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.

The redevelopment listed below shows how the city is trying to diversify the local economy and revitalize the downtown area. The World Market Center is an example of this.

Las Vegas has been the county seat of Clark County since the formation of the county in 1909. The Census Bureau’s official population estimate as of 2004 was 534,847. The city’s Planning and Development Department reported an increase of 41,126 in 2005, for a total population of 575,973. [2]. Recent figures place the population for the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which includes all of Clark County, at over 1.6 Million people (2004 [3]), and the region is one of the fastest growing in the United States.

Las Vegas was ranked as the 29th largest city in the United States in 2000, but recent estimates state the city’s population surpassed that of Nashville, Washington, D.C., Louisville, Denver and Boston to place Las Vegas at #22. It is likely it will surpass Milwaukee and possibly a few other cities to reach the top 20 by the 2010 Census. As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 478,434 people, 176,750 households, and 117,538 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,630.3/km² (4,222.5/mi²).

There are 190,724 housing units at an average density of 649.9/km² (1,683.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.86% White, 10.36% African American, 0.75% Native American, 4.78% Asian, 0.45% Pacific Islander, 9.75% from other races, and 4.05% from two or more races. 23.61% of the population is Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 176,750 households out of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.20. (more…)

Las Vegas is located at 36°11′39?N, 115°13′19?W (36.194168, 115.222060)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 182.50 km² (113.4 mi²). 182.34 km² (113.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.16 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.04% water.

The city is located in an arid basin surrounded by mountains varying in color from pink to rust to gray. As befits a desert, much of the landscape is rocky and dusty. Within the city, however, there are a great deal of lawns, trees, and other greenery. Due to water resource issues, there is now a movement to encourage xeriscaping instead of lawns. Another part of the water conservation efforts include scheduled watering groups for watering residential landscaping.Climate

Las Vegas’ climate is typical of the Mojave Desert, in which it is located, marked with hot summers, mild winters, abundant sunshine year-round, and very little rainfall. Highs in the 90s are common in the months of May, June, and September and temperatures normally exceed 100 °F (38 °C) for several days in the months of July and August, but there is very low humidity. The hottest temperature ever recorded is 117 °F (47 °C) set twice, on July 19, 2005, at McCarran International Airport and July 24, 1942, at present-day Nellis Air Force Base.

Winters are cool and windy, with the majority of Las Vegas’ annual 4.49 in (114 mm) of rainfall coming from January to March. Winter daytime highs are normally around 60 °F (16 °C) and winter nighttime lows are usually around 40 °F (4 °C). The coldest temperature ever recorded is 8 °F set on January 25, 1937, at present-day Nellis Air Force Base.

Showers occur less frequently in the Spring or Autumn. July through September, the Mexican Monsoon often brings enough moisture from the Gulf of California across Mexico and into the southwest to cause afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Although winter snow is usually visible from December to May on the mountains surrounding Las Vegas, it rarely snows in the city itself.

Las Vegas is located at 36°11′39″N, 115°13′19″W (36.194168, 115.222060)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 182.50 km² (113.4 mi²). 182.34 km² (113.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.16 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.04% water.

The city is located in an arid basin surrounded by mountains varying in color from pink to rust to gray. As befits a desert, much of the landscape is rocky and dusty. Within the city, however, there are a great deal of lawns, trees, and other greenery. Due to water resource issues, there is now a movement to encourage xeriscaping instead of lawns. Another part of the water conservation efforts include scheduled watering groups for watering residential landscaping.

The seasons are hot, windy, and dry, with desert conditions and maximum temperatures of 100 degrees F during the summer; because of the mountains, however, summer nights are cool. Winters are mild. The mountains around Las Vegas reach elevations of over 10,000 feet, acting as barriers to moisture from the Pacific Ocean. Rainfall is minimal and there are about 216 clear days during the year. Snowfall is rare.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department provides most law enforcement services in the city and surrounding county. Exceptions include cities with their own law enforcement agency; including North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City.

