| Page Views: 1,327 Last Visit to Las Vegas: January, 1996 | Psychokiwi's Las Vegas page by Psychokiwi - last update: Sep 3, 2002 |
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Las Vegas is the principal city of Nevada. Mormons from Utah were the first settlers (1855), attracted by the artesian springs in the arid valley along the Old Spanish Trail, hence the name Las Vegas ("the meadows"). The Mormons abandoned the site in 1857, and the U.S. Army built Fort Baker there in 1864. Its growth was stimulated by legalized gambling (1931) and by construction in the 1930s of the Hoover Dam (29 miles) and Lake Mead, and the Death Valley National Park, have become popular tourist attractions.
Las Vegas is famous as a unique year-round desert resort. The city's commercial core is "The Strip," an array of luxury hotels, casinos, and nightclubs featuring gambling and exotic entertainment. The buildings along The Strip, which stretches along part of Las Vegas Boulevard South, are notable for their bright neon signage, colourful electronic billboards, and extravagant facades and interiors.
Las Vegas first began to grow rapidly after 1940. The city's connections to the national crime syndicate began in 1946, when gangster ("Bugsy") Siegel opened the Flamingo Hotel with financing by his associate Meyer Lansky and others. Gambling had been legalized in Nevada in 1931, and from the late 1940s Las Vegas began to earn a reputation as a popular tourist destination and to attract notoriety as a "sin city." The city's growth surged in the mid-1950s as more casinos were built. Another economic boom began in the mid-1980s with a new spate of extravagant hotel-casino complexes, this time emphasizing family entertainment. As a result, Las Vegas was one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the second half of the 20th century.<a href="http://www.wunderground.com/US/NV/Las_Vegas.html">
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 Comments for Psychokiwi about Las Vegas | | | | |
hayward68 Sun Feb 25, 2001 05:59 UTC
Excellent guide to the casinos! | utttz Tue Jan 2, 2001 15:19 UTC
a gambling page! | luiggi Thu Dec 28, 2000 20:15 UTC
Really great page ! | Krystynn Tue Dec 19, 2000 09:38 UTC
Yes, I love Vegas too!!! Too cool for words!!! |
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