A Brief History Early Habitation The inhabited history of the Las Vegas Valley stretches to 23,000 b.c. , when much of the area was covered by a prehistoric lake. During this period, the indigenous people lived in caves, hunting the mammals that gathered at the shoreline. The landscape of the valley changed dramatically over the next 200 centuries. The glaciers feeding the lake melted away and the lake evaporated. Fossils tell an obscure story of man’s slow and sporadic development. Around 3000 b.c. , native Archaic Indians began to develop a lasting hunting and gathering culture. By this time, the valley was in much the same geographic state as it exists in today, with one exception — the presence of artesian springs that bubbled to the surface in several areas. These springs fed a network of streams draining through the Las Vegas Wash to the Colorado River. The areas surrounding the springs were desert oases: sprawling collections of grasses, trees, and wildlife. Many springs lay in areas that would eventually become the center of the modern Las Vegas metropolis. For about 4000 years, the Archaics thrived in a culture that included many signs of early civilization. Signs of even more advancement appeared halfway through the first millennium a.d. , when the Anasazi Indians inhabited the valley. Far more progressive than the Archaics, the Anasazi utilized such formal agricultural techniques as irrigation to assist their harvest. This permitted the Anasazi to achieve a benchmark of advanced society — the ability to live in permanent shelters year-round without need to follow wildlife. Mysteriously, the Anasazi vanished from the valley around a.d. 1150, leaving it to be repopulated by the Southern Paiutes, another hunter-gatherer tribe. Unable to replicate the agricultural techniques of the Anasazi, the Paiutes were destined to a semi-nomadic lifestyle until European settlers arrived, changing the nature of existence in the valley forever. From Mailmen to Mormons In the early nineteenth century, America’s western territories were still largely unexplored. It was not until 1829 that Rafael Rivera, a Mexican scout, found a spring-fed valley and dubbed it Las Vegas — a Spanish name that leaves many modern visitors wondering exactly where “the meadows” really lay. For fifteen years, Las Vegas was used as a Spanish Trail way-station. In 1844, American explorer John C. Fremont parked his horses at Big Springs, and his report to the government resulted in a mail route leading past the spot on its way to California. This put Las Vegas on the map and was one of the crucial turning points of its history. In 1855, Mormon leader Brigham Young responded to promising reports of Las Vegas by sending 30 missionary settlers to the valley; they eventually built a fort not far from today’s Downtown. Surrounded by acres of farmland hewn from the hard desert, the adobe fort became a focal point for the development of Las Vegas for the next fifty years. The missionaries struggled valiantly against the dictates of the desert, trying simultaneously to survive the harshness of their circumstances and spread the Mormon faith. Additional pressures from arriving miners pushed the missionaries’ plight beyond recovery. Their supplies scarce, their harvest meager, and their spirit broken, they abandoned the fort in 1858. Despite the fact that the local land was rich in silver, by 1865 most of the mining traffic through Las Vegas was of prospectors headed to California or Northern Nevada in search of gold. One opportunist who stayed was Octavius Decatur Gass. Bestowed with plenty of the invaluable pioneer spirit that characterizes Las Vegas to this day, Gass redirected his life by picking up where the Mormons left off — at least when it came to ranching and farming. Gass took over the abandoned Mormon fort and 640 acres (260 hectares) surrounding it, dubbing it the Las Vegas Ranch. He expanded the ranch and irrigated the land so that it would support crops and cattle. His determination had other results as well: Gass was named a justice of the peace and a territorial legislator. Despite his ambition, Gass’ success was short-lived. In the late 1870s, he defaulted on a loan from rancher Archibald Stewart, so Stewart took the Las Vegas Ranch for his own. True to wild-West stereotypes, Stewart was slain by a neighboring farmer, leaving his strong-willed wife, Helen, to assume the duties of the ranch. Through 1905, Helen Stewart expanded the ranch to 2000 acres (810 hectares), making quite a bit of money in the process. What happened next would mark the end of the successful Las Vegas Ranch and the beginning of the era of the subdivision seen across almost all of Western America to this day. The railroad was coming, and when it arrived, Las Vegas would never be the same again. Of Tracks and Tracts At the turn of the 19th century Los Angeles and Salt Lake City were among the burgeoning metropolises of the new American West. Though the two cities remained unlinked by rail, this was about to change quickly. When it did, the Las Vegas Valley (which at the time had a non-native population of less than 30) would change as well. In 1903, officials of the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad arrived in Las Vegas, eager to secure a right-of-way for their Los Angeles–Salt Lake connection. Las Vegas would serve as a major stopover for crew rest and train repair. For all this, the railroad needed land. As mapped, the track traveled directly through Helen Stewart’s Las Vegas Ranch. Stewart sold 99.5 percent of her