history of Las Vegas

The prehistoric landscape of the Las Vegas Valley and most of Southern Nevada was once a marsh with water and vegetation. The rivers that created the marsh eventually went underground, and the marsh receded. The valley then evolved into a parched, arid landscape that only supported the hardiest animals and plants.

At some point in the valley's early geologic history, the water resurfaced and flowed into what is now the Colorado River. This created a luxurious plant life, forming a wetland oasis in the Mojave Desert landscape.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

Evidence of prehistoric life in Las Vegas Valley has been found at the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument. An abundance of Late Pleistocene fossils have been discovered from this locality, including Columbian mammoths and Camelops hesternus.{{Cite journal|first1=Kathleen B. |last1=Springer|first2=Jeffrey S. |last2=Pigati|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/park-paleo-spring-2019-tulesprings.htm|title=Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument – a Pleistocene treasure trove |journal=Park Paleontology News |volume= 11|issue=1|date=Spring 2019}}

File:Southern Paiutes.jpg at Moapa wearing traditional Paiute cradleboard and rabbit robe]]

Native Americans lived in the Las Vegas Valley, beginning over 10,000 years ago. Archaeologists have discovered baskets, petroglyphs, pictographs and other evidence in diverse locations, including Gypsum Cave and Tule Springs. Paiutes moved into the area as early as AD 700, migrating between nearby mountains in the summer and spending winter in the valley, near Big Springs.{{sfn|Moehring|Green|2005|p=2}}

A trade caravan of 60 men led by the Spanish merchant Antonio Armijo was charged with establishing a trade route to Los Angeles.{{Cite web|url=https://www.lvol.com/lvoleg/hist/lvhist.html|title=History of Las Vegas|website=LVOL|date=27 December 2021 }}{{sfn|McCracken|1997|p=7}}{{cite news |author=Lake, Richard |title=Road Warrior Q&A: Foliage removed for widening |url=http://www.lvrj.com/news/36288024.html |date=December 17, 2008 |access-date=October 3, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204160512/http://www.lvrj.com/news/36288024.html }}{{sfn|Land|Land|2004|p=4}}{{cite web |last1=Ponce |first1=Victor M |title=Las Vegas, how did Las Vegas get its name, groundwater depletion, Victor Miguel Ponce |url=https://ponce.sdsu.edu/las_vegas_name.html#:~:text=The%20Armijo%20party%20noted%20the,have%20been%20a%20desert%20landscape. |website=ponce.sdsu.edu |access-date=15 February 2024}}{{cite web|url=http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/depts/public_communications/Pages/faqs.aspx |title=Clark County, NV – FAQs/History |access-date=December 4, 2008 }} By following the Pike and Smith routes through a tributary of Colorado River they came upon the Las Vegas Valley, described by Smith as the best point to re-supply before going onto California. The travelers named the area Las Vegas, which is Spanish for the meadows,{{cn|date=March 2024}} or "fertile plains", as noted by John C. Frémont, who traveled into the Las Vegas Valley on May 3, 1844 while it was still part of Mexico.{{Cite book |last=Frémont |first=John Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hTJAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA377 |title=Memoirs of My Life by John Charles Fremont. Including in the Narrative Five Journeys of Western Exploration, During the Years 1842, 1843-4, 1845-6-7, 1848-9, 1853-4. Together with a Sketch of the Life of Senator Benton, in Connection with Western Expansion. By Jessie Benton Fremont. A Retrospect of Fifty Years Covering the Most Eventful Periods of Modern American History. With Maps and Colored Plates. Vol. 1 |date=1887 |publisher=Belford, Clarke |language=en}}

Frémont was appointed by President John Tyler to lead a group of scientists, scouts, and spies for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which was preparing for a possible war with Mexico. Upon arriving in the valley, they made camp at the Las Vegas Springs, establishing a clandestine fort there. A war with Mexico did occur, resulting in the region becoming United States territory. The fort was used in later years by travelers, mountain men, hunters, and traders seeking shelter, but was never permanently inhabited.

In 1855, William Bringhurst led a group of 29 Mormon missionaries from Utah to the Las Vegas Valley. The missionaries built a 150 foot square (46 m) adobe fort near a creek and used flood irrigation to water their crops. However, because of tensions rising among leaders of the small Mormon community, the summer heat and difficulty growing crops, the missionaries returned to Utah in 1857, abandoning the fort. (The remains of the fort are preserved in the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park.)

For the next few years, the area remained unoccupied by Americans except for travelers and traders. Then the U.S. Army, in an attempt to deceive Confederate spies active in southern California in 1864, falsely publicized that it reclaimed the fort and had renamed it Fort Baker, briefly recalling the area to national attention. After the end of the war in 1865, Octavius Gass, with a commission from the federal government, re-occupied the fort. The Paiute nation had declined in numbers and negotiated a new treaty with the United States, ceding the area around the fort to the United States in return for relocation and supplies of food and farming equipment. Consequently, Gass started irrigating the old fields and renamed the area Las Vegas Rancho. Gass made wine at his ranch, and Las Vegas became known as the best stop on the Old Spanish Trail. In 1881, because of mismanagement and intrigue with a Mormon syndicate, Gass lost his ranch to Archibald Stewart to pay off a lien Stewart had on the property.{{Citation needed|date=April 2017}} In 1884, Archibald's wife Helen J. Stewart became the Las Vegas postmaster.

The property (increased to {{convert|1800|acre|abbr=on}}), stayed with the family (despite Archibald Stewart's murder in July 1884) until it was purchased in 1902 by the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad, then being built across southern Nevada. The railroad was a project of Montana Senator William Andrews Clark. Clark enlisted Utah's U.S. Senator and mining magnate Thomas Kearns to ensure the line's completion through Utah to Las Vegas. The State Land Act of 1885 offered land at $1.25 per acre ($3.09/hectare). Clark and Kearns promoted the area to American farmers who quickly expanded the farming plots of the areas. Not until 1895 did the first large-scale migration of Mormons begin in the area, at long last fulfilling Brigham Young's early dream. Through wells and arid irrigation, agriculture became the primary industry for the next 20 years and in return for his development, the farmers named the area Clark County in honor of the railroad tycoon and Senator.

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By the early 20th century, wells piped water into the town, providing both a reliable source of fresh water and the means for additional growth. The increased availability of water in the area allowed Las Vegas to become a water stop, first for wagon trains and later railroads, on the trail between Los Angeles and points east such as Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad was completed in 1905, linking Salt Lake City to southern California. U.S. Senator William Andrews Clark was the majority owner of the railroad, which was a corporation based in Utah. Among its original incorporators were Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns and his business partner David Keith. Kearns, one of the richer and more powerful men in Utah, and Keith were the owners of Utah's Silver King Coalition Mine, several mines in Nevada and The Salt Lake Tribune. Kearns and Keith helped Clark ensure the success of the new railroad across Utah and into Nevada to California. Curiously, for a time there were two towns named Las Vegas. The east-side of Las Vegas (which encompassed the modern Main Street and Las Vegas Boulevard) was owned by Clark, and the west-side of Las Vegas (which encompassed the area north of modern-day Bonanza Road) was owned by J.T. McWilliams, who was hired by the Stewart family during the sale of the Las Vegas Rancho and bought available land west of the ranch.

Clark built another railroad branching off from Las Vegas to the boom town of Bullfrog called the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad. With the revenue coming down both railways that intersected there, the area of Las Vegas was quickly growing. On May 15, 1905, Las Vegas officially was founded as a city when {{convert|110|acre|abbr=on}}, in what later became downtown, were auctioned to ready buyers. Las Vegas was the driving force in the creation of Clark County, Nevada in 1909, and the city was incorporated in 1911 as a part of the county.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} The first mayor of Las Vegas was Peter Buol, who served from 1911 to 1913.{{cite web |title=Peter Buol (1873-1939) |url=http://www.1st100.com/part1/buol.html |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817221720/http://www.1st100.com/part1/buol.html |archive-date=August 17, 2000 |date=1999}}

Shortly after the city's incorporation, the State of Nevada reluctantly became the last western state to outlaw gambling. This occurred at midnight, October 1, 1910, when a strict anti-gambling law became effective in Nevada. It even forbade the western custom of flipping a coin for the price of a drink. Nonetheless, Las Vegas had a diversified economy and a stable and prosperous business community, and therefore continued to grow until 1917. In that year, a combination of economic influences and the redirection of resources by the federal government in support of the war effort forced the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad to declare bankruptcy. Although William Clark sold the remains of the company to the Union Pacific Railroad, a nationwide strike in 1922 left Las Vegas in a desperate state.

File:Adams Boulder Dam 1942.jpg

On July 3, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the appropriation bill for the Boulder Dam. The dam was renamed the Hoover Dam during the Truman administration. Work started on the dam in 1931 and Las Vegas' population swelled from around 5,000 citizens to 25,000, with most of the newcomers looking for a job building the dam. However, the demographic of the work force consisting of males from across the country with no attachment to the area created a market for large-scale entertainment. A combination of local Las Vegas business owners and Mafia crime lords helped develop the casinos and showgirl theaters to entertain the largely male dam construction workers.{{cite magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215031123/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,752883,00.html |archive-date=December 15, 2008 |url-status=dead |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,752883,00.html |title=Las Vegas Made Safe |magazine=Time |date=June 1, 1931}}

Despite the influx of known crime figures, the local business community tried to cast Las Vegas in a respectable light when the Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur visited in 1929 to inspect the dam site. However a worker was found with alcohol on his breath (this was during the time of Prohibition) after a visit to Block 16 in Las Vegas. The government ultimately decided that a federally controlled town, Boulder City, would be erected for the dam workers.

Realizing that gambling would be profitable for local business, the Nevada state legislature legalized gambling at the local level in 1931. Las Vegas, with a small but already well-established illegal gambling industry, was poised to begin its rise as the gambling capital of the world. The county issued the first gambling license in 1931 to the Northern Club, and soon other casinos were licensed on Fremont Street, such as the Las Vegas Club and the Hotel Apache. Fremont Street became the first paved street in Las Vegas{{cite web |url= http://www.lasvegasmikey.com/fremont_street.htm |title= Fremont Street History |access-date=9 December 2008 }} and received the city's first traffic light in 1931.

In reply, the federal government restricted movement of the dam workers to Las Vegas. Smuggling and circuitous routes then were developed. In 1934, to curtail these activities and the resulting growth of criminal figures in the gambling industry, the city's leading figures purged gambling dens and started an effort to stem the flow of workers from the dam. This only emboldened some dam workers who still contrived to visit Las Vegas. A celebration of this era has become known as Helldorado Days.{{cite news |first=Ed |last=Koch |title=A history of change |url= http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2005/jan/28/a-history-of-change/?history |work=Las Vegas Sun |date= 2005-01-08 |access-date=2009-05-12}}

Although the suppression efforts resulted in declines at gambling venues and resulted in a business downturn, the city was recharged—both literally and figuratively—when the dam was completed in 1935. In 1937, Southern Nevada Power became the first utility to supply power from the dam, and Las Vegas was its first customer.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Electricity flowed into Las Vegas, and Fremont Street became known as Glitter Gulch due to the many bright lights powered by electricity from the Hoover Dam. Meanwhile, although the dam worker population disappeared, the Hoover Dam and its reservoir Lake Mead turned into tourist attractions on their own and the need for additional higher-class hotels became clear.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 1940, U.S. Route 95 was extended south into Las Vegas, giving the city two major access roads. Also in 1940, KENO, Las Vegas's first permanent radio station, began broadcasting replacing the niche occupied earlier by transient broadcasters.

{{main|Las Vegas in the 1940s}}

On January 25, 1941, the U.S. Army established a flexible gunnery school for the United States Army Air Corps in Las Vegas. Mayor John L. Russell signed over land to the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps for this development. The gunnery school later would become Nellis Air Force Base. The U.S. Army was not pleased with the legal prostitution in Las Vegas, and in 1942, forced Las Vegas to outlaw the practice, putting Block 16, the local red light district, permanently out of business.

On April 3, 1941, hotel owner Thomas Hull opened the El Rancho Vegas.{{Cite news|url=https://m.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/15/evolution-worlds-entertainment-capital/|title=Showtime: How Sin City evolved into 'The Entertainment Capital of the World'|last1=Koch|first1=Ed|last2=Manning|first2=Mary|date=May 15, 2008|newspaper=Las Vegas Sun|access-date=3 March 2019|last3=Toplikar|first3=Dave}} It was the first resort on what became the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel gained much of its fame from the gourmet buffet that it offered. On October 30, 1942, Texas cinema magnate R.E. Griffith rebuilt on the site of a nightclub called Pair-O-Dice,{{cite web |url= https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lasvegas/peopleevents/p_mcafee.html |title=Las Vegas: An Unconventional History |access-date=2007-06-07 |work= American Experience}} that first opened in 1930, and renamed it Hotel Last Frontier. A few more resorts were built on and around Fremont Street, but it was the next hotel on the Strip that publicly demonstrated the influence of organized crime on Las Vegas.

