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The History of Las Vegas You Probably Don't Know - Part 2.
In 1910, Nevada was the last state to ban gambling. However, Las Vegas was not too badly affected, as gambling continued to operate in illegal casinos.
William Clark sold the railroad
In 1921, Clark sold his interest in the railroad to the Union Pacific. The latter immediately eliminated 60 jobs, and the new government of Warren G. Harding approved a pay cut for railroad workers. To make matters worse, the Union Pacific moved the railroad's repair shops from Las Vegas to Caliente, Nevada, putting most of the 2,300 residents out of work. After these moves, Las Vegas went downhill economically and the future of this new city was uncertain.
Legalized gambling, quickie weddings and divorces
The 1930s were a pivotal time for Las Vegas. In 1931, gambling was legalized again, and that year also saw the liberalization of divorce laws. The law allowed anyone living in the state of Nevada for 6 weeks to legally divorce. This move also made it easier to obtain permanent residency.
However, it also made it easier for couples who wanted to get married. You didn't need any blood tests to prove you didn't have transmissible syphilis to get married in Nevada, nor were there long waiting periods. Financially, getting married here was also much cheaper than in other states. Because of the growing demand for weddings, two wedding chapels were opened in Las Vegas in 1940. The most famous is A Little White Chapel, where Frank Sinatra, Michael Jordan and Britney Spears, for example, had their weddings.
The first gaming license was issued to Mayme Stocker's Northern Club in 1931, and construction of Boulder Dam began the same year. This was later renamed Hoover Dam. With the construction of such a large project, thousands of workers came to Las Vegas, and by this time the city had grown to a population of 25,000, giving the area much needed economic growth during the Great Depression. Slowly, casinos began popping up on Fremont Street, the only paved road here, and they were mostly sought after by dam builders. Prostitution also flourished. In 1938, the Californian authorities cracked down on illegal gambling, and this caused a large influx of local gamblers to Las Vegas.
Thefirst hotels with casinos
Construction of large hotels with casinos began here in 1941. The very first was the El Rancho Vegas. Other hotel casinos soon followed such as the El Cortez (1941), Last Frontier (1942), Flamingo (1946), Golden Nugget (1946), Thunderbird (1948) and this stretch of highway became known as the "Strip".
With the casinos came the Mafia
As is usually the case, where there is money and gambling, sooner or later the Mafia will appear and smell an opportunity for realization. The first such mafioso was Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, who opened the luxurious Flamingo resort here in 1946 with the support of the mafia clan, which was then headed by Meyer Lansky. Dozens of celebrities attended the opening. In addition to Siegel, however, mafia names such as Frank Castello and Lucky Luciano also came to Las Vegas.
However, "Bugsy" did not enjoy his resort, as he was shot dead in his Beverly Hills home while reading the newspaper on June 21, 1947. His murder was a national sensation and filled all the media and magazines. After his murder, Flamingo was taken over by other mob bosses within minutes. The Flamingo became profitable over time and so the Mafia began to build other casino resorts there, such as the Sahara (1952), the Sands (1952), the New Frontier or the Riviera (1955). Organized crime also invested in resorts such as the Tropicana (1957) or the Stardust (1958). In 1954, Las Vegas attracted 8 million tourists a year, and they spent $200 million in the casinos.
In the late 1960s, billionaire Howard Hughes bought the Mafia-connected casinos, namely the Desert Inn, Sands, Castaways, Frontier, Silver Slipper, and Landmark, for over $300 million, shifting ownership of the casinos from Mafia to corporate ownership. In 1969, the Nevada government pushed for corporate ownership of casinos. In the 1970s, numerous car and restaurant bombings among the Mafia attracted the attention of the FBI.
Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian bought the Flamingo in 1967 and opened the huge International Hotel two years later. It was the largest hotel in the country with 1,500 rooms. Kerkorian later sold both of these hotels to the Hilton Hotel Corporation, and in December 1973, he opened the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, which at the time, with 2,100 rooms, was the largest hotel resort in the world with the largest casino in the world.
Atomic Mushroom Tracking Hiking
It may sound like a bad joke, but it's not. Between 1951 and 1963, more than 100 atomic bombs were detonated in Nevada, near Las Vegas. The nuclear mushrooms could be observed from hotel rooms. Despite the dangers and risks of radiation exposure, which were greatly underestimated at the time, Las Vegas advertised the blasts as a tourist attraction. The city was nicknamed Atomic City and even hosted Miss Atomic pageants to show tourists how modern the city was. Above-ground atomic bomb tests in Nevada ended in 1963 after a new law was passed, but continued underground until 1992. In total, nearly 1,000 atomic bombs were tested here.
Iconic sign
You're all familiar with the iconic Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, I'm sure. There are a total of 3 replicas of this sign, but the original can be found at the south end of the Strip. The sign was erected by Western Neon and designed by employee Betty Willis. She donated it to the city as a gift so there is no copyright on it. Did you know that the sign does not mark the city limits and stands 6 miles from Las Vegas?
First WSOP
Of course, the World Series of Poker has always been held in Las Vegas since its inception. The first WSOP was held in 1970 at the Binion Horseshoe Casino and was founded by Benny Binion. The first WSOP was held as a cash game series and was played in 5 card stud, Razz, 7 card stud, Deuce to seven low-ball draw, and Texas Hold'em formats. The Main Event in freezeout texas hold 'em format took place the following year. At the time, there were less than 50 poker tables in Las Vegas, and the first WSOP was held in a room the size of a regular hotel room. Poker has become an integral part of the Las Vegas identity.
Las Vegas fires and new resorts
Lastly, let's not forget about the fires that didn't do Las Vegas any favors. The first major fire was at the MGM Grand Hotel in 1980, killing 87 people and injuring 700 more. It was caused by an electrical short circuit. Just three months after that incident, the former International Hotel, known as the Las Vegas Hilton, also went up in flames. Eight people died in that fire. After this disaster, fire safety regulations changed. Overall, in the 1980s, Las Vegas began to decline. The casinos were aging, the restaurants were cheap with bad food, and the only people who had concerts there were artists trying to squeeze a little more out of their expiring careers.
The biggest boom in Las Vegas came in the 90s when mega resorts started to be built here, which could now attract whole families and not just gambling visitors. This was greatly helped by Steve Wynn, who after 16 years built the new Mirage resort in the city, whose 3,044 rooms with golden windows set a new standard for luxury and attracted many tourists. It was also helped by the iconic volcano, which erupted periodically each evening, spewing lava. Various old hotels and buildings were demolished to make way for larger and more lavish resorts such as the Rio and Excalibur (1990), Treasure Island and Luxor (1993), Stratosphere and Monte Carlo (1996), Bellagio (1998) and Mandalay Bay, Venetian and Paris (1999).
Source - wikipedia, history.com, lasvegasnevada.com, historyfacts.com, loveexploring.com, lasvegassun.com, hips.heartstapps.com, nytimes.com, tumblr vintage las vegas, wsop.com