History of the Las Vegas Strip, Nevada Gaming Resort Architecture, US Gambling City
The history of the Las Vegas Strip
Nov 25, 2020
All gamblers dream of the day when they can walk down the Las Vegas Strip. All those casinos and hotels that are going to keep you busy day and night. But how did this gambling heaven all begin? Let’s look at the history of the Las Vegas Strip.
This isn’t just a street with a few casinos, when we talk about the Las Vegas Strip, it’s a 6.8km (4.2 miles) stretch from Sahara Avenue to Russell Road. Even some venues that aren’t exactly on the Strip tend to get mentioned when discussing it. Hopping on the buses and trams will help you see just what is on offer.
The history of the Las Vegas Strip Guide
You have to go back to 1941 for the opening of the first casino resort that is currently on the Strip. That was the El Rancho Vegas, sadly that burnt down in 1960. The success of this casino led to further ones opening during the 1940s. The investors weren’t quite on the right side of the law though as Mafia interest in the are continued to grow.
How did the name the Las Vegas Strip come about? We have to thank Guy McAfee for that. He was both a businessman and Los Angeles police officer. He named it the Sunset Strip in LA. The Strip continued to expand and that of course attracted the interest of the local politicians. They were keen to get their hands on some tax revenue, but they were foiled in this attempt. Casino owners got involved and the towns of Paradise and Winchester were created, better known as Las Vegas.
One of the most famous venues on the Strip is Caesars Palace that opened in 1966. More legendary casino-resorts followed such as the International Hotel and in 1973, the first MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. The hotels were just getting larger and larger with the MGM having 2,084 rooms.
There have been so many movies that have featured this area. The Las Vegas Strip became the place to go. You can play all the top casino games on the Las Vegas Strip. Make sure you know all the poker rules or it might not be the most successful of times. The current day sees venues such as those mentioned in the previous paragraph and The Wynn, Bally’s Las Vegas, with more planned to open in the coming years.
Another main attraction of course has been the list of stars that have appeared on the Las Vegas Strip. Everyone from Elvis Presley to Britney Spears has performed concert after concert on the Las Vegas Strip. Then there’s all the sports events, with some of the best boxing fights of all-time taking place on the Las Vegas Strip.
2020 hasn’t been an easy year of course with closures due to the ongoing pandemic. The convention business in particular has bee hit hard. However, the desire to gamble in Las Vegas continues though and although it might take a while, but the Las Vegas Strip will recover.
Venetian Casino building:
image source: pixabay.com
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