Although ethnic organized crime figures had been involved in some of the operations at the hotels, the Mafia bosses never owned or controlled the hotels and clubs that remained monopolized by hard-bitten local Las Vegas families unwilling to cede ground to the crime bosses and proved strong enough to push back. This changed in post-war Las Vegas when gangster Bugsy Siegel, with help from friend and fellow mob boss Meyer Lansky, poured money through locally owned banks for cover of legitimacy and built the Flamingo in 1946. Siegel modeled his enterprises on the long-running gambling empire in Galveston, Texas, which had pioneered the high-class casino concepts that became mainstays on the Strip.{{sfn|Collins|2002|p=294}}

{{main|Las Vegas in the 1940s|Las Vegas in the 1950s}}

The Flamingo initially lost money and Siegel died in a hail of gunfire in Beverly Hills, California, in summer 1947. Additionally, local police and Clark County Sheriff deputies were notorious for their heavy-handed tactics toward mobsters who "grew too big for their pants". However, many mobsters saw the potential that gambling offered in Las Vegas. After gambling was legalized, the Bank of Las Vegas, led by E. Parry Thomas, became the first bank to lend money to the casinos, which Thomas regarded as the most important businesses in Las Vegas. At the same time, Allen Dorfman, a close associate of longtime Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa and a known associate of the Chicago Outfit, took over the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund, which began lending money to Las Vegas casino owners and developers.{{cite web |title=Las Vegas Strip: The First Boom {{!}} ONE |url=http://onlinenevada.org/articles/las-vegas-strip-first-boom |website=Nevada Online |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-date=22 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122044307/http://onlinenevada.org/articles/las-vegas-strip-first-boom |url-status=dead }} They provided funding to build the Sahara, the Sands, the Riviera, the Fremont, and finally the Tropicana,{{Cite web |first1=Jeff |last1=German |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/from-siegel-to-spilotro-mafia-influenced-gambling-regulation-in-las-vegas/|title=From Siegel to Spilotro, Mafia influenced gambling, regulation in Las Vegas|date=March 9, 2014}} (with three of the five—the Sands,{{cite book|last=Block|first=Marcelline|title=World Film Locations: Las Vegas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S5xOCysXdCYC&pg=PA78|year=2011|publisher=Intellect Books|isbn=978-1-84150-588-6}} Riviera and Tropicana—each demolished by 2024, to make room for other developments).{{cite news |last=Ross |first=McKenna |title=Tropicana fans spend bittersweet last weekend at 66-year-old hotel |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/tropicana-fans-spend-bittersweet-last-weekend-at-66-year-old-hotel-3026323/ |access-date=October 13, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=March 31, 2024}}

Even with the general knowledge that some of the owners of these casino resorts had dubious backgrounds, by 1954, over 8 million people were visiting Las Vegas yearly pumping $200 million into casinos. Gambling was no longer the only attraction; the biggest stars of films and music like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Liberace, Bing Crosby, Carol Channing, and others performed in intimate settings. After coming to see these stars, the tourists would resume gambling, and then eat at the gourmet buffets that have become a staple of the casino industry.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

On November 15, 1950, the United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce (known at the Kefauver Hearings) met in Las Vegas. It was the seventh of 14 hearings held by the commission. Moe Sedway, manager of the Flamingo Hotel and a friend of mobster Bugsy Siegel, Wilbur Clark representing the Desert Inn, and Nevada Lieutenant Governor Clifford Jones were all called to testify. The hearings established that Las Vegas interests were required to pay Siegel to get the race wire transmitting the results of horse and dog races, prizefight results and other sports action into their casinos.{{cite web |title=Mob Museum promoted on 60th anniversary of Kefauver hearing |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/mob-museum-promoted-on-60th-anniversary-of-kefauver-hearing/ |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |access-date=28 April 2020 |date=16 November 2010}}{{cite web |title=On This Day in 1950: Kefauver Committee Hearings held in Las Vegas {{!}} Free day for locals, buy-one-get-one for non-locals today |url=https://themobmuseum.org/blog/the-kefauver-committee-in-las-vegas/ |website=The Mob Museum |access-date=28 April 2020 |date=11 November 2014}}

The hearing concluded that money from organized crime incontrovertibly was tied to the Las Vegas casinos and was becoming the controlling interest in the city, earning the organized crime groups vast amounts of income, strengthening their influence in the country. This led to a proposal by the Senate to institute federal gambling control. Nevada's Senator Pat McCarran was instrumental in defeating the measure in committee.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

Along with their connections in Hollywood and New York City, these interests in Las Vegas were able to use publicity provided by these media capitals to steer the rapid growth of tourism into Las Vegas, thereby dooming Galveston, Texas; Hot Springs, Arkansas; and other illegal gambling centers around the nation.{{harvnb|Marshall|2007|pp=217–218}}
{{harvnb|Waldron|2006|p=294}}
{{harvnb|Dombrink|Thompson|1990|pp=[https://archive.org/details/lastresortsucces0000domb/page/138 138]–139}} Nevada's legal gambling as well as the paradoxical increased scrutiny by local and federal law enforcement in these other locales during the 1950s made their demise inevitable.

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While the Strip was booming, bombs were too. On January 27, 1951 the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission detonated the first of over a hundred atmospheric explosions at the Nevada Test Site. Despite the dangers and risks of radiation exposure from the fallout, which were greatly underestimated at the time, Las Vegas advertised the explosions as another tourist attraction{{sfn|Denton|Morris|2002|p=}}{{page missing|date=February 2024}}{{cite news |first1=Laura |last1=Bliss |title=Atomic tests were a tourist draw in 1950s Las Vegas |url=https://www.citylab.com/equity/2014/08/atomic-tests-were-a-tourist-draw-in-1950s-las-vegas/375802/ |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |date=8 August 2014 |access-date=7 February 2019}} and offered Atomic Cocktails in the Sky Room restaurant at the Desert Inn that provided the highest view of the mushroom clouds. During this time, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce successfully pushed for Vegas to become nicknamed the Atomic City.{{cite web |title=Who Are You Miss Atomic Bomb |url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a20536/who-are-you-miss-atomic-bomb/ |website=Popular Mechanics |date=26 April 2016 |access-date=7 February 2019}} Several Miss Atomic pageants were held to help display the city's modernity and to continue spinning messages on the nearby testing to tourists.

The influx of government employees for the Atomic Energy Commission and from the Mormon-controlled Bank of Las Vegas spearheaded by E. Parry Thomas during those years funded the growing boom in casinos. But Las Vegas was doing more than growing casinos. In 1948, McCarran Field was established for commercial air traffic. In 1957, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas was established, initially as a branch of the University of Nevada, Reno and becoming independent in 1969. In 1959, the Clark County Commission built the Las Vegas Convention Center, which became a vital part of the area's economy. Southwest Gas expanded into Las Vegas in 1954.

These atmospheric tests would continue until enactment of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963 when the tests moved underground. The last test explosion was in 1992.

{{main|Las Vegas in the 1950s}}

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In 1966, Howard Hughes, the eccentric hero of the American aviation industry, and noted American entrepreneurial financier with vast connections to long established networks in the country, moved to Las Vegas. Initially staying in the Desert Inn, he refused to vacate his room and instead decided to purchase the entire hotel. Hughes extended his financial empire to include Las Vegas real estate, hotels and media outlets, spending an estimated $300 million and using his considerable powers to take over many of the well-known hotels, especially the venues connected with organized crime, and he quickly became one of the more powerful men in Las Vegas. He was instrumental in changing the image of Las Vegas from its Wild West roots toward a cosmopolitan city.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

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The local newspaper Las Vegas Sun and its editor Hank Greenspun led a crusade in those days to expose all the criminal ties, activities, and government corruption in Las Vegas. His investigative reporting and editorials led to the exposure of Clark County Sheriff Glen Jones' ownership of a brothel and the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Clifford A. Jones as the state's national committeeman for the Democratic Party. Before his death in 1989, Hank Greenspun founded The Greenspun Corporation to manage his family's assets, and it remains a major influence in Las Vegas, with media holdings in print, television and the Internet; substantial real estate holdings; and ownership stakes in a number of casinos.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

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One problem for the City of Las Vegas was that the Strip did not reside in Las Vegas. Because of this, the city lost tax revenue. There was a push to annex the Strip by the City of Las Vegas, but The Syndicate used the Clark County Commissioners to pull a legal maneuver by organizing the Las Vegas Strip properties into an unincorporated township named Paradise. Under Nevada Law, an incorporated town, Las Vegas, cannot annex an unincorporated township. To this day, virtually all of the Strip remains outside the City of Las Vegas.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

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Much like in other American settled counties and towns throughout the United States, entertainment venues were segregated between black- and white-owned businesses. With almost all of the businesses owned and operated by whites, Black Americans were barred from entering the venues, which remained focused, regardless of their legitimacy or criminality, on entertaining a white-only clientele. As a result of property deeds, businesses owned by or mainly serving non-whites were confined to clubs in West Las Vegas. This also was enforced in many of the work positions. Thus, African Americans (except those who provided the labor for low-paying menial positions or entertainment) and Hispanics were limited in employment occupations at the white-owned clubs. However, because of employment deals with black worker groups, many clubs favored black workers, and the Hispanic population actually decreased 90% from 2,275 to just 236 by the mid-1950s.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

Organized crime-owned businesses saw an opportunity in not dividing their clientele by race, and despite property deeds and city and county codes barring such activities, made several attempts at desegregating their businesses in the hopes of putting out of operation the non-white owned clubs and expanding their own market share. An attempt was made at forming an all-integrated night-club modeled on the Harlem Clubs of New York City during the 1920s and 1930s, like those owned by German-Jewish gangster Dutch Schultz. On May 24, 1955, Jewish crime boss Will Max Schwartz, along with other investors, opened the Moulin Rouge. It was a very upscale and racially integrated casino that actually competed against the resorts on the Strip, especially the non-white owned strips on the west side. By the end of the year the casino closed as Schwartz and his partners had a falling out, but the seeds for racial integration were sown.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

Many sources have credited Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack as a significant driving force behind desegregation in the casinos.{{sfn|Davis|1980|p=}}{{page missing|date=February 2024}} One famous story tells of Sinatra's refusal to perform at the Sands Hotel unless the hotel provided Sammy Davis Jr. with a room.{{cite web | title=Sammy Davis Jr. | publisher=Nevada Humanities | url=http://www.onlinenevada.org/sammy_davis_jr. | access-date=2009-10-06 | archive-date=2009-10-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004062049/http://www.onlinenevada.org/sammy_davis_jr. | url-status=dead }} The famed performing group made similar demands at other venues, forcing owners to amend their policies over time.{{cite web | title=The Best Bet: Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas | publisher=Frank Sinatra Enterprises | url=http://www.sinatra.com/legacy/best-bet# | access-date=2009-10-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201130311/http://www.sinatra.com/legacy/best-bet | archive-date=2008-12-01 | url-status=dead }}

However, it took political action for racial desegregation to occur. In 1960, the NAACP threatened a protest of the city's casinos for their policies. A meeting among the NAACP, the mayor and local businessmen resulted in citywide casino desegregation, starting with the employees. Many whites were attritioned from positions and their jobs given to the black unions. Along with the rest of the country, Las Vegas experienced the struggle for civil rights. Activists like James B. McMillan, Grant Sawyer, Bob Bailey, and Charles Keller dragged Las Vegas to racial integration.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

Aside from seeing no business advantage to excluding non-white customers from casinos and clubs, the organized crime groups were composed of people of ethnicities (Jewish and Italian) that faced discrimination from WASP America and thus could understand the plight of blacks. This was also a driving force behind the integration advocated by ethnic performers such as Sinatra and Martin.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

Another big force for equality was Mayor Oran Gragson, who hired black workers and held meetings in West Las Vegas.{{cite news |title=Gragson, Las Vegas' longest-serving mayor, dies |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2002/oct/08/gragson-las-vegas-longest-serving-mayor-dies/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=October 8, 2002}} Spurred into local politics by a vigilante ring of cops who repeatedly broke into his appliance store, he implemented infrastructure improvements for the minority neighborhoods in Las Vegas, backed the NAACP in its actions, and promoted black workers for jobs. He also championed the cause of the Paiute tribe that owned a small portion of Las Vegas. Gragson stopped the U.S. government from evicting the tribe and made infrastructure improvements for them. His work helped reverse the decrease of minority populations in Las Vegas.{{fact|date=February 2023}} Elected in 1959, Gragson was the city's longest-serving mayor. He left office in 1975, after serving four terms.{{cite news |title=Longtime Las Vegas mayor Oran Gragson dies at 91 |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2002/oct/07/longtime-las-vegas-mayor-oran-gragson-dies-at-91/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=October 7, 2002}}

Local legislation kept up with the national legislation, and integration was finally established. The only violence came as a result of school integration, with violent riots and fights occurring in Clark High School when black gangs and youths began attacking the whites. Integration sparked white flight from the school district from 1965 to 1971.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

On a percentage basis, Las Vegas and Clark County experienced incredibly high growth rates starting in the 1930s and lasting until the late 2000s recession. During that period, the population of the city more than doubled in most decades. The rate slowed down in the 1970s with the decrease of the white birth rate, but never dropped below 60% (1980–1990), and even accelerated after 1990 due to immigration.

