Las
Vegas (often abbreviated to "Vegas")
is the most populous city in the state of Nevada,
United States, the seat of Clark County, and an
internationally known vacation, shopping, entertainment,
and gambling destination. It was established in
1905 and officially became a city in 1911. It
is the largest U.S.
city founded in the 20th century.
The
name Las Vegas is often applied to the unincorporated
areas of Clark County that surround the city,
especially the resort areas on and near the Las
Vegas Strip. This 4½ mi (7.2 km) stretch
of Las Vegas Boulevard is mostly outside the Las
Vegas city limits, in the unincorporated towns
of Paradise and Winchester.
The
center of gambling in the United
States, Las Vegas is marketed as The Entertainment
Capital of the World, also commonly known as Sin
City, due to the popularity of legalized gambling,
availability of alcoholic beverages at any time
(as is true throughout Nevada), and various forms
and degrees of adult entertainment. The city's
glamorous image has made it a popular setting
for films and television programs.
Las
Vegas started as a stopover on the pioneer trails
to the west and became a popular railroad town
in the early 1900s. It was a staging point for
all the mines in the surrounding area, especially
those around the town of Bullfrog, that shipped
their goods out to the rest of the country. With
the growth of the railroads, Las Vegas became
less important, but the completion of the nearby
Hoover Dam resulted in substantial growth in tourism,
which, along with the legalization of gambling,
led to the advent of the casino-hotels for which
Las Vegas is famous.
The
city owes almost all its current status and reputation
to the American mafia.
All of the original large casinos were managed
or at least funded under mob figures Bugsy Siegel
and Meyer Lansky.
The
constant stream of tourist dollars from the hotels
and casinos was augmented by a new source of federal
money. This money came from the establishment
of what is now Nellis Air Force Base. The influx
of military personnel and casino job-hunters helped
start a land building boom which still goes on
today.
Tourism
The
major attractions in Las Vegas are the hotels.
The most famous hotels line Las Vegas Boulevard
South, also known as the Las
Vegas Strip. Many of these hotels carry thousands
of rooms and are featured on various themes. There
are, of course, large casino areas in these hotels
as well. There are many hotel casinos in the city's
downtown area as well, which was the original
focal point of the city's gaming industry in its
early days. Several large hotels and casinos are
also located somewhat off the Strip but adjacent
to it, as well as in the county around the city.
Some
of the most notable casinos located downtown are
on the Fremont Street Experience and include:
* Golden Nugget
* Four Queens
* Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel
* Fremont Casino
* Plaza Hotel & Casino
* Las Vegas Club
* Fitzgeralds Las Vegas
* Golden Gate Hotel and Casino
* California Hotel and Casino
Sports
Sports in Las Vegas
Currently,
Las Vegas is without any major-league level sports
teams although the city's metropolitan population
is as large or larger than current cities with
professional sports teams such as Buffalo, New
York; San Antonio; Pittsburgh; Portland, Oregon;
Indianapolis; Milwaukee; and Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The hurdle the city needs to overcome is professional
leagues being concerned about legalized sports
betting in the city and the competition for residents'
entertainment budget. High profile one-time sporting
events, though, have had success. For example
the Las Vegas metropolitan area hosted the NBA
2007 All-Star Game. The NASCAR Sprint Cup series
race in the area has drawn up to 165,000 fans.
Neither of these events have taken place directly
in Las Vegas city limits (although that is no
different than most cities teams that play in
suburban areas).
Economy
The
primary drivers of the Las Vegas economy have
been the confluence of tourism,gaming,
and conventions which in turn feed the retail
and dining industries. Several companies involved
in the manufacture of electronic gaming machines,
such as slot machines, are located in the Las
Vegas area. In the 2000s retail and dining have
become attractions of their own.
Tourism
marketing and promotion are handled by the Las
Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, a county
wide agency. Its annual Visitors Survey provides
detailed information on visitor numbers, spending
patterns and resulting revenues
Las
Vegas, as the county seat and home to the Lloyd
D. George Federal District Courthouse, draws numerous
legal service industries providing bail, marriage,
divorce, tax, incorporation and other legal services.
Many
technology companies have either relocated to
Las Vegas or were created there. For various reasons,
the Las Vegas area has had a high concentration
of technology companies in electronic gaming and
telecommunications industries. Some current technology
companies in southern Nevada include Bigelow Aerospace,
CommPartners, Datanamics, eVital Communications,
Petroglyph, SkywireMedia, Switch Communications,
and WorldDoc. Companies that originally were formed
in Las Vegas, but have since sold or relocated
include Westwood Studios (sold to Electronic Arts),
Systems Research & Development (Sold to IBM),
Yellowpages.com (Sold to Bellsouth and SBC), and
MPower Communications.
Constant
population growth means that the housing construction
industry is vitally important. In 2000 more than
21,000 new homes and 26,000 resale homes were
purchased. In early 2005 there were 20 residential
development projects of more than 300 acres (1.2
km²) each currently underway. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
