the site, the greatest number of votes nationally went to Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, which, along with Kit Kat and Butterfinger, received votes from every state. Also, the site says, the often-scorned-by-trick-or-treaters Candy Corn was the top favorite of five states.

But the Jolly Rancher, Nevada's favorite Halloween candy? Count Arlene Bordinhao's reaction as one of stunned silence (or, as she later describes it, "crickets.")

"Yeah, I'm gonna say no," says Bordinhao, who, with her husband, Victor, owns B Sweet Candy Boutique, 420 S. Rampart Blvd., at Tivoli Village (bsweetlv.com). "Maybe in Nevada, but not in Las Vegas.

Bordinhao suspects that Southern Nevadans' sweet tooth favors less-pedestrian treats. For instance, she says, "chocolate-covered gummi bears are the most popular in our store. They're amazing, and you can only get them in candy stores."

Also popular are "our sour belts," she says. "They're like a solid strip of gummi."

When it comes to candies of a more mass-market sort for Halloween, Bordinhao suspects most Southern Nevadans lean toward such staples as Snickers bars. But, even then, adults can impress trick or treaters by opting for full-sized bars.

"I remember when I was trick or treating in Las Vegas, we wanted to go to rich people's houses because they'd give you full candy bars ... large Kit Kats and actual Snickers bars versus, like, the mini assortment," Bordinhao explains.

Then, adults seeking to pass out something a bit more novel might try something like the mini cotton candy favors Bordinhao's store makes. "Those are amazing," she says. "You can even do custom stickers on them."

Cotton candy also is "allergy-free," Bordinhao adds, which is handy these days "when kids are having all these allergy issues. It's gluten-free, it's nut-free, it's literally allergy-free."

If you're searching for a different sort of mass-market candy, consider "ring pops," Bordinhao says. "They're available everywhere. They're fun. Kid love wearing them and, again, there's a low risk of allergies there."

In fact, ring pops even can be a way to take our supposed favorite Jolly Rancher candy and give it a suitably Las Vegas-y twist.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think (Jolly Rancher is) Vegas enough. It doesn't have enough glitz or glamour for Vegas," Bordinhao explains. "But why not take it and do it like it's a ring pop? It's the same thing, except you've taken it up a notch."

— Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280 or follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.