During the 1990s, the Las Vegas Valley was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the U.S.,{{cite news |title=L.V. and Henderson Lead Nevada to Top in Growth |url=https://www.deseret.com/1995/10/3/19196385/l-v-and-henderson-lead-nevada-to-top-in-growth/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Deseret News |agency=Associated Press |date=October 3, 1995}}{{cite news |title=Vegas' growth tops in nation in '90s |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1999/dec/17/vegas-growth-tops-in-nation-in-90s/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=December 17, 1999}}{{cite news |title=LV fastest-growing city in '90s |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2000/oct/20/lv-fastest-growing-city-in-90s/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=October 20, 2000}} the result of a megaresort boom along the Strip.{{cite news |title=In the 1990s, Nevada grew 66% – tops in U.S. |url=https://www.deseret.com/2001/3/14/19575008/in-the-1990s-nevada-grew-66-151-tops-in-u-s/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Deseret News |agency=Associated Press |date=March 14, 2001}} Las Vegas was the largest city founded in the 20th century,{{cite web |url=http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/FactsStatistics/history.htm |title=City of Las Vegas History |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050727081949/http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/FactsStatistics/history.htm |archive-date=2005-07-27 |url-status=dead |access-date=2012-06-20}} and by 2006 it was the 28th largest city in the U.S., with a population of 552,000 in the city and nearly 1.8 million in Clark County. Heightened growth resulted in rapid development of commercial and residential areas throughout the Las Vegas Valley.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} Development and population growth were halted abruptly in the late 2000s recession.{{cite web |last=Haussman |first=Glenn |url=http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=11168 |title=Vegas Building Boom Goes Bust |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227024950/http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=11168 |archive-date=February 27, 2014 |work=Hotel Interactive}}{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/demographics/2010-11-08-1Anevada08_ST_N.htm |title=Downturn douses Nevada's population-growth streak |website=USA Today |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221014441/https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/demographics/2010-11-08-1Anevada08_ST_N.htm |archive-date=February 21, 2011}}

File:Las Vegas Hilton 1970s.jpg, seen here in the 1970s, is sometimes cited as the first megaresort in Las Vegas{{cite book|title=Sun, Sin & Suburbia: An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas|first=Geoff|last=Schumacher|year=2004|publisher=Stephens Press|page=77|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkN4RvLJPOAC&pg=PA77|isbn=9781932173147}}{{cite news|title=Why a gambler, snubbed by GM, folded his hand|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|first=Monica|last=Langley|date=December 2, 2006|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116502829284638841|access-date=2018-09-25}} {{subscription required}}]]

The "Mafia/Rat Pack" Las Vegas of the mid-20th century came to a gradual end in the 1980s with the aging out of the World War II generation, the decline of organized crime elements, and the rise of baby boomer entrepreneurs who began a new chapter in the city's history, the corporate era. In 1967, Nevada passed the Corporate Gaming Act, which gave rise to corporate ownership of casinos, by removing financial background checks previously required of all shareholders in gaming license applications. The new law attracted corporate investors to Las Vegas, with profound effect. The city became a commercialized, family-oriented place, with large corporations acquiring hotels, casinos, and nightclubs in place of Mafia bosses.{{cite news |title=Corporate Las Vegas |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/lasvegas-corporate/ |access-date=28 July 2024 |work=American Experience |publisher=PBS}}

Kirk Kerkorian, nicknamed the "Father of the Megaresort," had opened the International Hotel (later the Las Vegas Hilton) in 1969. Located east of the Strip, it was the largest hotel in the country, with 1,500 rooms. It was surpassed in 1973, by Kerkorian's 2,100-room MGM Grand. It was built on the Strip and also included the world's largest casino. Strip development was stagnant after the opening of the MGM, which would be the last new resort, to be built from the ground up, for the next 16 years.{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Hubble|title=The Mirage Was For Real|url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Nov-22-Mon-1999/business/12387993.html|work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=November 22, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021220024833/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Nov-22-Mon-1999/business/12387993.html|archive-date=December 20, 2002}}{{cite web|url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Nov-22-Mon-1999/business/12397009.html|title=Wynn credits staff for success|date=November 22, 1999|work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021226170217/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Nov-22-Mon-1999/business/12397009.html|archive-date=December 26, 2002}} The MGM suffered a devastating fire in 1980 which killed 85 people and injured 785, making it the worst disaster in Nevada history. The property reopened and was renamed Bally's in 1986, before becoming Horseshoe Las Vegas in 2022.

File:Las Vegas 89.jpg

The megaresort era kicked off in 1989 with the opening of The Mirage. Built by developer Steve Wynn, it was the first resort built with money from Wall Street, selling $630 million in junk bonds. Its 3,044 rooms, each with gold tinted windows, set a new standard for Vegas luxury and attracted tourists in droves, leading to additional financing and rapid growth on the Strip.

The Mirage is generally considered to be the first megaresort in Las Vegas, and it sparked a wave of new Strip megaresorts throughout the next decade.{{cite news |last=Hawley |first=Tom |title=Las Vegas' first mega-resort arrives on the Strip |url=https://news3lv.com/features/video-vault/video-vault-las-vegas-first-mega-resort-arrives-on-the-strip |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=KSNV |date=November 20, 2019}}{{cite news |last=Hirsch |first=Jerry |title=Vegas' Tourism Boom Now a Hard-Luck Story |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-may-31-fi-vegas31-story.html |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=May 31, 2003}}{{cite news |last=Schulz |first=Bailey |title=MGM will sell iconic Las Vegas Mirage Hotel in $1 billion deal |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/las-vegas/2021/12/13/mgm-selling-mirage-casino/8655834002/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=USA Today |date=December 14, 2021}} The Excalibur, with more than 4,000 rooms, opened as the world's largest hotel in 1990.{{cite news|last=Macy|first=Robert|title=Las Vegas hotel opens as world's largest|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11422984/the_kokomo_tribune/|access-date=December 2, 2024|work=The Kokomo Tribune|agency=Associated Press|date=June 1, 1990|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929043950/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11422984/the_kokomo_tribune/|archive-date=September 29, 2017}} It was surpassed three years later by the new MGM Grand, which offered more than 5,000 rooms.{{cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Todd |title=Let it roar! |url=https://variety.com/1993/biz/news/let-it-roar-116796/ |website=Variety |access-date=December 2, 2024 |date=December 15, 1993}} Two other resorts also opened in 1993: the Egyptian-themed Luxor, and Wynn's pirate-themed Treasure Island.{{cite news |last=Ross |first=McKenna |title=30 years ago, pirates, theme parks and a pyramid ushered in a new Strip |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/30-years-ago-pirates-theme-parks-and-a-pyramid-ushered-in-a-new-strip-2960978/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=December 7, 2023}} The Hard Rock Hotel, the first in a chain of Hard Rock resorts, opened east of the Strip in 1995.{{cite news |title=Rock 'n' rolling the dice at new Las Vegas hotel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/441090383/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=The Boston Globe |date=May 21, 1995 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription}}{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Jay |title=Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas will party to the end. Here's a look back at 25 years |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/story/2020-01-17/hard-rock-hotel-in-las-vegas-to-close-on-an-up-note |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 17, 2020}}

Demolition of older Strip resorts, by implosion, was necessary to make way for some of the new, larger properties. The first to be imploded was the Dunes, in 1993. This marked the beginning of a trend, with Las Vegas becoming well known for its implosions.{{cite news |last=Anderson |first=Ric |title=Las Vegas: 'The implosions capital of the world' |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/may/04/next-implosion-saying-goodbye-riviera/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=May 4, 2015}} Other resorts to be imploded would include the Sands in 1996, and the original Aladdin in 1998.{{cite news |last=Chouinard |first=Kyle |title=A look back at implosions of Las Vegas resorts |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2024/oct/06/a-look-back-at-implosions-of-las-vegas-resorts/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=October 6, 2024}}

The Stratosphere opened just north of the Strip in 1996. The resort, conceived by businessman Bob Stupak, includes the tallest observation tower in the U.S., standing 1,149 feet.{{cite web |last=German |first=Jeff |title=Stupak silences his critics with Stratosphere's opening |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1996/apr/30/jeff-german-stupak-silences-his-critics-with-strat/ |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=April 30, 1996 |access-date=December 2, 2024}}{{cite news |last=Montero |first=David |title=Even in a city built on illusion, the Stratosphere is having a tough time proving it's on the Vegas Strip |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-vegas-strip-boundary-20181214-story.html |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 14, 2018}} Wynn opened his next resort, Bellagio, in 1998. It was built on the former site of the Dunes at a cost of $1.6 billion, making it the world's most expensive resort up to that point.{{cite news |last=Macy |first=Robert |title=World's costliest hotel opens on the Las Vegas strip |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1998/oct/15/worlds-costliest-hotel-opens-on-the-las-vegas-stri/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=October 15, 1998}}{{cite news |last=Carroll |first=Jon |title=New Splash in Las Vegas / Casino magnate gambles on $1.6 billion resort |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/New-Splash-in-Las-Vegas-Casino-magnate-gambles-3327950.php |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=SFGate |date=October 19, 1998}}{{cite news |last=Radke |first=Brock |title=The grand spectacle of Bellagio Las Vegas is undiminished after 25 years |url=https://lasvegasweekly.com/column/incidental-tourist/2023/oct/05/spectacle-of-bellagio-undiminished-after-25-years/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Weekly |date=October 5, 2023}} The decade ended with three more resort openings on the Strip: Mandalay Bay, the Venetian, and Paris.{{cite news |last=Danzis |first=David |title=3 Las Vegas casinos debuted 25 years ago, changed the Strip |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/3-las-vegas-casinos-debuted-25-years-ago-changed-the-strip-3168035/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=September 20, 2024}} A major focus of the Venetian was convention space, at a time when gambling was still the area's primary source of revenue. The resort would help popularize Las Vegas as a convention city, with other properties eventually adding or expanding their own convention facilities.{{cite news |title=Venetian Broke the Vegas Mold, Now Sets Trend |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-dec-14-fi-sands14-story.html |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |agency=Associated Press |date=December 14, 2004}}{{cite news |last=Velotta |first=Richard N. |title=Venetian's convention model 'transformed' Las Vegas Strip 20 years ago |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/venetians-convention-model-transformed-las-vegas-strip-20-years-ago-video-1651400/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=May 1, 2019}}

Although the new resorts of the 1990s each had a different theme, these would be scaled back in the 2000s, in favor of simpler or modern designs.{{cite news |last=Padgett |first=Sonya |title=Curtains Drop on Themed Hotel-Casinos |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/life/curtains-drop-on-themed-hotel-casinos/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=September 28, 2008}}{{cite news |title=Question of the Day |url=https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/question/detheming-casinos/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Advisor |date=September 22, 2017}}

File:Circus Circus Hotel & Casino LAS 09 2017 4915.jpg and its Adventuredome, a popular family attraction on the Strip]]

Despite Las Vegas' reputation among tourists as a gambling mecca, the area would later make an effort to appeal to families.{{cite news |last=Sylvester |first=Ron |title=Analysts not surprised another family-focused business is leaving the Strip |url=https://vegasinc.lasvegassun.com/business/2012/feb/23/analysts-say-vegas-has-outgrown-its-family-friendl/ |access-date=December 3, 2024 |work=VegasInc |date=February 23, 2012}} Early proponents of this demographic had included the Hacienda, a Strip resort which offered a go-cart track and a miniature golf course during the 1960s.{{cite news |last=Shemeligian |first=Bob |title=Hacienda's 40-year history chronicled in new book |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1997/feb/07/haciendas-40-year-history-chronicled-in-new-book/ |access-date=December 3, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=February 7, 1997}}{{cite news |title=Home Away From Home |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/260246978/ |work=The Honolulu Advertiser |date=October 16, 1966 |access-date=December 3, 2024 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription}} It would be followed by Circus Circus, another family friendly Strip property; upon opening in 1968, it included a carnival midway for children.{{cite news |last=Winston |first=Frank |title=Circus Sets Record At LV Opening |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1968/oct/19/circus-sets-record-lv-opening/ |access-date=December 2, 2022 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=October 19, 1968}}{{cite news |last=Lawrence |first=Christopher |title=Monkeys, Skee-Ball and nudity: Recalling the Strip's wildest casino |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/monkeys-skee-ball-and-nudity-recalling-the-strips-wildest-casino-2638605/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=September 13, 2022}} The Wet 'n Wild water park and a Scandia fun center both opened in 1985, on and near the Strip respectively, in an effort to attract more families to Las Vegas.{{cite news|last=Moreno|first=Richard|title=Aquatic amusement park hopes to attract families|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/11514233/reno_gazettejournal/|access-date=December 2, 2024|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=October 14, 1984|via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=Vegas Market |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/148250417/ |access-date=December 3, 2024 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |date=December 22, 1985 |via=Newspapers.com}}

