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In prehistoric times Southern Nevada was a lush semi jungle of vegetation watered by vast catchment areas created by the unusual rock formations deep underground.

In 1829 a Mexican scout named Rafael Rivera discovered the Las Vegas Springs. These provided a much needed water supply for travellers in the area. Shortly after  ‘Vegas’ became known as Las Vegas which means The Meadows in Spanish.

About 14 years after Rivera's discovery, John C. Fremont led an overland expedition which camped at Las Vegas Springs on May 13, 1844.The Fremont Hotel-Casino in Downtown Las Vegas bears his name as does Fremont Street -- the main thoroughfare through the heart of casino-lined Glitter Gulch.

Mormon settlers later arrived and built an adobe fort from which they intended to protect the Los Angeles to Salt Lake City mail route. This was abandoned about three years later due to various hardships and persistent Indian raids. Part of the fort still remains at the junction of Las Vegas Boulevard North and Washington Avenue.

By 1890 railroad developers had determined that the water rich Las Vegas Valley would be a prime location for the establishment of a railhead and town. Work on the first railroad into Las Vegas began in the summer of 1904. The tent town called Las Vegas shortly developed saloons, stores and hotels. The connection with the eastern track was made in October 1904. The San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, later to become  the Union Pacific, made its inaugural run from California on Jan. 20, 1905.                                                                                                  

The Plaza Hotel, located at Main and Fremont streets in Downtown Las Vegas, today stands on the site of the original Union Pacific Railroad depot. Trains still use the depot at the hotel as a terminal -- the only railroad station in the world located inside a hotel-casino.

Vegas is Born

The advent of the railroad led to the founding of Las Vegas on May 15, 1905. The San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, owned by Montana Senator William Andrews Clark, auctioned off 1,200 lots in a single day in an area which today is casino-lined Glitter Gulch.

As far back as 1910 gambling was forbidden by law in the state of Nevada. However this did not curb illegal gambling and in 1931 the anti-gambling law was rescinded. During the hard years of the 30’s Las Vegas prospered thanks to the railhead, legalised gambling, and construction of the nearby Hoover Dam, all of which provided jobs and security for the residents.

Development

The seeds for future expansion had been planted in 1941 when one Tommy Hull built the El Rancho Vegas Hotel-Casino on what is now vacant land opposite the current Sahara Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. The success of the El Rancho Vegas triggered a small building boom in the late 1940s including construction of several hotel-casinos fronting on a two-lane highway leading into Las Vegas from Los Angeles which is now the Las Vegas Strip.

Bugsy Siegel the infamous gangster built The Flamingo Hotel with its giant pink neon sign and replicas of pink flamingos on the lawn which opened on New Year's Eve 1946. Six months later, Siegel was murdered by an unknown gunman as he sat in the living room of the home of his girl friend  in Beverly Hills. The Flamingo survived until 1993 Building continued through the 1950’s with the construction of the Desert Inn, The Sands and The Sahara Hotel and many more.

In 1990 a 1.6-million-square-foot convention centre facility of which 1.3 million square feet is exhibition space began construction. It is one of the largest single-level facilities in the world.Entertainment, together with gambling, is responsible for Las Vegas’s reputation as the No 1 fun capital of the world. Over the years every top star has appeared in Las Vegas and the city continues to attract the worlds very best entertainers.

Gambling

The casinos of today are a far cry from their earlier counterparts. Gone are the mechanical ‘one armed bandits’ to be replaced with computerised multiple coin machines with tv screens and up to $500 chip capabilities. Jackpots grew to as much as $10 million via interlinked state wide networks. This is a 24 hour industry with every possible type of gaming constantly available to the devoted visitor. However in 1976 Atlantic City legalised gambling and provided the first competition to Las Vegas. This created the impetus for a radical reappraisal of the Vegas offering.

Entertainment for Everyone

So the ‘megaresort’ was born, providing something for all the family. Circus Circus had opened a circus-tent-shaped casino complete with midway games and rides for youngsters. A hotel was added in 1972. Owners of the resort have developed a $90 million water theme park called Grand Slam Canyon on five acres adjoining the Circus Circus Hotel-Casino. The entertainment park, a takeoff on the Grand Canyon, includes 140-foot mountains, a 90-foot  waterfall, and a river where the adventuresome can assault river rapids, plunge over a 50-foot waterfall, through the canyon and caverns in a double-loop, cork-screw roller coaster or lounge on beach rimmed, lagoon-like pools.

MGM

The most ambitious resort project in the history of Las Vegas is located at the intersection of the Las Vegas Strip and Tropicana Avenue. It is the MGM Grand Hotel -the largest Hotel in the world and the dream of pioneer Las Vegas hotel developer and multimillionaire entrepreneur Kirk Kerkorian.

The $1 billion, 112-acre hotel and Casino highlights the MGM Hollywood image. The 5,005-room hotel boasts a 171,500-square-foot casino, 12 theme restaurants, a 1,700-seat production showroom, a 630-seat production theater, three swimming pools, five tennis courts, a child care center and a 215,000-square-foot, 15,200-seat special events arena for concerts, sporting events and exhibitions. The MGM Grand Hotel opened Dec. 18, 1993.

Many other casino hotels have also opened contributing to the image of ‘Las Vegas the town which never sleeps’.

Downtown

At the heart of downtown is the FREEMONT STREET EXPERIENCE a fantastic 1500 foot long light show containing 1.5 million lights and effects.

Fremont Street initially was in the forefront of the gambling industry. It became the city's first paved street in 1925, and was the first street to have a traffic light. The Apache Hotel on Fremont Street in 1932 was the first Las Vegas resort to have an elevator. The Horseshoe was the first casino to install carpet. And the first gaming license was issued to a Downtown Fremont Street gambling hall.Downtown Las Vegas already had 36 years of history by the time the El Rancho Vegas became the first hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip in 1941.

Las Vegas has become synonymous with glitz, glamour and excess and there is still nowhere quite like it in the world.

Outside the City

After the hurly burly of Vegas why not take a break.

A short 30 mile drive south east of Vegas is the mighty Hoover Dam completed in 1935  together with Lake Meade, the huge expanse of water created when the dam was built.

Or spend a day at the mind blowing, speech stopping, mouth opening, Grand Canyon about 80 miles due east over the border into Arizona.

In the opposite direction about 90 miles west just over the California border is Death Valley one of the most arid places on earth being 86 metres below sea level at its’ lowest point.

This is one very interesting place to visit.