ranch to the railroad. The remainder she returned to the native Paiutes. In early 1905, the route between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City was completed, and train tracks bore right down the center of the Las Vegas Valley. On 15 May 1905, the railroad held a land sale — a momentous step in Las Vegas history. Standing at the depot at Main and Fremont streets, railroad officials auctioned 1200 lots they had subdivided from forty square blocks of desert scrub. Land speculators and locals alike were anxious to own a part of the newest railroad boomtown, and within an afternoon, more than 80 percent of the lots were sold. Las Vegas was no longer a small pioneer settlement. With rail service in place and forty blocks of private property, it was ready to become a real town. Businesses sprang up overnight, and wooden houses were erected to replace the tent city in which many of the early settlers had lived. One year after the auction, the population of Las Vegas had ballooned to 1500 residents, a portent of things to come for the next ninety years. Dam Good Luck From the beginning, Las Vegas was built to serve travelers. The railroad needed a way station, and Las Vegas was the place. Growth continued for ten years, and by 1915 the town had telephones, round-the-clock electricity, and a growing population — many of whom worked in the railroad repair shop. But such heady progress would soon come to a halt. The growing competition in rail transport resulted in Union Pacific buying the Los Angeles–Salt Lake line. Union Pacific then consolidated its operations, eliminating the Las Vegas repair facility. Additionally, Las Vegas had been made a part of Nevada’s new Clark County in 1909, a year when the legislature also outlawed gambling. These unfortunate circumstances threatened to relegate Las Vegas to the status of a small desert community that could no longer support its 3000 residents. But the southwest’s growing need for water, combined with Las Vegas’s fortuitous proximity to the Colorado River, would give Las Vegas a second chance to achieve prosperity. Construction on Hoover Dam (originally Boulder Dam, subsequently renamed for the president who authorized the project) began in 1931 in a canyon 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Las Vegas. Providing an influx of $165 million to the southwestern economy, Hoover Dam played a major role in preventing Las Vegas from drying up, both financially and literally. Not only did it create jobs, but it also created Lake Mead, the massive reservoir that today provides water to all of southern Nevada. More Government Help The construction of Hoover Dam did not single-handedly save Las Vegas, however. The state legislature helped as well, by legalizing gambling in 1931 and thus solidifying the future of the town, though legislators and residents could never have known this at the time. The hordes of people who attended Hoover Dam’s 1935 dedication set the city’s now-formidable public relations machine into action. They went to work on what has become one of the lengthiest citywide tourism campaigns ever attempted. It didn’t take long for the city to establish itself as a wild-West town with an “anything goes” attitude. Vices outlawed or heavily controlled elsewhere were legal here, available any hour of any day (or night). Thus originated Las Vegas’s reputation as an adult theme park. Additional catalysts for the valley’s growth came from World War II. Both the Las Vegas Aerial Gunnery School (which became Nellis Air Force Base and the Nevada Test Site) in the north, and Basic Magnesium in the nearby town of Henderson, arrived in the early 1940s as a result of America’s war effort. By 1945, the population had grown to almost 20,000, with workers and airmen moving in at a rapid pace. But this was not yet the Las Vegas of folklore. Mobsters and Rat Packers While many gambling halls opened Downtown in the 1930s and early 1940s, only two were built on the stretch of old Los Angeles Highway that ultimately became the Strip. The El Rancho Vegas (1941) was the first, followed by the Last Frontier (1943). During this period, East Coast Syndicate member Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel earned a foothold as a local casino operator. By 1945 Siegel had become one of Las Vegas’s original visionaries, planning an opulent resort on the southern end of the LA Highway. When the Flamingo opened in December 1946, it did so with Hollywood flair and the new Vegas flash. But the Mafia bosses who financed the operation were displeased with its performance; Siegel was murdered in the summer of 1947. Despite its initial failings, Siegel’s Flamingo survived him, as did mob infiltration of casinos. In fact, the Flamingo would launch over two decades of strong mob presence in Las Vegas. Freely flowing “comps” (complimentary food, drink, and entertainment) were the order of the day, with mob bosses content to provide an environment of pleasurable excess as long as the cash kept rolling in. While the mob was running the casinos, promoters were busily selling Las Vegas as a glamorous Hollywood in the desert. From the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s, Las Vegas nurtured a growing sense that it was the “Entertainment Capital of the World. ” Emerging stars, no longer content with playing small nightclubs, came to Las Vegas with dreams of making it big. Many of them did. Frank Sinatra, Wayne Newton, and Louis Prima each arrived with mediocre status and suddenly found themselves with names as big as