A larger push from numerous resorts was underway in the 1990s to reposition Las Vegas as a family destination.{{cite journal |last=Cohen |first=Diana |title=Family-Friendly Las Vegas: An Analysis of Time and Space |url=https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/occ_papers/29/ |journal=Center for Gaming Research Occasional Paper Series: Paper 25 |access-date=December 2, 2024 |date=May 2014|pages=1–12 }}{{cite news |last=Hawley |first=Tom |title=Video Vault {{!}} The 'family friendly' phase of Las Vegas |url=https://news3lv.com/news/local/video-vault-the-family-friendly-phase-of-las-vegas |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=KSNV |date=June 27, 2018}} As part of these efforts, an indoor amusement park known as the Adventuredome was opened in 1993, at Circus Circus. Although it proved popular,{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Hubble |title=Marketing Las Vegas: Child's play |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Apr-22-Sun-2001/business/15892724.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=April 22, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011225232857/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Apr-22-Sun-2001/business/15892724.html |archive-date=December 25, 2001}}{{cite news |last=Prince |first=Todd |title=Circus Circus on Las Vegas Strip still makes money after 50 years |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/circus-circus-on-las-vegas-strip-still-makes-money-after-50-years/ |access-date=June 30, 2020 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=August 19, 2018}} two other projects were less successful and eventually closed: MGM Grand Adventures (1993–2000), an outdoor theme park near the MGM Grand resort;{{cite news |last=Velotta |first=Richard N. |title=MGM Grand Adventures theme park was one of company's few failures |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/mgm-grand-adventures-theme-park-was-one-of-companys-few-failures-3213817/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=November 19, 2024}} and the All-American SportPark (1997–2001), an indoor facility with various attractions, located south of the Strip.Retrieved December 2, 2024:

• {{cite news |last=Smith |first=Hubble |title=Hoping for a Home Run |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Dec-02-Tue-1997/business/6519844.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=December 2, 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991009051412/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Dec-02-Tue-1997/business/6519844.html |archive-date=October 9, 1999}}
• {{cite news |title=Agassi invests in LV SportPark |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1998/oct/06/agassi-invests-in-lv-sportpark/ |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=October 6, 1998}}
• {{cite news |last=White |first=Ken |title=They Got Game: All-American SportPark offers something for the athlete in everyone |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Feb-12-Fri-1999/weekly/10492483.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=February 12, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000418010538/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Feb-12-Fri-1999/weekly/10492483.html |archive-date=April 18, 2000}}
• {{cite news |last=Smith |first=Hubble |title=SportPark announces shutdown |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Jan-04-Thu-2001/business/15158987.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=January 4, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011226000249/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Jan-04-Thu-2001/business/15158987.html |archive-date=December 26, 2001}}
• {{cite news |last=Jones |first=Chris |title=Duo calls new play for SportPark |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Sep-09-Tue-2003/business/22112761.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=September 9, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050307140616/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Sep-09-Tue-2003/business/22112761.html |archive-date=March 7, 2005}}

Nevertheless, the family friendly phase was generally a financial success for Las Vegas.{{cite news |last=Friess |first=Steve |title=Disneyland for everybody: Debunking the myth of Las Vegas' family-friendly 'failure' |url=https://lasvegasweekly.com/as-we-see-it/2015/feb/25/dubunking-myth-las-vegas-family-friendly-failure/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Weekly |date=February 25, 2015}}{{cite web |last=Levitan |first=Corey |title=Vegas Myths Re-Busted: The Strip Tried Appealing to Families and Failed |url=https://www.casino.org/news/vegas-myths-busted-the-strip-tried-and-failed-to-appeal-to-families-in-the-90s/ |website=Casino.org |access-date=December 2, 2024 |date=August 23, 2024}} Promotional efforts in the early 2000s featured a renewed focus on the adult demographic,{{cite news |title=Las Vegas Returns to Sin City Roots |url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=132628&page=1 |access-date=2 December 2024 |work=ABC News |date=April 24, 2002}} with the slogan "What Happens Here, Stays Here",{{cite news |last=Kanigher |first=Steve |title='What happens here' has been used elsewhere |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2005/jul/22/what-happens-here-has-been-used-elsewhere/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=July 22, 2005}} although family attractions would remain popular as well, despite the decreased marketing.

Aside from tourist resorts, the Las Vegas Valley would also become home to numerous locals casinos, by companies such as Boyd Gaming and Station Casinos. Typical features include movie theaters, arcades, and bowling alleys, making them popular with residents.{{cite news |last=Benston |first=Liz |title=Neighborhood Draw |url=http://lasvegassun.com/news/2005/dec/23/neighborhood-draw/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=December 23, 2005}}{{cite news |last=Woutat |first=Don |title=Where a Casino Makes a Neighborhood |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-where-a-casino-mak/62811893/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 17, 2006}}{{cite news |last=Geis |first=Sonya |title=For Many in Las Vegas, the Rec Center Is a Casino |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2006/08/06/for-many-in-las-vegas-the-rec-center-is-a-casino-span-classbankheadneon-palaces-have-become-community-gathering-places-for-seniors-for-families-and-for-the-occasional-touristspan/10f0ae34-b486-4e10-af45-aaf13b0fad73/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 5, 2006}} Among the earliest locals casinos were Jerry's Nugget (1964), Palace Station (1976), and Sam's Town (1979).{{cite journal |last=Nédélec |first=Pascale |title=Urban Dynamics in the Las Vegas Valley: Neighborhood Casinos and Sprawl |url=https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/occ_papers/18/ |journal=Center for Gaming Research Occasional Paper Series: Paper 04 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |date=June 2010|pages=1–11 }} The Gold Coast (1986) was the first to include a movie theater.{{cite news |last=Morrison |first=Jane Ann |title=Gold Coast casino opens to rave reviews |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/150795132/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |date=December 23, 1986 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription}} Several properties near the Strip, including the Rio (1990) and the Palms (2001), catered to both locals and tourists.{{cite news |last=Burbank |first=Jeff |title=Rio kicks off the '90s |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1990/jan/15/rio-kicks-90s/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=January 15, 1990}}{{cite news |last=Berns |first=Dave |title=Smooth operator: George Maloof Jr. targeting broad audience with new Palms casino |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Nov-11-Sun-2001/news/17384770.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=November 11, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011225144331/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2001/Nov-11-Sun-2001/news/17384770.html |archive-date=December 25, 2001}}

On the evening of November 14, 1973, most of the Las Vegas neon signs were voluntarily switched off,{{cite news |title=Dim Las Vegas Wonders What Its Odds Are in the Fuel Crisis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/12/archives/a-dim-las-vegas-wonders-what-its-odds-are-in-the-fuel-crisis.html |access-date=25 June 2024 |work=New York Times|date=12 December 1973 }} resulting in front-page news reporting by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The deliberate darkening of downtown and the Strip was in response to the oil crisis ensuing from October 1973, when OAPEC countries had set an embargo on oil exports to the United States, resulting in the oil crisis of 1973. The lack of neon display was to demonstrate that the Vegas casino industry joined the national effort to save energy. Most neon lights resumed illumination by early January 1975.{{cite news |title=The night the lights went out in Las Vegas: Why were the neon signs shut off in '73? |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/the-night-the-lights-went-out-in-las-vegas-why-were-the-neon-signs-shut-off-in-73-3074453/ |access-date=25 June 2024 |work=Nevada Review-Journal}}

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| footer = Former mayors of Las Vegas include Oscar Goodman (1999–2011) and his wife, Carolyn Goodman (2011–2024)

}}

The Sundance hotel-casino opened in 1980, and would be last new resort built in the downtown area for the next 40 years.{{cite news |last=Segall |first=Eli |title=Downtown Las Vegas not easy for casino construction |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/business-columns/real-estate-insider/downtown-las-vegas-not-easy-for-casino-construction-2169717/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=November 1, 2020}} Jan Laverty Jones was elected in 1991 as Las Vegas' first female mayor,{{cite news |last=Venant |first=Elizabeth |title=A Whole New Image: Las Vegas Pins Its Hopes for Civic Reform on the Flashy Saleswoman Who Is the New Mayor |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-08-vw-1476-story.html |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 8, 1991}} serving two terms.{{cite news |last=Zapler |first=Mike |title=Jones won't seek third term |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Feb-12-Fri-1999/news/10600368.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=February 12, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991002221132/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Feb-12-Fri-1999/news/10600368.html |archive-date=October 2, 1999}} She supported the creation of the Fremont Street Experience, an effort to improve downtown visitation. Completed in 1995, the project converted a portion of Fremont Street into a pedestrian mall covered by a neon canopy.{{cite news |last=Gorman |first=Tom |title=It's Lights, Action, Excess in Las Vegas |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-02-mn-9496-story.html |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 2, 1995}}{{cite news |title=70 million bet: Vegas remakes downtown with Fremont Street Experience |url=https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/1995/12/13/70-million-bet-vegas-remakes/50862728007/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=The Stockton Record |date=December 12, 1995}}{{cite news |last=Sebelius |first=Steve |title=Fremont Street Experience helps downtown - some |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1997/feb/22/fremont-street-experience-helps-downtown---some/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=February 22, 1997}} A year later, the city established the Neon Museum to preserve its historic neon signage.{{cite news |last=Sebelius |first=Steve |title=City to bring old neon back to life |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1996/sep/19/city-to-bring-old-neon-back-to-life/ |access-date=December 3, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=September 19, 1996}}

Although eligible for a third term as mayor, Jones chose not to run again. She was succeeded by criminal defense attorney Oscar Goodman,{{cite news |last=Zapler |first=Mike |title=Goodman elected in a landslide |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Jun-09-Wed-1999/news/11336641.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=June 9, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818183554/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Jun-09-Wed-1999/news/11336641.html |archive-date=August 18, 2000}}{{cite news |title=Ex-Mob Attorney Wins Big in Vegas Mayoral Election |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jun-09-mn-45643-story.html |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |agency=Associated Press |date=June 9, 1999}} who had represented alleged mob members for 30 years.{{cite news |last=Zapler |first=Mike |title=Goodman declares bid for LV mayor |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Mar-05-Fri-1999/news/10736469.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=April 24, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001006133809/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Mar-05-Fri-1999/news/10736469.html |archive-date=October 6, 2000}} Elected in 1999, Goodman served three terms. He was succeeded by his wife, Carolyn Goodman, after she won the 2011 mayoral race. She also served three terms, the last one ending in 2024.{{cite news |last=Kean |first=Tricia |title=The Goodman Years: The Nevada power couple shaping Las Vegas for a quarter-century |url=https://www.ktnv.com/news/the-goodman-years-the-nevada-power-couple-shaping-las-vegas-for-a-quarter-century |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=KTNV |date=April 29, 2023}}{{cite news |last=Huck |first=John |title=A Week with the Goodmans: How they landed on Las Vegas — Part 1 |url=https://www.fox5vegas.com/2023/05/02/week-with-goodmans-how-they-landed-las-vegas-part-1/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=KVVU |date=May 2, 2023}}{{efn|Carolyn Goodman served an additional year as the result of a 2019 state law, which moved subsequent Las Vegas mayoral races to even-numbered years.{{cite news |last=Willson |first=Miranda |title=New local election law shifts term lengths, cuts costs for Southern Nevada cities |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2019/jun/25/new-local-election-law-shifts-term-lengths-cuts-co/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=June 25, 2019}}}} A major focus of the Goodmans was downtown redevelopment, including the World Market Center and a vacant 61-acre property which became Symphony Park.{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/24/realestate/24vegas.html|title= In Las Vegas, Downtown Steps Up to the Table|last= Cohen|first= Billie|date= September 24, 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 1, 2024}}{{cite news |last=Schoenmann |first=Joe |title=Downtown's Revival: A Las Vegas Tale Of Persistence |url=https://knpr.org/show/knprs-state-of-nevada/2019-02-13/downtowns-revival-a-las-vegas-tale-of-persistence |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=KNPR |date=February 13, 2019}}{{cite news |last=DeHaven |first=James |title=Goodman sees big things ahead for Symphony Park |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/goodman-sees-big-things-ahead-for-symphony-park/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=September 12, 2015}} An arts district, officially known as 18b The Las Vegas Arts District, would also be established.{{cite news |last=White |first=Ken |title=Slow Going: Despite modest progress, a vibrant arts district is still a dream |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2002/Jun-11-Tue-2002/living/18868073.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=June 11, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021027005458/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2002/Jun-11-Tue-2002/living/18868073.html |archive-date=October 27, 2002}}

Air travel to Las Vegas temporarily decreased after the September 11 attacks, and resorts laid off between 12,000 and 15,000 employees over the next two weeks.{{cite journal |last=Eisendrath |first=David |title=Estimating the effects of September 11 on Las Vegas Strip gaming volume |url=https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/rtds/1825/ |website=University of Nevada, Las Vegas |access-date=December 6, 2024 |doi=10.25669/etky-zkcd |date=January 2005 |pages=11–12}}{{cite news |last=Lacanlale |first=Rio |title=From hijacker visits to the death of a beloved teacher, how 9/11 touched Nevada |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-nevada/from-hijacker-visits-to-the-death-of-a-beloved-teacher-how-9-11-touched-nevada-2438103/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=September 11, 2021}} Gaming revenue and hotel occupancy fell briefly, and numerous properties offered discounted room rates to attract visitors.

