Few cities bring to mind such images of
sheer excess as Las Vegas. Located in the middle of the arid
Mojave Desert, at the southern tip of the state of
Nevada, Las Vegas is an
oasis of life,
energy and
money - a city whose raison d’être is
entertainment.
Over 35 million people visit Las Vegas year round, staying in the city’s
150,000 hotel rooms. According to the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, Las Vegas is now the
fastest growing city in North America with an estimated two acres of land being developed
every 24 hours, and seeing approximately 50,000 people annually choosing to make the city and suburbs their home.
Ironically, Las Vegas’ beginnings were, if anything, humble. In the 18th century, the spot where the city now stands earned the named Las Vegas (Spanish for ‘
The Plains’), because of a
natural spring that created greenery in the dry desert. The city itself was
founded in 1905 (as a stopover on the
Union Pacific railway between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City) but it remained a
remote backwater until the 1930s.
In 1931, however, gambling was made legal and Las Vegas quickly began to assume its present character. At first, it drew the droves of workers building the nearby Hoover Dam. Soon, it became a
gambling and
vacation mecca for the entire country - it attracted stars like
Frank Sinatra,
Elvis and
Liberace and became
America’s premier entertainment hub.
The 1990s saw a trend towards building
enormous hotel complexes competing with one another for the title of largest hotel in the world, and it has not let up to this day. The competition was won by the city-like
MGM Grand, whose capacity of over
5,000 rooms has yet to be bettered, although the
Bellagio, the
Wynn Las Vegas and the newly opened
Palazzo have certainly raised the bar in terms of lavish luxury and unchecked hedonism.
Today, Las Vegas is
booming like never before.
Entertainment so dominates Las Vegas that it is the
backbone of the city’s economy, creating vibrant hotel, retail and hospitality industries. The city’s
sheer exuberance in attracting visitors has created something along the lines of a
city-sized theme park. Its residents lead normal lives in normal suburbs, but to visitors, it is an endless
playground of
neon lights,
hotel lounges,
topless revues,
live entertainment and
casinos.
By 2010, the face of the Strip is expected to be completely transformed following the completion of
Project CityCenter and
Echelon Place, two multiple high-rise, mixed-use residential and commercial developments that will boast the latest in contemporary urban design and architecture.
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Related Las Vegas Content
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
Related Nevada Content
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
Nevada Airport Guides:
|
Nevada City Guides:
|
| Nevada Attraction Guides: |
|
|
|
|