the marquees on which they were written. The Rat Pack — originally Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. , Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, all in town to film Ocean’s 11 — landed at the Sands in January 1960 for a legendary stay. Other Hollywood stars came as well, simply because Las Vegas was the place to be. As a result, more casinos emerged along the Strip. The Thunderbird, Desert Inn, Sahara, Sands, and Riviera hotels were erected during this period, luring a curious clientele drawn by tales of all-night partying, exclusive entertainment, and cheap accommodations. There was no longer any question: when you wanted some unbridled adult fun, Las Vegas was the place to be. New Legitimacy Organized crime was soon to have a formidable adversary in its bid to control Las Vegas — corporate cash. Though Las Vegas had developed a powerful local economy, few major outside investments were made in the city, due primarily to mob infiltration and its inherent ties to illegal activities. That would change dramatically with the 1966 arrival of billionaire Howard Hughes. A legitimate businessman, Hughes was nonetheless eccentric and dramatic, a style suited to the Las Vegas ethos. True to the myth, the reclusive Hughes immediately cloistered himself in the Desert Inn’s penthouse. Several weeks later he was asked — then ordered — to vacate the room to make room for high rollers, whereupon he promptly bought the property and fired the management. Thus began Hughes’ legendary three-year, $300-million Las Vegas buying spree. When it was over, Hughes owned six casinos, an airport, and an airline, along with numerous plots of land stretching from the Strip to the mountains. Hughes’ actions would have beneficial repercussions, both immediate and lasting. Because of the new legitimacy Las Vegas acquired from Hughes’ investments, established companies such as Hilton Hotels bought into the gaming business, and their influence helped draw a line in the desert sand between legitimate operations and mob casinos, where illegal skimming of profits was rampant. That, combined with the formation of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, would signal the beginning of the end for heavy mob influence in the city. Las Vegas with a Vision As corporations moved in and the mob was slowly pushed out, a new Las Vegas emerged. The legitimization of gambling led to its increased legalization across the US. What was once a sure thing became much more competitive. Casino operators had to reassess the nature of their business. The first to really do so was Steve Wynn, a Las Vegas resident and owner of the Golden Nugget. In the mid-1980s, Wynn began plans to reinvigorate Las Vegas with a new resort. He bought several Strip properties — the Silver Slipper and Castaways among them — and demolished them to make way for a new kind of resort — Mirage —  which became an instant success. Wynn’s demolition of the existing properties started a trend that, more than any other, describes Las Vegas at the end of the 20th century: removal of old properties in exchange for the potential of new ones. This trend has led to many more demolitions, including the Dunes (replaced by Bellagio), Aladdin (the new Aladdin) and Sands (Venetian) hotels. Wynn’s casinos have also set new standards. They can no longer be just a box filled with gaming tables, restaurants, and a showroom. Excalibur, the MGM Grand, the Luxor, and New York-New York all followed Mirage’s lead during the 1990s, offering themed environments and attractions for families. As evidence of the “ever-faster” nature of the city, by the middle of the 1990s the new approach showed signs of backlash, with many visitors criticizing the mediocrity of the Las Vegas experience. The latest approach is perhaps the best of the post-mob era: the comprehensive resort. New resorts offer attractions and amenities modeled after those available in top resort cities worldwide, including luxurious spas, signature restaurants, and exclusive boutiques. Additionally, a handful of resorts — such as the South-Seas themed Mandalay Bay, the Mirage, and the new Four Seasons — are now catering exclusively to the luxury travel market. The crème de la crème of Las Vegas deluxe is Steve Wynn’s Bellagio. The world’s most expensive resort at $1.6 billion, the Bellagio’s amenities include 5-star dining, Chanel-caliber boutiques, and a world-class collection of artistic masterworks. Perhaps more important, such high-end accommodations raise the standards of expectations back to the mythology of the Rat Pack era. As it changed from mob gam bling town to corporate gaming venue, the population of Las Vegas skyrocketed. Over 20,000 additional hotel rooms have been added in a few short years, including resorts in Summerlin and Lake Las Vegas. Recent business projections for Las Vegas predict challenges; tourism revenues must increase substantially to sustain what is already built, while actual figures show visitation as steady or declining. The growth that has characterized Las Vegas for nearly a century may be facing a roadblock. Still, the future of Las Vegas is sure to be determined as much by the pioneering spirit that built the city as by anything else. With its new look and new aim, the prospects are good despite the warnings. Inevitably, some people will get burned in the process, but others will rise triumphantly from the fray to even greater successes. And that, more than anything, is the one constant that characterizes the past, present, and future of Las Vegas.