Most of the people and businesses who call Las Vegas home actually live in neighboring unincorporated communities that have no city government or in other nearby cities, some of which are listed below. In fact, of the nearly 1.6 million people who live in the Las Vegas valley, only 575,973 live inside Las Vegas city limits. The largest of these towns are Paradise (188,768) between Las Vegas and Henderson (224,829), Sunrise Manor (184,801) east of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, and Spring Valley (161,286) southwest of Las Vegas.

These towns formed during a 1940s water dispute between the City of Las Vegas and early homeowners south of San Francisco Street, now Sahara Avenue. Residents of these towns cannot vote for the Mayor and City Council of Las Vegas, but they can vote for members of the Clark County Commission, which governs their areas. They are also represented by advisory boards, which are appointed by and give nonbinding suggestions to the Clark County Commission.

The City of Las Vegas government operates as a council-manager government. The Mayor sits as a Councilmember-At-Large and presides over all of the City Council meetings. In the event that the Mayor cannot preside over a City Council meeting the Mayor Pro-Tem is the presiding body of the meeting until such time as the Mayor returns to his seat. The City Manager is responsible for the administration and the day to day operation of all of the municipal services and city departments. The City Manager also maintains an intergovernmental relationships with federal, state, county and other local governments. A Paiute Indian reservation occupies about 1 acre (4,000 m²) in the downtown area of Las Vegas.

Las Vegas, Nevada was given its name by Spaniards in the Antonio Armijo party in 1829, who used the water in the area while heading north and west along the Old Spanish Trail from Texas. In the 1800s, areas of the Las Vegas Valley contained artesian wells that supported extensive green areas, hence the name Las Vegas, Spanish for The Meadows.

Founding of Las Vegas

Las Vegas was given its name by Spaniards in the Antonio Armijo party, who used the water in the area while heading north and west along the Old Spanish Trail from Texas. In the 1800s, areas of the Las Vegas Valley contained artesian wells that supported extensive green areas or Meadows (Vega in Spanish), hence the name Las Vegas.

John C. Fremont traveled into the Las Vegas Valley on May 3, 1844, while it was still part of Mexico. He was a leader of a group of scientists, scouts and observers for the United States Army Corps of Engineers. On May 10, 1855, following annexation by the United States, Brigham Young assigned 30 Mormon missionaries led by William Bringhurst to the area to convert the Paiute Indian population. A Fort was built near the current downtown area, serving as a stopover for travelers along the “Mormon Corridor” between Salt Lake and the briefly thriving Mormon colony at San Bernardino, California.

Las Vegas was established as a railroad town on May 15, 1905, when 110 acres (44.5 ha) owned by Montana Senator William A. Clark’s San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City Railroad, was auctioned off in what is now downtown Las Vegas. Las Vegas was part of Lincoln County until 1909 when it became part of the newly established Clark County. Las Vegas became an incorporated city on March 16, 1911 when it adopted its first charter.

1800 - 1900 - Las Vegas’ origins

John C. Fremont traveled into the Las Vegas Valley on May 3, 1844, while it was still part of Mexico. He was a leader of a group of scientists, scouts and observers for the United States Army Corps of Engineers. On May 10, 1855, following annexation by the United States, Brigham Young assigned 30 Mormon missionaries led by William Bringhurst to the area to convert the Paiute Indian population. A Fort was built near the current downtown area. The Mormons abandoned the site in 1857, due to internal disagreements between Bringhurst and new comers who had more liberal views. The skeleton staff that was left behind mistreated the Paiute Indians. The Paiute retaliated and seized the upcoming harvest, forcing the last of the settlers back to Salt Lake City.

The U.S. Army, in an attempt to deceive Confederate spies in 1864, falsely publicized that it reclaimed the Fort and had renamed it Fort Baker.

