Las Vegas (Spanish: “The Meadows”) is the most populous city in the state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally renowned major resort city for the gaming industry, shopping, and entertainment. Las Vegas, billed as The Entertainment Capital of the World, is famous for the number of large casino resorts and their associated entertainment. The city’s tolerance for various forms of adult entertainment earned it the title of Sin City, and this image has made Las Vegas a popular setting for films and television programs. Outdoor lighting displays are everywhere on the Las Vegas Strip and are seen elsewhere in the city as well; as seen from space, Las Vegas is the brightest city on earth.
Established in 1905, Las Vegas officially became a city in 1911. With the growth that followed, at the close of the century Las Vegas was the most populous American city founded in the 20th century (a distinction held by Chicago in the 19th century). It was the 28th most populous city in the United States with an estimated population of 558,880 as of 2007. The population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area exceeds 2 million residents.
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 4.5-mile (7.2-km) stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard is mostly outside the city limits, in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester.
Las Vegas was named 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 (vegas in Spanish), hence the name Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Sign
John C. Frémont 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 missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led by William Bringhurst to the area to convert the Paiute Indian population to Mormonism. 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 colony of “saints” at San Bernardino, California. However, Mormons abandoned Las Vegas in 1857. 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 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. The St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church near 4th and Bridger in downtown was founded in 1910.[3] Las Vegas became an incorporated city on March 16, 1911.
Las Vegas Strip in 2003
Gambling was legalized in the city on March 19, 1931. On December 26, 1946, Bugsy Siegel’s opened the infamous Flamingo Hotel in Paradise on what would later become the Las Vegas Strip. The Hoover Dam was completed on October 9, 1936 outside of Boulder City and above ground nuclear testing was conducted at the Nevada Test Site in Nye County from 1951 to 1962. The era of megaresort casinos in Clark County began on November 22, 1989, with the opening of The Mirage.
You have several options for getting from the airport to your hotel. Shuttle buses cost $5 to Strip hotels and $7 to downtown hotels per person (but it can take over an hour to get to your hotel). Taking a taxi will cost you about $15 to Strip hotels and over $20 to downtown hotels (but you will get to your hotel much sooner). Limousines cost $55 to $65. If you are in a group of six people (or you can get a group of six together from your flight while waiting at the baggage carousel), splitting this fee six ways comes out to about $10 a person. Note that all six people will have to be going to hotels in the same general area.
Sure, you’ve heard that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas — and you’ll surely help put the “sin” in Sin City. But when you’re ready to jump off the bar and curb your gambling habit, plenty of fun awaits you: luxurious spas, quirky museums, lavish pools, and gut-busting buffets.