A high-rise condominium boom began in 2003,{{cite web |url= https://www.nevadabusiness.com/2007/08/high-rise-construction-the-changing-nevada-skyline/|title= High-Rise Construction: The Changing Nevada Skyline|date= August 1, 2007|work= Nevada Business|access-date=November 29, 2024|quote=Beginning in 2003, the condo boom in Las Vegas rode the crest of an explosive residential market fueled by record-setting growth in Southern Nevada.}}{{cite news|title=Condo market points down|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/housing/condo-market-points-down|access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=May 30, 2007|quote=Potential inventory levels declined for the first time since the condo boom struck Las Vegas in 2003.}} following the success of Park Towers and Turnberry Place.{{cite web |url= http://lasvegassun.com/news/2004/aug/27/onward-and-upward/|title= Onward and upward|last= Shubinski|first= Jennifer|date= August 27, 2004|work= Las Vegas Sun|access-date=November 29, 2024}}{{cite web |url= http://lasvegassun.com/news/2005/dec/16/lv-condos-toppling-before-they-start/|title= LV condos toppling before they start|last= Shubinski|first= Jennifer|date= December 16, 2005|work= Las Vegas Sun|access-date=November 29, 2024}} Many projects went unbuilt and would be canceled by 2006, due to rising construction costs and limited workers.{{cite web|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jan-13-Fri-2006/business/5316676.html|title=No money, no labor, no way: Lack of financing, qualified help seen to scuttle high-rises|last=Smith|first=Hubble|date=January 13, 2006|work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060205090945/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jan-13-Fri-2006/business/5316676.html|archive-date=February 5, 2006}}{{cite web |url= http://www.ocregister.com/articles/vegas-65032-costs-construction.html|title= Construction and labor costs bring Vegas developers back to earth|last= Hennessey|first= Kathleen|date= March 5, 2006|work= Orange County Register|access-date=March 16, 2017}}{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Hubble|title=Rising costs hurt high rises: Condominiums under construction managed to dodge escalating prices|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-11-Tue-2006/business/8384410.html|work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=July 11, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060717114443/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-11-Tue-2006/business/8384410.html|archive-date=July 17, 2006}}

Wynn opened his next resort, Wynn Las Vegas, on the Strip in April 2005. It was built on the former site of the historic Desert Inn. At a cost of $2.7 billion, the Wynn surpassed Bellagio as the world's most expensive resort.{{cite news |last=Stutz |first=Howard |title=Wynn Las Vegas: The Unveiling |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Apr-24-Sun-2005/news/26306655.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=April 24, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050426011326/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Apr-24-Sun-2005/news/26306655.html |archive-date=April 26, 2005}}{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Rod |title=Cost of Wynn Las Vegas doesn't faze analysts |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Apr-27-Wed-2005/business/1061119.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=April 27, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050901104446/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Apr-27-Wed-2005/business/1061119.html |archive-date=September 1, 2005}}

Las Vegas celebrated its centennial in May 2005, with various concerts and events,{{cite news |title=Las Vegas celebrates 100th birthday |url=https://www.deseret.com/2005/5/15/19892405/las-vegas-celebrates-100th-birthday/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Deseret News |date=May 15, 2005}}{{cite news |title=1905–2005: Las Vegas Centennial |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/centennial/ |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050517012321/http://www.reviewjournal.com/centennial/ |archive-date=May 17, 2005}}{{cite news |last=Patterson |first=Spencer |title=Las Vegas Centennial: Music celebration canvasses all genres |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2005/may/12/las-vegas-centennial-music-celebration-canvasses-a/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=May 12, 2005}} including a revival of the Helldorado Days festival.

Red Rock Resort, developed by Station Casinos, opened in Summerlin in 2006.{{cite news |last=Hogan |first=Jan |title=Decade-old Red Rock Resort has become a backyard playground of sorts for Summerlin residents |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/uncategorized/decade-old-red-rock-resort-has-become-a-backyard-playground-of-sorts-for-summerlin-residents/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=April 28, 2016}} The resort was among the early components of Downtown Summerlin, a mixed-use project on {{convert|400|acre|abbr=on}}.{{cite news |last=Robison |first=Jennifer |title=Las Vegas economy on a roll as Downtown Summerlin opens |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/las-vegas-economy-on-a-roll-as-downtown-summerlin-opens/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=October 5, 2014}}{{cite news |last=Jaffe |first=Herb |title=Density of Downtown Summerlin has come a long way |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-columns/herb-jaffe/density-of-downtown-summerlin-has-come-a-long-way-1814336/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=July 29, 2019}}

{{expand section|date=February 2024}}

File:Project CityCenter in Las Vegas.jpg

The home mortgage crisis (2007-2010) and the late 2000s recession affected the Las Vegas economy. New home construction was stalled, and other projects were canceled, postponed, or continued with financial troubles. The global financial situation also had a negative effect on gambling and tourism revenue, causing many of the companies to report net loss. Casinos on the northern Strip would be impacted by reduced foot traffic in the area, as several projects sat unfinished.{{cite web |last=Benston |first=Liz |title=Empty lots hurt nearby casinos on the Strip's north end |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2010/apr/05/empty-lots-hurt-nearby-casinos/ |website=Las Vegas Sun |access-date=15 February 2024 |date=5 April 2010}}

Postponed projects throughout Las Vegas included Downtown Summerlin and Echelon Place, the latter a mixed-use project on the Strip.{{cite news |last=Benston |first=Liz |title=Flailing economy cited in Boyd's decision to postpone further construction of Echelon project |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2008/aug/01/boyd-citing-economy-delays-echelon-even-building-u/ |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=August 1, 2008 |access-date=December 6, 2014}} Another postponed resort project was the Fontainebleau, also on the Strip; its 67-story hotel tower has been the tallest building in the state since being topped off in 2008.{{cite news |last=Sheckells |first=Melinda |title=The 16-Year Saga to Build the Fontainebleau, Las Vegas' Hottest New Hotel: 'It Could Be a Very Good Movie' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/fontainebleau-las-vegas-opening-date-liv-nightclub-1235592531/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=September 18, 2023}}

{{multiple image

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| image1 = DowntownSummerlin8.jpg

| caption1 = Overlooking Downtown Summerlin in 2015

| image2 = High Roller.png

| caption2 = The High Roller

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Several new resorts on the Strip were already under construction and continued despite the economic slowdown. The Palazzo opened in 2007, followed by Encore Las Vegas a year later. CityCenter, an $8.5 billion mixed-use project, opened on {{convert|67|acre|abbr=on}} in 2009.{{cite news |last=Friess |first=Steve |title=CityCenter: Vegas 4.0 |url=http://www.laweekly.com/2009-12-03/news/citycenter-vegas-4-0/1 |work=LA Weekly |date=December 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213043817/http://www.laweekly.com/2009-12-03/news/citycenter-vegas-4-0/1 |archive-date=December 13, 2009 |pages=1–5}}{{cite news |last=Finnegan |first=Amanda |title=MGM Mirage begins lifting veil on CityCenter today |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/dec/01/citycenter-opens/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=December 1, 2009}} The Cosmopolitan debuted in 2010, as the last new Strip resort to be built for the next decade.{{cite news |last=Segall |first=Eli |title=Before Resorts World, Cosmopolitan was last new hotel on the Strip |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/before-resorts-world-cosmopolitan-was-last-new-hotel-on-the-strip-2388425/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=June 27, 2021}} Implosions of older resorts ended due to the recession, with renovations now favored as opposed to all-new development.{{cite news |last=Schumacher |first=Geoff |title=The Renovation Era |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/the-renovation-era/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=December 3, 2010}}{{cite news |last=Clifford-Cruz |first=Rebecca |title=Implosions a thing of the past? Maybe! |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2011/nov/09/implosions-thing-past-maybe/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=November 9, 2011}}

Economic conditions, especially in the housing market, had improved by 2012.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nevadabusiness.com/2013/03/housing-market-honing-in-on-homes/|title=Housing Market: Honing in on Homes |first=Doresa |last=Banning |website=Nevada Business |date=March 1, 2013}}{{Cite web|url=https://vegasinc.lasvegassun.com/business/real-estate/2012/mar/19/moodys-analysts-las-vegas-recovery-under-way/|title=Moody's analysts: 'The Las Vegas recovery is under way' |first=Steve|last=Green|date=March 19, 2012|website=Las Vegas Sun}}{{Cite web |date=February 18, 2013 |first=Brian |last=Brennan|url=http://www.8newsnow.com/story/21236124/high-end-home-building-underway-in-las-vegas |title=High-End Home Market Improving - 8 News NOW |access-date=2013-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325032341/http://www.8newsnow.com/story/21236124/high-end-home-building-underway-in-las-vegas |archive-date=2013-03-25 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web|author=Trulia |date=January 3, 2013 |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/trulia/2013/01/03/2012s-top-turnaround-housing-markets-las-vegas-and-seattle/|title=2012's Top Turnaround Housing Markets: Las Vegas and Seattle|website=Forbes}} Downtown Summerlin eventually opened in 2014, while the Strip debuted the world's tallest Ferris wheel. Known as the High Roller, it stands {{convert|550|ft|abbr=on}}.{{cite news |title=High Roller : World's tallest observation wheel opens in Las Vegas |url=https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/high-roller-worlds-tallest-observation-wheel-opens-in-las-vegas-20140403-35zvr.html |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=April 3, 2014}} Topgolf opened a location near the Strip in 2016, and its success prompted the addition of other golf attractions in the area. Las Vegas gained further popularity among tourists with the arrival of professional sports in the late 2010s. The high-rise condominium market had also improved by this time.{{cite news|last=Devore|first=Holly Ivy|title=High-rise market heats up|url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/real-estate-millions/high-rise-market-heats|work=Las Vegas Review-Journal|date=July 18, 2016 |access-date=December 5, 2024}}{{cite news |last=Wargo |first=Buck |title=Experts say high-rise market is slow, steady |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/homes/real-estate-millions/experts-say-high-rise-market-is-slow-steady/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=August 14, 2017}}{{cite news |last=Wargo |first=Buck |title=Report shows high-rise condo sales on track to surpass 2017 |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/homes/real-estate-millions/report-shows-high-rise-condo-sales-on-track-to-surpass-2017/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=October 12, 2018}}

During the late evening of October 1, 2017, Las Vegas became the scene of the deadliest mass shooting committed by a single gunman in the history of the United States. Gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on Route 91 Harvest festival-goers from the Mandalay Bay resort, killing 60 and injuring 867.{{Cite news|title=At least 59 killed in Las Vegas shooting rampage, more than 500 others injured|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/10/02/police-shut-down-part-of-las-vegas-strip-due-to-shooting/|newspaper=Washington Post}}{{cite news|last1=Torres-Cortez|first1=Ricardo|date=January 19, 2018|title=Sheriff: Person of interest part of Strip shooting probe; Paddock had child porn|work=Las Vegas Sun|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2018/jan/19/sheriff-to-provide-update-about-strip-mass-shootin/|access-date=January 19, 2018}}{{cite news|last=Lacanlale|first=Rio|date=August 24, 2020|title=California woman declared 59th victim of 2017 massacre in Las Vegas|publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/homicides/california-woman-declared-59th-victim-of-2017-massacre-in-las-vegas-2102779/|access-date=August 27, 2020}}{{cite news|last=Lacanlale|first=Rio|date=September 17, 2020|title=Las Vegas woman becomes 60th victim of October 2017 mass shooting|publisher=Las Vegas Review-Journal|url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/shootings/las-vegas-woman-becomes-60th-victim-of-october-2017-mass-shooting-2123456/|access-date=September 17, 2020}}

The Alpine Motel Apartments fire occurred in downtown Las Vegas in December 2019, killing six people. It is the deadliest fire to occur in city limits.{{cite news |last=McCurdy |first=Christen |title=Las Vegas apartment fire kills 6, injures 13, displaces more than 30 |url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/12/21/Las-Vegas-apartment-fire-kills-6-injures-13-displaces-more-than-30/7771576953395/ |access-date=August 8, 2021 |work=UPI |date=December 21, 2019}}{{cite news |last=Hauck |first=Grace |title=6 dead and 13 injured in Las Vegas apartment fire, the 'worst' blaze officials have ever seen |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/12/21/deadly-las-vegas-apartment-motel-fire/2721102001/ |access-date=August 8, 2021 |work=USA Today |date=December 21, 2019}} As a result, the city mandated additional inspections for older motel structures that, like the Alpine, had been converted into apartments.{{cite news |title=Deadly fire spurs law to inspect old Vegas rental properties |url=https://apnews.com/article/fires-business-government-and-politics-e642ba7184cf31448e34a52c169bc8d9 |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Associated Press |date=April 24, 2021}}

