* SHORT HISTORY: LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES DISCOVERED!!!... On December 1829 Rafael
Rivera became the first known non-Indian to set foot in the oasis-like Las
Vegas Valley. The valley is named Las Vegas,
Spanish for "The Meadows."
1829:Spanish explorers name
springs in the desert Las Vegas — Spanish for “the meadows.”
1855:Mormons make first
attempt to settle Las Vegas.
Oct. 31, 1864:Nevada is
admitted as the 36th state in the Union.
May 15, 1905: Clark auctions off 600 plots
of land, establishing Las Vegas as a town. July 1, 1909: Clark County is created.
For the next 100 years Las Vegas, the largest
city in Clark County, is going to grow in a unparallel speed
- through its incredible ups and downs where some of the U.S.’s
most monumental moments occurred.
Las Vegas virtually was immune to economic hardships
of the "Great Depression"in the 1930s. Jobs and money were
prevalent because of Union Pacific Railroad development, legal
gambling and construction of Hoover Dam 34 miles away in Black
Canyon on the Colorado River.
* WORLD ENTERTAINMENT:
Entertainment and gambling built Las
Vegas' reputation as a play ground getaway of the world...
From Bugsy Siegel to the Rat Pack, from its
glamorous showgirls to its fantastic mega-casinos and legendary displays of
dazzling neon, Las Vegas is the world’s most famous city of entertainment.
Howard Hughes: Aviator,
Industrialist, Film producer/Director, Philanthropist, and
one of the wealthiest people in the world.
Nov. 27 1966:Howard Hughes
arrives in Las Vegas and takes over the top two floors of the Desert Inn.
March 1, 1967:Hughes buys the
Desert Inn, the first in a series of hotels the billionaire
would purchase.
Nov. 26, 1970:Howard Hughes
leaves Las Vegas after becoming Nevada’s largest private employer, largest
casino owner and largest property owner.
April 5, 1976:
Howard Hughes dies, only 10 years after his arrival in Las Vegas.
Liberace:
Most flamboyant American Entertainer and extraordinary
Pianist.
Nov. 1944:Liberace makes his Las
Vegas debut.
1955: Liberace becomes the city's
highest-paid entertainer, earning $50,000 a week.
April 15, 1979: Liberace opens The Liberace Museum,
which displays his collection of rare pianos, cars and, of course, his
bejeweled wardrobes.
Feb. 4, 1987:Liberace dies.
Frank Sinatra:
Made the city swing... he took the city by storm... he
gave Las Vegas something equally important: an image.
Sept. 1951:Frank Sinatra’s
first performance at the Desert Inn
Feb. 15, 1954:Ronald
Reagan has two-week show at the Last Frontier.
Aug. 10, 1960:"Ocean’s
Eleven," starring the Rat Pack, debuts.
1960:Rat Pack (Frank
Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter
Lawford) performs for first time.
May 14, 1998:Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack. The next night the lights
on the Strip are dimmed in his honor.
Elvis Presley:
"The King of Rock 'n' Roll",
April 23, 1956: Elvis Presley
performs first shows in Las Vegas at the New Frontier Hotel.
May 1, 1967:Elvis and Priscilla Presley marry
at the Aladdin.
July 26, 1969:Elvis Presley
starts his shows at the International, signing up for four weeks, twice a
year, for $125,000 per week.
Dec. 2-12, 1976:Elvis
performs
his final engagement at the Hilton
Jan. 1939:Ria Langham divorces husband,
Clark
Gable, helping Las Vegas earn the title of “Divorce Capital of the World.”
1963:Wayne Newton performs first
show at the Flamingo.
Aug. 21, 1964:
The Beatles perform at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
1967:Siegfried & Roy debut
at the Tropicana.
Dec. 31, 1999:Barbra Streisand’s New
Year’s Eve concert at the MGM Grand becomes Vegas’ highest grossing concert
ever.
* GAMBLING: Nevada was the first state to legalize casino-style
gambling
Illegal but accepted gambling flourished until 1931.
Legalized gambling returned to Nevada during the
Great Depression.
1938:California authorities crack down
on illegal gambling, causing many gamblers to move to Las Vegas.
March 30, 1959:Nevada creates the
Gaming Commission.
*
HOTEL / CASINO INDUSTRY:
Siegal
By far the most celebrated of the early resorts was
the Flamingo Hotel, built by mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, a member of the
Meyer Lansky crime organization.
Dec. 26, 1946: Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel
opens the Flamingo Hotel.
June 20, 1947:
Six months later, Siegel was murdered by an unknown gunman
who fired a shotgun blast as Siegel sat in the living room of the
Beverly Hills, Calif., home of his
girlfriend, Virginia Hill.
WORLD-FAMOUS STRIP STARTS... Starting from
early 1950's Resort buildings and Casino's continued to accelerate Las
Vegas unparallel explosion of glamorous, glitzy, stunning, sophisticated
buildings housing world most famous Casino's, Hotels, and plenty of its
classic glamour. In addition to the iconic Las Vegas entertainment staples, the
destination offers a lineup of award-winning magicians, Broadway-caliber
productions, world-renowned concert headliners and unique-to-Las Vegas
production shows. Las Vegas is back on the map and hipper than ever.
Las Vegas came long way from the first casino-Hotel
- The Last Frontier
- on Oct. 30, 1942 to a $8
billion, City Center on the Strip ( most expensive private development in
history )
That's the Story of!... That's the Glory of!... The Story Behind Sin City!
Mirela, Yes I've got your email... Not that sure That I understand WHAT THAT MEANS... You named several names at the end of your post. We are MeMe'd???
I'll post the post on your Optimist board. Thank you very much.
Arina, I really like how you gave a very entertaining yet brief history of Las Vegas including some of the key people characters. What amazed me was actually how young the city is arising out of the desert just in 1905. There's always so much change in Las Vegas too with them taking down hotels and replacing them with new and even more spectacular ones.
Thank you Susan for coming by... The heart of Las Vegas (the Strip) is glamorous, glitzy and adventurous.. but that's the Show that Vegas puts on. The life behind that is quite the same as everywhere else and the business of real estate is taught.
I like F.Sinatra's quote: "If you make there you make it anywhere"
Gary, You're right. Vegas is a young city, with much energy and zest - so much to offer - and growing in a fast speed. It is a city with ups and downs, a place of survivors and strong people.
Survived during the Great Depression ... Las Vegas virtually was insulated from economic hardships that wracked most Americans in the 1930s. Jobs and money were prevalent because of Union Pacific Railroad development, legal gambling and construction of Hoover Dam 34 miles away in Black Canyon on the Colorado River.
I was only trying to remember, to those that maybe forgot, that Vegas has a story, a past that is worth revealing... It is a special energy about this town,,, opens all doors for opportunities as well as for failure. Those who made this town what it is today were extraordinary people who put everything on the line. "No guts no glory"
Barbu, I thought that a little history of Las Vegas would put everyting in a new light. After all this cityy has a fantastic past and great stories to be told.
Las Vegas is an enigma. I have many friends there and quite a few of them haven't been down the strip in ages. On the one hand it's a glitzy entertainment mecca... on the other it's a family community. I can't think of any other place in the world quite like it.
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Howard Hughes: Aviator,
Industrialist, Film producer/Director, Philanthropist, and
one of the wealthiest people in the world. 
Liberace:
Most flamboyant American Entertainer and extraordinary
Pianist.
Frank Sinatra:
Made the city swing... he took the city by storm... he
gave Las Vegas something equally important: an image.
;)
;)
Wow! What a fantastic blog this is!