In 1865, Octavius Gass re-occupied the Fort, and started the irrigation works renaming the area to Los Vegas Rancho. Due to his ability to make wine on his ranch, Las Vegas was known as the best stop on the Mormon Trail. By 1872, Gass was able to expand his ranch to 640 acres, and as a legislator, was able to have the territory his ranch resided on included as part of Nevada instead of Arizona. In 1881 as a result of mismanagement, Gass lost title to his ranch to Archibald Stewart, who acquired it to pay off a lien he had on the property. In 1884, Archibald’s wife, Helen J. Stewart became the Las Vegas Postmaster.

The property (which was expanded to 1,800 acres), stayed with the Stewart Family despite Archibald’s murder in July of 1884 until it was traded in 1902 to Montana Senator William Clark for his ownership of the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad.

The State Land Act of 1885 offered land at $1.25 per acre ($309/km²) drawing many, including farmers, to the area. As a result, farming became the primary industry for the next 20 years as farmers used the wells to irrigate their crops. The Mormons returned in 1895.

1900-1929: The birth of Las Vegas

During the 1900s, water from the wells was piped into the town providing a reliable source of fresh water and providing the means for additional growth. The increased availability of water in the town area allowed Las Vegas to become a water stop, first for wagon trains and later railroads, on the trail between Los Angeles, California, and points east such as Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In 1905 the railway from Southern California and Salt Lake City was completed and run by William Clark’s brother. That year also set the stage of the two Las Vegases. The east-side Las Vegas (which encompassed the modern Main Street and Las Vegas Boulevard) was owned by Clark and the west-side Las Vegas (which encompassed the area north of modern day Bonanza Road) which was owned by J.T. McWilliams, who was hired by the Stewart family during the sale of the Los Vegas Rancho and bought available land west of the ranch. In 1905 both auctioned lots on their land.

With the revenue coming from the rails and the mining town of Bullfrog, Las Vegas took off. On May 15, 1905, Las Vegas was founded as a city, when 110 ac (445,000 m²), in what would later become downtown, were auctioned to ready buyers.

Las Vegas was the driving force in the creation of Clark County, Nevada in 1909 and the city was incorporated in 1911 as a part of the county.

Las Vegas continued to grow until 1917 when the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad went broke. Although William Clark sold the remains of the company to the Union Pacific Railroad, a nationwide strike in 1922 left Las Vegas in a desperate state.

With U.S. Highway 91 reaching Las Vegas in 1926, Vegas was finally connected to California with a road. Even the addition of a modern road did not help revitalizing Las Vegas. In 1929, John Calhan, a newspaperman, said People in the city of Reno, or northern Nevada would have been very happy if Las Vegas had seceded from the state .

1930-1946: Hoover Dam and the beginning of the resort casinos

On July 3, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the appropriation bill for the Boulder Dam. Work started on the dam in 1931 and Las Vegas’ population swelled from around 5,000 citizens to 25,000, with most of the newcomers looking for a job building the dam. Las Vegas tried hard to put on a respectable air when the Secretary of the Interior Lyman Wilbur visited in 1929 to inspect the site. However one of his subordinates came to him with alcohol on his breath (this was during the time of Prohibition) after a visit to Block 16. It was decided that a federal-controlled town, Boulder City, would be erected for the dam workers. This still did not stop the flow of federal and dam worker money into Las Vegas and the city was recharged, literally, when the dam was completed in 1935. In 1937, Southern Nevada Power became the first utility to supply power from the dam, and Las Vegas was its first customer. After much discussion the name of the dam was changed from Boulder to Hoover Dam.

With gambling legalized in 1931, Las Vegas started its rise to world fame as the gambling capital of the world. Gambling (although already legal in Las Vegas) became organized and regulated. The city issued the first gambling license in 1931 to the Northern Club, and soon other casinos were licensed on Fremont Street like the Las Vegas Club and the Apache Hotel. Fremont Street developed its nickname as Glitter Gulch from all of the lights that were powered by electricity from Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam and its reservoir, Lake Mead, turned into tourist attractions on their own and the need for additional higher class hotels became clear. Fremont Street received the city’s first traffic light in 1931.

In 1940, U.S. Highway 95 was finally extended south into Las Vegas, giving the city two major roads that provided access from the rest of the country. Also in 1940 Las Vegas’s first permanent radio station, KENO, began broadcasting replacing the niche occupied earlier by transient broadcasters.