File:New York New York - 2020-05-24.jpg

The COVID-19 pandemic reached Las Vegas in March 2020,{{cite web | url=https://www.ktnv.com/covid19impact | title=Las Vegas coronavirus impact, closings and cancellations |work=KTNV | date=5 March 2020 }} having various effects and a negative impact on the area's economy.{{cite news |last=DiMattel |first=Ross |title=New report reveals how hard pandemic hit Las Vegas tourism industry |url=https://www.ktnv.com/news/new-report-reveals-how-hard-pandemic-hit-las-vegas-tourism-industry |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=KTNV |date=July 28, 2021}} To minimize the spread of the virus, Nevada governor Steve Sisolak ordered the closure of various businesses across the state, including casinos. For the Strip, COVID-19 marked the first widespread closure of casinos since the state funeral of John F. Kennedy in 1963.{{cite news |last=Komenda |first=Ed |title=The Las Vegas Strip last shut down for John F. Kennedy's funeral. Will it happen again? |url=https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2020/03/17/coronavirus-las-vegas-strip-shut-down-john-kennedy-funeral/5059878002/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |date=March 17, 2020}} Mayor Goodman was critical of the business closures, noting that Las Vegas is dependent on tourism.{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Shea |title='Cannot survive:' Las Vegas mayor asks governor to shorten business shutdown |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/las-vegas/cannot-survive-las-vegas-mayor-asks-governor-to-shorten-business-shutdown-1984653/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=March 18, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Shea |title=Las Vegas mayor calls governor 'a dictator' after state 'pause' order |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/clark-county/las-vegas-mayor-calls-governor-a-dictator-after-state-pause-order-2189393/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=November 23, 2020}}{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Shea |title=Year after shutdown, Goodman rebukes Sisolak's crisis handling |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/las-vegas/year-after-shutdown-goodman-rebukes-sisolaks-crisis-handling-2306794/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=March 17, 2021}} Casinos were allowed to reopen after 78 days, joining other businesses to resume operations.{{cite news |last=Velotta |first=Richard N. |title=Four years ago, Las Vegas' casinos shut down for 78 days. The fallout was brutal |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/four-years-ago-las-vegas-casinos-shut-down-for-78-days-the-fallout-was-brutal-3017034/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=March 17, 2024}} The Las Vegas tourism industry lost an estimated $34 billion during 2020,{{cite news |last=Seeman |first=Matthew |title=New report says Las Vegas tourism lost $34 billion in COVID outbreak |url=https://news3lv.com/news/local/new-report-says-las-vegas-tourism-lost-34-billion-in-covid-outbreak |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=KSNV |date=July 30, 2021}} and the area had the highest unemployment rate in the country going into 2021.{{cite news |last=Wallace |first=Alicia |title=Las Vegas, the hardest-hit metro economy in America, just suffered another blow |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/13/business/las-vegas-economy-ces-2021/index.html |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=CNN |date=January 13, 2021}}{{cite news |last=Lochhead |first=Colton |title=Las Vegas unemployment rate still highest in US |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/las-vegas-unemployment-rate-still-highest-in-us-2431479/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=September 1, 2021}}

Several resorts debuted during the pandemic, including Circa,{{cite news |last=Villano |first=Matt |title=Las Vegas is set to come out of Covid-19 better than ever |url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/las-vegas-new-casinos-attractions-covid/index.html |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=CNN |date=April 14, 2021}} the first new downtown property to be built since 1980. It opened in late 2020, and would be followed by Resorts World Las Vegas in 2021. Constructed at a cost of $4.3 billion, Resorts World is the most expensive Las Vegas resort ever.{{cite news |title=Malaysian casino giant Genting makes $4.3bn bet on Las Vegas |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57591009 |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=BBC News |date=June 24, 2021}} It was built on the planned site of Echelon Place, and incorporated several of its unfinished structures.{{cite news |last=Velotta |first=Richard N. |title=Resorts World development went down historic Stardust path |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/resorts-world-development-went-down-historic-stardust-path-2383504/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=June 21, 2021}} Fontainebleau opened in 2023, more than 18 years after it was announced.{{cite news |last=Ross |first=McKenna |title=Fontainebleau sets Las Vegas opening date after 18 years |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/fontainebleau-sets-las-vegas-opening-date-after-18-years-2906556/ |access-date=September 19, 2023 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=September 18, 2023}} Durango, Station's first new property in 15 years,{{cite news |last=Stutz |first=Howard |title=Indy Gaming: Durango cost grows by $30 million as Red Rock considers next move |url=https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/indy-gaming-durango-cost-grows-by-30-million-as-red-rock-considers-next-move |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=The Nevada Independent |date=May 10, 2023}} also opened in 2023, in the southwest Las Vegas Valley.{{cite news |last1=Ross |first1=McKenna |last2=Velotta |first2=Richard N. |title='It's just beautiful': Durango opens doors in southwest valley |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/its-just-beautiful-durango-opens-doors-in-southwest-valley-photos-2960118/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=December 5, 2023}}

File:The Las Vegas Sphere, Nevada (53349695459).jpg

Aside from resorts, other projects have also opened since the pandemic. Area15, an experiential facility that leases space to a variety of tenants, debuted in 2020.{{cite news |last=Cheng |first=Audria |title=Las Vegas' Area15, major US testing ground for immersive entertainment, plots next phase |url=https://www.costar.com/article/432766659/las-vegas-area15-major-us-testing-ground-for-immersive-entertainment-plots-next-phase |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=CoStar |date=October 10, 2024}} A year later, the Las Vegas Convention Center completed its West Hall, an expansion costing nearly $1 billion. An underground car shuttle, the Las Vegas Convention Center Loop, was also opened.{{cite news |last=Bliss |first=Laura |title=Elon Musk's $49 Million Las Vegas Loop Makes Perfect Sense — for Las Vegas |website=Bloomberg |date=29 May 2019 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-29/las-vegas-to-elon-musk-tesla-tunnel-we-ll-take-2 |access-date=June 18, 2023}} Sphere, a globe-shaped venue with an exterior LED screen, opened in 2023, and has hosted various shows and entertainers.{{cite news |last=Miranda |first=Carolina A. |title=Sphere can be bizarre and sublime — or just an ad. That's what makes it so Vegas |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-09-13/las-vegas-sphere-can-be-bizarre-and-sublime-or-just-an-ad |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=September 13, 2023}}

The former Hard Rock Hotel was renovated and reopened as Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in 2021, with its casino managed by the Mohegan Tribe, making it the first Native American casino operator in Las Vegas.{{cite news |title=Tribal casinos in Las Vegas seen reaching a milestone moment |url=https://apnews.com/article/fl-state-wire-las-vegas-business-e3e9218558f0df3d376f7b63a1bc802c |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Associated Press |date=May 12, 2021}} Later that year, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians became the first Native casino owner in Las Vegas with its acquisition of the Palms, located west of the Strip.{{cite news |last=Velotta |first=Richard N. |title=Gaming Commission OKs license for tribe to own, operate Palms |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/casinos-gaming/gaming-commission-oks-license-for-tribe-to-own-operate-palms-2497872/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=December 16, 2021}} Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, became the first Native operator of a Strip casino in 2022, when it took over the Mirage.{{cite news |last=Wargo |first=Buck |title=Hard Rock, buying Mirage operations, to be first tribal operator on Las Vegas Strip |url=https://cdcgaming.com/hard-rock-buying-mirage-operations-to-be-first-tribal-operator-on-las-vegas-strip/ |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=CDC Gaming |date=December 14, 2021}}{{cite news |last=Ritter |first=Ken |title=Tribal owner of Hard Rock now running Mirage on Vegas Strip |url=https://apnews.com/article/business-las-vegas-nevada-gambling-mgm-resorts-international-c5280a8b3a5e8fca62f517f20ffaad3f |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=Associated Press |date=December 19, 2022}} The resort closed in 2024, after 34 years, to undergo renovations and rebranding as a new Hard Rock resort. After 67 years, the Tropicana was also closed and demolished in 2024, partly to make way for a baseball stadium associated with the Athletics.{{cite news |last=Yamat |first=Rio |title=From showgirl feathers to shimmering chandeliers, casino kitsch finds new life |url=https://www.ktnv.com/news/from-showgirl-feathers-to-shimmering-chandeliers-casino-kitsch-finds-new-life |access-date=December 5, 2024 |work=KTNV |date=October 20, 2024}}{{cite web | url=https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/indy-gaming-saying-farewell-to-one-of-the-strips-last-rat-pack-era-resorts | title=Indy Gaming: Saying farewell to one of the Strip's last Rat Pack-era resorts | date=3 April 2024 }} The Tropicana's demolition marked the first implosion of a Las Vegas resort since the Riviera in 2016.{{cite news |last=Schulz |first=Bailey |title=Tropicana implosion in Las Vegas: After 67 years, Rat Pack-era Strip resort falls |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/10/09/tropicana-hotel-casino-implosion-las-vegas/75347373007/ |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=USA Today |date=October 9, 2024}}

For decades, there had been proposals to build a high-speed train connecting Las Vegas with California. Among these was the California–Nevada Interstate Maglev in the 2000s.{{cite news |last=Illia |first=Tony |title=New federal funds revive Maglev project |url=http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2005/08/22/news/news02.txt |work=Las Vegas Business Press |date=August 22, 2005 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909201857/http://www.lvbusinesspress.com/articles/2005/08/22/news/news02.txt |archive-date=September 9, 2012}} A high-speed rail route, known as Brightline West, eventually began construction in 2024, and is expected to go into service in 2028.{{cite news |last=Ritter |first=Ken |title=Rail spikes hammered, bullet train being built from Sin City to the City of Angels |url=https://apnews.com/article/high-speed-train-vegas-los-angeles-brightline-595913ff2fa3d9001fb89bfab4e6c4d2 |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Associated Press |date=April 22, 2024}}

Shelley Berkley was elected mayor in the 2024 election, ending a combined 25-year tenure for the Goodmans.{{cite news |last=Acosta |first=George |title=Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman reflects on 25 years of the Goodman legacy |url=https://news3lv.com/news/local/las-vegas-mayor-carolyn-goodman-reflects-on-25-years-of-the-goodman-legacy |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=KSNV |date=November 13, 2024}}

An explosion occurred on January 1, 2025, outside the main entrance of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas near the Strip. A Tesla Cybertruck was the source; it contained firework mortars and gas canisters, which fueled the explosion. The vehicle's sole occupant died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head just before the explosion and seven bystanders were injured by the blast. The driver and alleged perpetrator was identified as Matthew Alan Livelsberger, an American-born, active-duty United States Army Special Forces soldier from Colorado Springs, who was on leave from overseas duty. Livelsberger wrote two letters, recovered by the FBI from his burnt phone, in which he denied being a terrorist but admitted using explosives to convey a political message and ease his mental burdens.{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-cybertruck-explosion-updates |title=Las Vegas Cybertruck bombing outside Trump hotel appears to be suicide of veteran who had PTSD, FBI says |date=January 3, 2025 |last1=Sundby |first1=Alex |last2=Mae Czachor |first2=Emily |publisher=CBS News |access-date=January 3, 2025 |archive-date=January 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250104025843/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-cybertruck-explosion-updates |url-status=live}}

{{seealso|List of films shot in Las Vegas|List of films set in Las Vegas|List of television shows set in Las Vegas}}

Las Vegas, especially the Strip, has been a popular location for film production.{{cite news |last=Hosier |first=Anne |title=Lights ... camera ... Vegas! |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1997/aug/04/lights-camera-vegas/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=August 4, 1997}}{{cite news |last=Epting |first=Chris |title=Reel Las Vegas |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3840263 |access-date=November 29, 2024 |publisher=NBC News |date=December 30, 2003}} Early examples include The Las Vegas Story (1952), Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956), Ocean's 11 (1960), and Viva Las Vegas (1964).{{cite news |title=Eight of the most memorable depictions of Las Vegas in film |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1hfVqBq5FC3BVzmXTrNqcRq/eight-of-the-most-memorable-depictions-of-las-vegas-in-film |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=BBC}} Other prominent films in later years included Casino (1995), the Ocean's Eleven remake (2001), and The Hangover (2009).{{cite news |last=Lawrence |first=Christopher |title='The Hangover' at 15: Here are 15 things you may not know about the comedy |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/movies/the-hangover-at-15-here-are-15-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-comedy-3062848/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=June 5, 2024}}

Television series have also been set in the city,{{cite news |last=Lawrence |first=Christopher |title=Nevada's TV boom began in 'Vega$' |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nevadas-tv-boom-began-in-vega/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=October 12, 2014}} including Vegas (1978–1981), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–2015), and Las Vegas (2003–2008). Reality television became more popular in the 2000s, leading to locally based programs such as Pawn Stars (2009–present). Various video games have also been set in the area, including Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (2006), Fallout: New Vegas (2010), and several installments in the CSI series.{{cite web |title=Video games |url=https://nevadafilm.com/recent-productions/video-games/ |website=Nevada Film Office |date=31 May 2016 |access-date=December 1, 2024}}

