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" Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seatbelts, we're about to land at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport"
I look around dizzily, my eyes still cobwebbed from the remnants of the slumber I've just been awakened from.
Not fully realizing where I am, I mechanically look out the window,a dazzled look usually associated with people who are utterly disoriented, reflected by the glass.
The picture of a thousand multi-colored sparkling lights finally breaks through the curtain of mist and confusion surrounding my brain.
I'm in Vegas. The one and only.
For a second I seem to hear fragments of Elvis Presley singing " Viva Las Vegas" through the roar of the jet engines.
The picture that unrevels in front of the eyes of a modern traveller is quite a bit different from what Rafael Rivera, the first person of European ancestry ever to behold the Vegas Valley, must've seen when he discovered the place in the early 1700s.
He named the valley, that shortened and eased the long trip on the " jornada de muerte" to Los Angeles, "Las Vegas". Spanish for " the meadows". He probably never imagined Las Vegas would someday look like this.
Brigham Young couldn't have imagined it either when he moved 30 mormon missionaries to the valley to establish a fort and teach the native Paiute Indians farming techniques.
The fort is still standing on the corner of Washington Avenue and Las Vegas boulevard.
As a city, Las Vegas is founded on may 15th 1905. It has 800 inhabitants, less than 1 percent of the population of the state of Nevada.
Gambling is legalized in Nevada on march 19th and one month later the city of Las Vegas issues six gambling licenses. Divorce laws are also liberalized.
This together with the legal gambling opportunities manages to draw in crowds interested in getting rich fast and " quickie" divorces.
The real population influx starts however in 1931, with the construction of the Hoover dam, when thousands of workers move into the city. This population boom helps the city's economy cope with the downsides of the Great Depression.
The Military also takes a liking to the valley as it provides ideal gorunds for defense-industry related activities through it's remoteness and plentyful energy sources. Defense-industry still employs a considerable number of valley dwellers to this day.
Of course the main feature of the city that is conjured up in the minds of people world-over when they hear about Las Vegas are the lavishly decorated casinos and hotels with their electrical-lit gaiety.
In 1945 following the end of World War II, the city's economy experinces a never before seen boom.
Hotels and Casinos spring up everywhere and tourism and entertainment related activities take over as the city's no.1 source of income.
The Flamingo hotel, which opens in 1946 ( on new year's eve) quicly becomes the most celebrated resort, followed by the Riviera – at nine stories the first high-rise on the Strip- in 1955.
In 1960 Las Vegas hosts its first boxing match. Elvis Presley opens the now Las Vegas Hilton ( International Hotel at the time) in 1969.
The City's booming economy – in full swing during the 70s – allowed for a push to build bigger, better, higher hotel and casino resorts. The tendency continues today as Las Vegas has become the fastest growing city in the world.
The Gambling Capital of the World , as Las Vegas is often reffered to, continues to retain that title despite the fact that gambling and gaming have spread pretty much all over the country, and it's future looks as bright as ever. |
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