On January 25, 1941 the U.S. Army moved into Las Vegas when Las Vegas Mayor, John L. Russell, signed over land to the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps for the development of a flexible gunnery school for the United States Army Air Corps. The gunnery school would become Nellis Air Force Base. The U.S Army was not pleased with prostitution being legal in Las Vegas and in 1942 used its clout to force Las Vegas to outlaw the practice, handing Block 16, which since the inception of Las Vegas, was the equivalent of the city’s “Red Light District,” its death sentence.

On April 3, 1941, hotel owner Thomas Hull opened the El Rancho Vegas. It was the first resort on what would become the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel gained much of its fame from the all you can eat buffet that it offered.

Three years later, on October 30, 1942, R. E. Griffith rebuilt on the site of a nightclub called Pair O’Dice, that first opened in 1930, and renamed it Hotel Last Frontier. A few more resorts were built on and around Fremont Street but the next hotel on The Strip publicly demonstrated the influence of organized crime on Las Vegas. Gangster Bugsy Siegel, with help from friend and fellow mob boss Meyer Lansky as well as other hoods, built The Flamingo in 1946.

1947-1966: The Strip explodes-as well as nuclear bombs

The Flamingo lost money and Siegel died in a hail of gunfire. However, organized crime still saw the potential that gambling offered in Las Vegas. From 1952 to 1957, they built the Sahara, the Sands, the New Frontier, the Royal Nevada, The Showboat, The Riviera, The Fremont, Binion’s Horseshoe (which was the Apache Hotel), and finally The Tropicana.

All these casinos were run by different organized crime organizations, but Meyer Lansky was the guiding force. Even with the public knowledge of the dubious owners of these casino resorts by 1954, over 8 million people were visiting Las Vegas yearly pumping 200 million dollars into the casinos. Gambling was no longer the only attraction; the biggest stars of film and music like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Abbott and Costello, Bing Crosby, Carol Channing, and others perfomed in intimate settings. After coming to see these stars, the tourists would resume gambling, and then eat at the gourmet buffets that have become a staple of the casino industry.

While The Strip was booming, the Atomic Energy Commission on January 27, 1951 detonated the first of over a hundred atmospheric explosions at the Nevada Test Site. These atmospheric tests would continue until enactment of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963 when the tests moved underground. The last test explosion was in 1992. Despite the dangers and risks, greatly under-estimated at the time, of radiation exposure from the fallout, Las Vegas advertised the explosions as another tourist attraction and offered Atomic Cocktails in Sky Rooms that offered a great view of the mushroom clouds. (more…)

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the state of Nevada, United States, and a major vacation, shopping, and gambling destination. It was established in 1905, officially became a city in 1911 and is the largest American city that was 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 (7¼ km) stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard is mostly outside the Las Vegas city limits, in the unincorporated town of Paradise.

The center of gambling in the US, 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 any time (like all of Nevada), various forms and degrees of adult entertainment. The city’s glamorous image has made it a popular setting for films and television programs.

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 premiere entertainment hub.

It also attracted the mob, an aspect of the city’s character depicted in countless movies, including Ocean’s Eleven (1960 and 2001), Casino (1995) and Bugsy (1991). By the 1960s, Las Vegas began cleaning up its act. Gambling remained its principal draw but the casinos began to fall under the control of large corporations and the city was increasingly repackaged as a family destination. Golf courses abound, as do shows, theme parks, shopping malls and a growing number of museums, such as the Las Vegas Natural History Museum and the Liberace Museum.

Today, Las Vegas is booming as never before. 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. The competition was won by the city-like MGM Grand, whose capacity of over 5,000 rooms has yet to be bettered, although the newly opened Wynn Las Vegas is certainly going to give them a run for their money. More recently, the trend has been towards recreating mini-versions of cities like New York, Paris and Venice. The Downtown, with its smaller, more intimate and seedier casinos, remains the guardian of old Las Vegas character. (more…)