American author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson's seminal work, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, was published in 1971, as a two-part serial in the magazine Rolling Stone.{{cite web |title=Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas novel by Thompson |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fear-and-Loathing-in-Las-Vegas-by-Thompson |website=Britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopaedia Britannica}} The roman à clef, which details Thompson's trip to Las Vegas, was then published as a full-length novel by Random House.{{cite web |title=Details |url=https://esploro.libs.uga.edu/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma998482673902959&context=L&vid=01GALI_UGA:UGA |website=esploro.libs.uga.edu |publisher=University of Georgia |access-date=25 June 2024}}{{cite news |title=Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Journey into the Heart of 'American Excess' |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/features/fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas-a-journey-into-the-heart-of-american-excess/articleshow/103502716.cms |access-date=25 June 2024 |work=Times of India}} The book was made into a film, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and released in 1998.{{cite news |title=Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/events/film/1998-05-22/fear-and-loathing-in-las-vegas/ |access-date=25 June 2024 |work=Austin Chronicle}} By that time, Las Vegas had accounted for 80-percent of all filming done in the state.{{cite news |last=Petrikin |first=Chris |title=Viva Las Vegas |url=https://variety.com/1997/scene/vpage/viva-las-vegas-1117436604/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Variety |date=February 7, 1997}} Within a few years, efforts were ramped up to further promote Las Vegas as a filming location.{{cite news |last=Levine |first=Phil |title=Filmmakers, casinos work to bridge gap between two cultures |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2000/may/07/filmmakers-casinos-work-to-bridge-gap-between-two-/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=May 7, 2000}}{{cite news |last=Padgett |first=Sonya |title=Las Vegas pitches film industry |url=http://www.viewnews.com/1999/VIEW-Nov-17-Wed-1999/SEast/12329913.html |work=View News |date=November 17, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060508083709/http://www.viewnews.com/1999/VIEW-Nov-17-Wed-1999/SEast/12329913.html |archive-date=May 8, 2006}}{{cite news |title=Big movie studio complex, casino proposed |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2000/mar/09/big-movie-studio-complex-casino-proposed/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=March 9, 2000}}

The 2025 Oscar-winning film Anora was shot in Las Vegas in 2023, including at the Palms Casino and the Fremont Street Experience, with its wedding scene filmed at the A Little White Wedding Chapel.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-27 |title=Oscar-winner 'Anora' spotlights Las Vegas wedding chapel's celebrity legacy |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/movies/anora-role-latest-pop-culture-highlight-for-strip-wedding-chapel-3311879/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |language=en-US}}

{{seealso|Nevada Film Office}}

In addition to on-location work, several small film studios were also established during the 1990s for sound stage production. TVM Studios was formed by filmmaker Ted V. Mikels in 1993, and operated until 2009.{{cite news |last=Koch |first=Ed |title=Las Vegas cult filmmaker Ted Mikels dies at 87 |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/oct/19/las-vegas-cult-filmmaker-ted-mikels-dies-at-87/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=October 19, 2016}} The Las Vegas Video & Sound Film Production Center was established in 1995, with {{convert|15000|sqft|abbr=on}} of space.{{cite news |title=Company to unveil state's largest soundstage |url=https://reviewjournal.newsbank.com/search?text=%22Company%20to%20unveil%20state%27s%20largest%20soundstage%22&content_added=&date_from=&date_to=&pub%5B0%5D=1508AFD0E83DBED6 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date= |access-date=November 29, 2024 |url-access=subscription}} Located in southwest Las Vegas,{{cite news |last=Shemeligian |first=Bob |title=Planned studio raises questions |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1997/mar/05/planned-studio-raises-questions/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=March 5, 1997}} it was Nevada's first major sound stage,{{cite news |last=Shemeligian |first=Bob |title=Film flam |url=http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2002/MERC-May-30-Thu-2002/18852292.html |work=Las Vegas Mercury |date=May 30, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020612135827/http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2002/MERC-May-30-Thu-2002/18852292.html |archive-date=June 12, 2002}} and was used as a location for films such as Con Air and Vegas Vacation.{{cite news |last=Shemeligian |first=Bob |title=The reel take on Nevada's film production |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1997/nov/24/the-reel-take-on-nevadas-film-production/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=November 24, 1997}}{{cite news |title=Studio is key to Vegas success |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/153763056/ |work=Reno Gazette-Journal |date=September 10, 1996 |access-date=November 29, 2024 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=subscription}}{{cite news |last=Ferguson |first=Lisa |title=Putting the Silver State on the silver screen is the job of Charles Geocaris, Nevada's new film commissioner |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1998/apr/04/putting-the-silver-state-on-the-silver-screen-is-t/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=April 4, 1998}} Big Picture Studios opened in 1997, and included a {{convert|1500|sqft|abbr=on}} sound stage.{{cite news |last=Cling |first=Carol |title=Aaron Spelling executives expect to launch Las Vegas TV series |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Apr-21-Mon-1997/lifestyles/5235997.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=April 21, 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000918005459/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Apr-21-Mon-1997/lifestyles/5235997.html |archive-date=September 18, 2000}}{{cite news |last=Ferguson |first=Lisa |title=Anton & Co. brighten film future in Vegas |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1997/may/02/anton-co-brighten-film-future-in-vegas/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=May 2, 1997}}{{cite news |last=Katz |first=Bobbie |title=Locals eye piece of film pie, set up shop in town |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Locals+eye+piece+of+film+pie%2C+set+up+shop+in+town.-a020031114 |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Variety |date=August 11, 1997}}

In 1997, producer Doris Keating proposed Black Mountain Studios, to be built on {{convert|85|acre|abbr=on}} in Henderson.{{cite news |last=Robiglio |first=Deborah |title=Lights! Camera! Action! could be coming to Henderson |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Mar-01-Sat-1997/news/4954656.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=March 1, 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000916132201/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1997/Mar-01-Sat-1997/news/4954656.html |archive-date=September 16, 2000}}{{cite news |title=Henderson film studio moves along |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1997/nov/20/henderson-film-studio-moves-along/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=November 20, 1997}} She intended for it to capture a portion of Hollywood's runaway production work.{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Hubble |title=Preproduction Phase |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1998/Nov-27-Fri-1998/business/10099615.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=November 27, 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991012152027/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1998/Nov-27-Fri-1998/business/10099615.html |archive-date=October 12, 1999}} The project was delayed several times.{{cite news |title=Officials trying to kill studio, developer says |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Jan-06-Wed-1999/news/10359996.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=January 6, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020103005722/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Jan-06-Wed-1999/news/10359996.html |archive-date=January 3, 2002}}{{cite news |last=Snedeker |first=Lisa |title=More delays hit plans for movie studio |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1999/jan/20/more-delays-hit-plans-for-movie-studio/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=January 20, 1999}} Nearby residents opposed the studio, believing it would disrupt the area's rural surroundings,{{cite news |last=Snedeker |first=Lisa |title=Residents oppose movie studio plan |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1999/jan/29/residents-oppose-movie-studio-plan/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=January 29, 1999}}{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Valerie |title=Henderson: Black Mountain studios taking drama to Planning Commission |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1999/apr/13/henderson-black-mountain-studios-taking-drama-to-p/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=April 13, 1999}} and the city council eventually voted against it.{{cite news |last=Zapler |first=Mike |title=City pulls plug on film studio |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Feb-03-Wed-1999/news/10539092.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=February 3, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001002232214/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Feb-03-Wed-1999/news/10539092.html |archive-date=October 2, 2000}}{{cite news |last=Snedeker |first=Lisa |title=Council gives movie studio bad reviews |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1999/feb/03/council-gives-movie-studio-bad-reviews/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=February 3, 1999}}{{cite news |last1=Koch |first1=Ed |last2=Miller |first2=Valerie |title=Curtain closes on movie studio |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2000/apr/21/curtain-closes-on-movie-studio/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=April 21, 2000}} Although Keating planned to find a new location within Las Vegas,{{cite news |last=Flanagan |first=Tanya |title=Developer: Henderson too slow; studio a no-go |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Jun-16-Wed-1999/news/11381858.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=June 16, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001006033419/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Jun-16-Wed-1999/news/11381858.html |archive-date=October 6, 2000}} the project was ultimately scrapped. Another production facility was proposed for West Las Vegas in 2003,{{cite news |last=Packer |first=Adrienne |title=City signs deal for production support facility |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Jun-19-Thu-2003/news/21562545.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=June 19, 2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050216085700/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2003/Jun-19-Thu-2003/news/21562545.html |archive-date=February 16, 2005}}{{cite news |title=Editorial: New studio sounds like worthy risk |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2003/jun/20/editorial-new-studio-sounds-like-worthy-risk/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=June 20, 2003}} but this would also be canceled.{{cite news |last=Kalil |first=J.M. |title=Official says he was told list of bidders public record |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Sep-29-Wed-2004/news/24870692.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=September 29, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041215201506/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Sep-29-Wed-2004/news/24870692.html |archive-date=December 15, 2004}}{{cite news |last=Kalil |first=J.M. |title=Community gets empty lots, promises |url=http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Oct-16-Sat-2004/news/24974947.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=October 16, 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041030004322/http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Oct-16-Sat-2004/news/24974947.html |archive-date=October 30, 2004}}

In 2024, Sony Pictures proposed a $1.8 billion film studio to be built in Summerlin, on land owned by the Howard Hughes Corporation.{{cite news |last=Blennerhassett |first=Patrick |title=$1.8B Sony movie studio backed by Mark Wahlberg approved for Summerlin |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/business/1-8b-sony-movie-studio-backed-by-mark-wahlberg-approved-for-summerlin-3020516/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=March 20, 2024}}{{cite news |last=Rocha |first=Grace Da |title=With new studio on the horizon in Summerlin, dream stays closer to home for students in CSN film program |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2024/mar/31/with-new-studio-on-the-horizon-in-summerlin-dream/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=March 31, 2024}}{{cite news |last=Maddaus |first=Gene |title=Sony and Warner Bros. Gear Up for Political Fight for Las Vegas Studio |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/sony-warner-bros-nevada-studios-las-vegas-1236138269/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Variety |date=September 13, 2024}} Later that year, Warner Bros. announced plans for its own, larger Las Vegas film studio, to be built at a cost of $8.5 billion.{{cite news |last=Zalucki |first=Rachel |title=Warner Bros. commits $8.5B to future Las Vegas film studio |url=https://www.fox5vegas.com/2024/08/20/warner-bros-announces-plans-85b-las-vegas-film-studio/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=KVVU |date=August 20, 2024}}{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Geoff |title=The Big Picture: Las Vegas could become a movie and television production hub almost overnight |url=https://lasvegasweekly.com/news/2024/oct/24/vegas-could-be-movie-tv-production-hub-overnight/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Weekly |date=October 24, 2024}} Both projects are contingent on the passage of rival bills in the 2025 Nevada Legislature that would increase the state's film tax credits.{{cite news |last=Wright |first=Jarah |title=Film tax credit bills standing between Sony, Warner Brothers studio projects in Las Vegas |url=https://www.ktnv.com/news/film-tax-credit-bills-standing-between-sony-warner-brothers-studio-projects-in-las-vegas |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=KTNV |date=August 23, 2024}}{{cite news |last=Welk |first=Brian |title=Warner Bros. Wants to Put a Studio in the Desert |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/business/warner-bros-discovery-8-5-billion-production-las-vegas-nevada-approves-tax-credit-1235038821/ |access-date=29 November 2024 |work=IndieWire |date=August 21, 2024}}

{{main|Sports in the Las Vegas metropolitan area}}

File:Allegiant Stadium Street View on Super Bowl LVIII.jpg during Super Bowl LVIII]]

The Las Vegas Valley has been host to numerous sports. Boxing, for example, dates to the 1950s,{{cite news |last=Radke |first=Brock |title=Tracing Las Vegas' sports evolution |url=https://lasvegasweekly.com/news/2023/jul/27/tracing-las-vegas-sports-evolution/ |access-date=November 30, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Weekly |date=July 27, 2023}} and would become a staple for the area.{{cite news |last=Hernandez |first=Dylan |title=Column: Las Vegas' monopoly on marquee boxing matches ends, but it remains a popular venue |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2020-01-30/las-vegas-monopoly-marquee-boxing-matches-ends-remains-popular-venue |access-date=November 30, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=January 30, 2020}}{{cite magazine |title=It Happened in Vegas: Sports and Sin City Through the Years |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/01/30/it-happened-in-las-vegas-super-bowl-nfl-sin-city-sports-history |access-date=November 30, 2024 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=January 30, 2024}} Early sports venues included Sam Boyd Stadium; completed in 1971, it hosted football and soccer games. This would be followed in 1983, by the Thomas & Mack Center and Cashman Field. The MGM Grand Garden Arena opened in 1993.{{cite news |last=Hill |first=Adam |title=Hall of Fame broadcaster names top 5 fights at MGM Grand Garden |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/boxing/hall-of-fame-broadcaster-names-top-5-fights-at-mgm-grand-garden-3068961/ |access-date=November 30, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=June 14, 2024}}

The Las Vegas Valley eventually became host to several professional sports teams.{{cite news |last1=Belson |first1=Ken |last2=Vrentas |first2=Jenny |title=Pro Sports in Las Vegas Aren't Cheered by Everyone |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/business/las-vegas-sports-public-money.html |access-date=November 30, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=February 9, 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Jacobson |first1=Dana |last2=Breen |first2=Kerry |title=How Las Vegas, once known as 'Sin City,' became an unlikely sports haven |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/las-vegas-super-bowl-unlikely-sports-haven-history/ |access-date=November 30, 2024 |work=CBS News |date=February 10, 2024}} T-Mobile Arena opened in 2016, and became home to the Vegas Golden Knights the following year. The Las Vegas Aces, a WNBA team, started playing at the Michelob Ultra Arena in 2018. The Las Vegas Raiders, an NFL team, began playing at the newly built Allegiant Stadium in 2020, after relocating from Oakland.{{cite news |last=Schulz |first=Bailey |title=The sports capital of the world? How sports boosted Las Vegas' growth |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/10/08/las-vegas-sports-capital/75347412007/ |access-date=November 30, 2024 |work=USA Today |date=October 11, 2024}} The three venues are located on or near the Strip. Super Bowl LVIII was held at Allegiant Stadium in 2024, marking the first time that Las Vegas had hosted the annual event.

File:Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March 2011.jpg]]

Las Vegas also has a history with baseball. The Las Vegas Aviators, a Minor League team, were established in 1983. The team was originally known as the Las Vegas Stars (1983–2000) and later the Las Vegas 51s (2001–2018). The Las Vegas Ballpark opened in Summerlin in 2019, as a new venue for the Aviators, who previously played at Cashman Field.{{cite news |last=Stutz |first=Howard |title=Aviators' four decades in Las Vegas provided a road map for the Golden Knights |url=https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/aviators-four-decades-in-las-vegas-provided-a-road-map-for-the-golden-knights |access-date=November 30, 2024 |work=The Nevada Independent |date=July 7, 2024}} The Athletics, a Major League Baseball team, confirmed plans in 2023 to relocate from Oakland. The team's new stadium would be located on the Strip, and is scheduled to begin construction in 2025, with completion expected three years later.{{cite news |title=Timeline for building A's ballpark in Las Vegas |url=https://www.ktvu.com/news/timeline-building-as-ballpark-la-vegas |access-date=November 30, 2024 |work=KTVU |date=September 17, 2024}}

Various racing events have been held in Las Vegas, including the Mint 400 which began in the 1960s, and the Caesars Palace Grand Prix held during the 1980s. The Las Vegas Motor Speedway opened in 1996, bringing NASCAR races to the area. Formula One debuted its annual Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023, with a race track that travels on and near the Strip.

In the wake of a 2002 drought, climate change in Nevada garnered attention. Subsequently, daily water consumption in Las Vegas was reduced from 314 gallons per resident in 2003 to around 205 gallons in 2015. Despite these conservation efforts, local water consumption remains 30 percent more than in Los Angeles, and over three times that of San Francisco.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} In June 2017, a heat wave grounded more than 40 airline flights of small aircraft, with American Airlines reducing sales on certain flights and Las Vegas tying its previous record high temperature at 117 degrees Fahrenheit.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/20/us/weather-west-heat-wave/index.html|title=How hot is it in the West? Let us count the ways|author=Madison Park|website=CNN|date=20 June 2017 }} Las Vegas reached a new record high temperature of 120 °F on July 7, 2024.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-13 |title=Las Vegas sees record-breaking 7 consecutive days of scorching temperatures 115 degrees or higher |website=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/13/weather/las-vegas-nevada-heat-wave/index.html |access-date=2024-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913093225/https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/13/weather/las-vegas-nevada-heat-wave/index.html |archive-date=2024-09-13 }}

Tornadoes and snowfall are rare in the Las Vegas Valley,{{cite news |title=Severe thunderstorms strike the valley |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1998/sep/11/severe-thunderstorms-strike-the-valley/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=September 11, 1998}}{{cite news |last=Terranella |first=Slone |title=Does Las Vegas Get Tornados? The Answer: Kinda |url=https://963kklz.com/2023/04/05/does-las-vegas-get-tornados-the-answer-kinda/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |work=KKLZ |date=April 5, 2023}}{{cite news |last=Schoenmann |first=Joe |title=Winter Wake-Up |url=http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1998/Dec-07-Mon-1998/news/10186131.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=December 7, 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991125133441/http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1998/Dec-07-Mon-1998/news/10186131.html |archive-date=November 25, 1999}} although the area is prone to flash flooding.{{cite news |last=Hansen |first=Kyle B. |title=A decade after deadly flood, county better prepared |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/2009/jul/08/10-years-after-deadly-flood-county-better-prepared/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=July 8, 2009}} The Clark County Regional Flood Control District was formed in 1985 and eventually began work on a flood control network.{{cite news |last=Hawley |first=Tom |title=Las Vegas has history with deadly and dangerous flash flooding |url=https://news3lv.com/news/videos/video-vault-las-vegas-has-history-with-deadly-and-dangerous-flash-flooding |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=KSNV |date=August 5, 2021}} Two people were killed and more than $20 million in damage occurred during a 1999 flood,{{cite news |last1=Schoenmann |first1=Joe |last2=Rogers |first2=Keith |title=Clinton OKs disaster funds |url=http://lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Jul-21-Wed-1999/news/11599956.html |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=July 21, 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991013143132/http://lvrj.com/lvrj_home/1999/Jul-21-Wed-1999/news/11599956.html |archive-date=October 13, 1999}}{{cite news |last=Michor |first=Max |title=A flood to remember |url=https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/looking-back-at-1999-las-vegas-flood-20-years-later-1701236/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=July 7, 2019}} the most destructive in Las Vegas history.{{cite news |title=Question of the Day |url=https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/question/2017-02-16/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Advisor |date=February 16, 2017}} Its effects were mitigated by the flood control network, which was 20-percent finished at the time,{{cite news |last=Macy |first=Robert |title=$400 million flood control project saves lives, property |url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1999/jul/09/400-million-flood-control-project-saves-lives-prop/ |access-date=November 29, 2024 |work=Las Vegas Sun |date=July 9, 1999}} and has continued to grow.

{{Portal|Nevada}}

• Timeline of Las Vegas
• Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign
• Misconduct in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book |last1=Calvert |first1=G.H. |title=Handy Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary |date=1958 |publisher=David McKay Publications}}
• {{cite book |last=Chung |first=Su Kim |title=Las Vegas Then and Now |publisher=Thunder Bay Press |location=San Diego, California |year=2005 |page=36 |isbn=1-59223-734-7 }}
• {{cite book | title=Without a Trace: Inside the Robert Durst Case | last1= Collins |first1=Marion | publisher=Macmillan | year=2002 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uMb5vfb_n2IC | page=294| isbn= 9781466820012 }}
• {{cite book |last1=Davis |first1=Sammy |title=Hollywood in a Suitcase |date=1980 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-0-246-11099-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lB6Y1rDK0McC&q=Sammy%20Davis%20jr,%20%22Hollywood%20in%20a%20suitcase}}
• {{cite book |last1=Denton |first1=Sally |last2=Morris |first2=Roger |title=The Money and the Power |date=7 May 2002 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-375-41444-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BycvQIoU_OcC}}
• {{cite book |last1=Land |first1=Barbara |last2=Land |first2=Myrick |title=A Short History of Las Vegas |date=March 2004 |publisher=University of Nevada Press |isbn=978-0-87417-564-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HJ6AAAAMAAJ}}
• {{cite book | title=Lone Star Lawmen | first1=Utley Robert |last1=Marshall | publisher=Oxford | year=2007 | pages=217–218 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G4hjclRksjQC| isbn=9780198035169 }}
• {{cite book |last1=McCracken |first1=Robert D. |title=Las Vegas: The Great American Playground |date=1997 |publisher=University of Nevada Press |isbn=978-0-87417-301-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NRISAQAAIAAJ&q=ISBN}}
• {{cite book |last1=Moehring |first1=Eugene P. |last2=Green |first2=Michael S. |title=Las Vegas: A Centennial History |date=16 March 2005 |publisher=University of Nevada Press |isbn=978-0-87417-647-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fiyVDwAAQBAJ}}
• {{cite book |last1=Waldron |first1=Lamar |title=Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK |date=17 October 2006 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-7867-1832-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=anNsswEACAAJ}}
• {{cite book |last1=Dombrink |first1=John |last2=Thompson |first2=William Norman |title=The Last Resort: Success and Failure in Campaigns for Casinos |date=1990 |publisher=University of Nevada Press |isbn=978-0-87417-140-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=84d6AAAAMAAJ}}

{{see also|Timeline of Las Vegas#Bibliography}}

• {{cite book |last1=Ainlay |first1=Thomas |last2=Gabaldon |first2=Judy Dixon |title=Las Vegas: The Fabulous First Century |date=2003 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-0-7385-2416-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zeIbm3iEXhQC}}
• {{cite book |last1=Paher |first1=Stanley W. |title=Las Vegas: as it Began--as it Grew |date=1971 |publisher=Nevada Publications |isbn=978-0-913814-01-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rQ8SAQAAIAAJ&q=Las%20Vegas:%20As%20It%20Began%20%E2%80%93%20As%20It%20Grew,%20Nevada%20Publications}}

{{Bookfarm|date=March 2024}}

• Bégout, Bruce. Zeropolis: the experience of Las Vegas (Reaktion Books, 2003).
• Bernhard, Bo J., Michael S. Green, and Anthony F. Lucas. "From maverick to mafia to MBA: Gaming industry leadership in Las Vegas from 1931 through 2007." Cornell Hospitality Quarterly 49.2 (2008): 177-190. [https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=4793bf19aa82ab4756eac343f4c0ad62d07224cc online]
• Brigham, Jay. "Reno, Las Vegas, and the Strip: A Tale of Three Cities." Western Historical Quarterly 46.4 (2015): 529–530.
• Bybee, Shannon. "History, development, and legislation of Las Vegas casino gaming." in Legalized Casino Gaming in the United States (Routledge, 2014) pp. 3-24.

• Culver, Lawrence. "Sin City or Suburban Crucible? Searching for Meanings in the New Las Vegas" Journal of Urban History 35.7 (2009): 1052-1058; historiography.

• Douglass, William A., and Pauliina Raento. "The tradition of invention: conceiving Las Vegas." Annals of Tourism Research 31.1 (2004): 7-23. [https://www.academia.edu/download/50403265/douglass_raento_vegas_ATR_2004.pdf online]{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• Foster, Jonathan. Stigma Cities: The Reputation and History of Birmingham, San Francisco, and Las Vegas (University of Oklahoma Press, 2018) [https://books.google.com/books?id=ctEXhnrUitAC&dq=VEGAS&pg=PA7 online].
• Goodwin, Joanne L. "Mojave mirages: gender and performance in Las Vegas." Women's History Review 11.1 (2002): 115-132.

• Gragg, Larry D. Becoming America's Playground: Las Vegas in the 1950s (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019).
• Jones, Karen. "The Old West in Modern Splendor: Frontier folklore and the selling of Las Vegas." European Journal of American Culture 29.2 (2010): 93-110.

• Luke, Timothy W. "Gaming space: casinopolitan globalism from Las Vegas to Macau." in Global Ideologies and Urban Landscapes (Routledge, 2013) pp. 77-87.

• Moehring, Eugene P. Resort City in the Sunbelt: Las Vegas, 1930–2000 (2000).
• Moehring, Eugene P., and Michael S. Green. Las Vegas: A centennial history (University of Nevada Press, 2005).
• Moehring, Eugene, "The Urban Impact: Towns and Cities in Nevada's History," Nevada Historical Society Quarterly 57 (2014): 177–200.
• Papa, Paul W. It Happened in Las Vegas: Remarkable Events that Shaped History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009).

• Rowley, Rex J. Everyday Las Vegas: Local Life in a Tourist Town (2013)
• Scriven, Michael. "The philosophical foundations of Las Vegas." Journal of gambling studies 11.1 (1995): 61-75.
• Simich, Jerry L., and Thomas C. Wright, eds. The peoples of Las Vegas: One city, many faces (University of Nevada Press, 2005).

• Stierli, Martino. Las Vegas in the Rearview Mirror: The City in Theory, Photography, and Film, Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2013), {{ISBN|978-1-60606-137-4}}

• Thompson, Hunter S. Fear and loathing in Las Vegas: A savage journey to the heart of the American dream (Vintage, 1998) [http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/18462/1/21.pdf online].
• Venturi, Robert. Learning from Las Vegas: The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1972) {{ISBN|978-0-26272-006-9}}
• Weaver, David B. "Contemporary tourism heritage as heritage tourism: Evidence from Las Vegas and Gold Coast." Annals of tourism research 38.1 (2011): 249-267. compares to Australia.
• Zoglin, Richard. Elvis in Vegas: How the King Reinvented the Las Vegas Show (Simon & Schuster, 2020).
• Zook, Lynn M., Allen Sandquist, and Carey Burke. Las Vegas, 1905-1965 (Arcadia Publishing, 2009).

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Las Vegas}}

Category:History of Nevada