About Las Vegas

What is there to say about Sin City that hasn’t already been said?  We take a quick peak at the potted history of this great city, from the quite literal one horse town back in the 1900’s right through to the modern evolving city it is today.

1900 to 1930

Just over 100 acres of land adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad sold, and the city of Las Vegas is created, and incorporated in 1911.

1930s and 1940s

Nevada legalises casino gambling, and construction on the Hoover Dam begins (1931). The growth of the Las Vegas population as a result of the Hoover Dam construction workers, helped Vegas avoid the Great Depression. Nellis Air Force Base established in 1941, and the construction of the first hotel / casinos begins as early as 1942.

Mobster Bugsy Siegel opened the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in 1945, as part of his much written about quest to become a legitimate businessman, this was the start of the infamous Las Vegas “Mob” period, where the Mob and Teamsters controlled much of the gambling in Las Vegas.

1950s

Atomic testing nearby enables Las Vegans to watch the explosions and mushroom clouds, and Atomic testing becomes a major tourist attraction in its own right. Yes, that’s right people used to travel to Las Vegas to get closer to Atomic Bombs being detonated! The iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign was erected in 1959 by Betty Willis, who never bothered to copyright it!

1960s

Howard Hughes begins a 30 year long process of large corporations buying and building Las Vegas hotels and casinos, as the Mob was squeezed out by the sheer buying power of the big casino companies.

1970s and 1980s

The demolitions – rebuild bigger – demolition again and rebuild even bigger process continues as Vegas hotels grow from small intimate places to bigger and bigger super resorts, and still they’d get bigger! Steve Wynn opens the Mirage in 1989, the cities first true mega casino.

1990s

The boom continued with the opening of such casinos as MGM Grand, Bellagio, Venetian, Mandalay Bay and so on, see below for a full list of the Casinos and their opening years.

2000s and 2010s

Some of the largest, most expensive building in earth are opened, however Vegas starts to lose gambling business to Macau, and then further to Singapore. The High Rollers from the Far East no longer need to travel half way round the world to gamble, and this, coupled with the global financial crisis causes a huge loss of gambling revenue in Vegas. With mergers rife amongst operators as the strive to survive, one of the largest gaming companies in the world needs Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection (Caesars Entertainment).

Las Vegas starts to reinvent itself as a dining, shopping, shows and night club destination where casino gaming is less important, in favour of super clubs and celebrity chefs.

Today
There is probably no greater holiday destination to visit if you love food, fine drinks, bars, night clubs, golf and sports, poker, and luxury spas and pampering. Oh and if you like gambling, you’ve also got it on tap!
 

Major Las Vegas Casinos List by Opening Year

Las Vegas Records
Venetian-Palazzo – World’s Largest Hotel (7000+ Rooms)
The Palazzo – Largest construction project in US history (65,000 tonnes of steel)
Wynn – Western Hemispheres most expensive hotel ($2.7b)
Luxor – World’s Largest Atrium (29m cubic feet)
Luxor – World’s Most powerful light beam, (315,000 Watts)
CityCentre – Western Hemisphere’s most expensive private project ($8.5b)
Fremont Street Experience – World’s Largest Video Display (12.5m LED Modules)
Golden Nugget – World’s Largest Gold Nugget (61lbs)
Stratosphere – World’s highest thrill rides (Big Shot, XScream, High Roller, Insanity)
Las Vegas Hilton – World’s Largest Sign (279 ft tall)
Bellagio Fiori di Como – World’s Largest Glass Sculpture (66ft x 30ft)
Bellagio – Most fountains in a hotel (1000+)
Bellagio – World’s Tallest Chocolate Fountain (14 ft)
Excalibur – World’s Largest Slot Machine Win ($40m)

We know which one we’d like to be associated with!