Las
Vegas - Nevada - Hotels - Casinos - Holidays
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada, United States,
the largest city founded in the 20th century, and a
major vacation, shopping, and gambling destination.
In the 2000 census, the city reported a population of
478,434 [1]. The Census Bureau's official population
estimate as of 2003 was 518,313. Las Vegas has been
the county seat of Clark County since its formation
in 1909 [2]. Recent figures place the population for
the Las Vegas metropolitan area at around 1,950,000
people (2005 estimate [3]), the fastest growing in the
United States.
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
township of Paradise.
Las Vegas is sometimes called 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, and legalized prostitution in
nearby counties (Nevada law prohibits prostitution in
counties which have populations greater than 400,000).
The nickname favored by local government and promoters
of tourism is The Entertainment Capital of the World.
The city's glamorous image has made it a popular setting
for films and television programs.
Climate
Las Vegas has a desert climate with very little rainfall,
and extreme heat in the summer; highs of 105 °F
(40 °C) are common from May to September, and for
several days each year, temperatures may exceed 115
°F (46 °C). The warmest temperature ever recorded
is 117 °F, set on July 24, 1942 at present-day Nellis
Air Force Base, and July 19, 2005 at McCarran International
Airport. Winters are cool and windy, with the balance
of Las Vegas' annual 4.2 in (102 mm) of rainfall coming
from January to March. Showers also occur, but less
frequently, in the Spring or Autumn. July through September,
the Mexican Monsoon often brings enough moisture from
the Gulf of Mexico across Mexico and into the southwest
to cause afternoon thunderstorms. Although winter snows
are usually visible from December to June on the mountains
surrounding the valley, it rarely snows in Las Vegas
itself
Major events
Major events in Las Vegas' history include:
* Establishment of Las Vegas as a railroad town (May
15, 1905).
* The building of Hoover Dam (October 9, 1936), which
provided power and a major source of tourism.
* Legalization of gambling (March 19, 1931).
* Opening of Bugsy Siegel's Flamingo Hotel on what would
become the Las Vegas Strip (December 26, 1946).
* Above-ground testing of nuclear bombs (1951 to 1963).
* The floods of 1955, 1984, 1999, and 2003.
* MGM Grand Hotel fire (November 21, 1980), the worst
disaster in Nevada history.
* Opening of the Mirage (November 22, 1989), which began
the era of mega-resort casinos.
Economic history
Las Vegas has been a city of sustained growth. While
there have been small lulls, there has never been a
major downturn and the city is (as of mid-2005) enjoying
a major boom and is one of the fastest growing economies
in the U.S. today.
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 from town of Bullfrog,
that shipped their goods out to the country. With the
growth of the railroads, Las Vegas became less important,
but the building of the Hoover Dam injected new blood
into Las Vegas and the city has never looked back. Federal
dollars from Hoover Dam soon converted to tourist dollars
after the dam was built. The increase in tourism and
the legalization of gambling led to the advent of the
casino-hotels for which Las Vegas is famous.
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.
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