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That's the Story of!... That's the Glory of!... The Story Behind Sin City!

The Story Behind Sin City

* SHORT HISTORY: LAND OF OPPORTUNITIES DISCOVERED!!!... On December 1829 Rafael Rivera became the first known non-Indian to set foot in the oasis-like Las Vegas Valley. The valley is named Las Vegas, Spanish for "The Meadows."

  • 1829: Spanish explorers name springs in the desert Las Vegas — Spanish for “the meadows.”
  • 1855: Mormons make first attempt to settle Las Vegas.
  • Oct. 31, 1864: Nevada is admitted as the 36th state in the Union.

May 15, 1905: Clark auctions off 600 plots of land, establishing Las Vegas as a town.
July 1, 1909: Clark County is created.

For the next 100 years Las Vegas, the largest city in Clark County, is going to grow in a unparallel speed - through its incredible ups and downs where some of the U.S.’s most monumental moments occurred.

Las Vegas virtually was immune to economic hardships of the "Great Depression"in the 1930s. Jobs and money were prevalent because of Union Pacific Railroad development, legal gambling and construction of Hoover Dam 34 miles away in Black Canyon on the Colorado River.

* WORLD ENTERTAINMENT: Entertainment and gambling built Las Vegas' reputation as a play ground getaway of the world... From Bugsy Siegel to the Rat Pack, from its glamorous showgirls to its fantastic mega-casinos and legendary displays of dazzling neon, Las Vegas is the world’s most famous city of entertainment.

Howard Hughes: Aviator, Industrialist, Film producer/Director, Philanthropist, and one of the wealthiest people in the world.

  • Nov. 27 1966: Howard Hughes arrives in Las Vegas and takes over the top two floors of the Desert Inn.

  • March 1, 1967: Hughes buys the Desert Inn, the first in a series of hotels the billionaire would purchase.

  • Nov. 26, 1970: Howard Hughes leaves Las Vegas after becoming Nevada’s largest private employer, largest casino owner and largest property owner.

  • April 5, 1976: Howard Hughes dies, only 10 years after his arrival in Las Vegas.

Liberace: Most flamboyant American Entertainer and extraordinary Pianist.

  • Nov. 1944: Liberace makes his Las Vegas debut.

  • 1955: Liberace becomes the city's highest-paid entertainer, earning $50,000 a week.

  • April 15, 1979: Liberace opens The Liberace Museum, which displays his collection of rare pianos, cars and, of course, his bejeweled wardrobes.

  • Feb. 4, 1987: Liberace dies.

Image:Rat Pack.jpgFrank Sinatra: Made the city swing... he took the city by storm... he gave Las Vegas something equally important: an image.

  • Sept. 1951: Frank Sinatra’s first performance at the Desert Inn

  • Feb. 15, 1954: Ronald Reagan has two-week show at the Last Frontier.

  • Aug. 10, 1960: "Ocean’s Eleven," starring the Rat Pack, debuts.

  • 1960: Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford) performs for first time.

  • May 14, 1998: Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack. The next night the lights on the Strip are dimmed in his honor.

 

Elvis Presley: "The King of Rock 'n' Roll",

  • April 23, 1956: Elvis Presley performs first shows in Las Vegas at the New Frontier Hotel.

  • May 1, 1967: Elvis and Priscilla Presley marry at the Aladdin.

  • July 26, 1969: Elvis Presley starts his shows at the International, signing up for four weeks, twice a year, for $125,000 per week.

  • Dec. 2-12, 1976: Elvis performs his final engagement at the Hilton

BeatlesEartists2.jpg

  • Jan. 1939: Ria Langham divorces husband, Clark Gable, helping Las Vegas earn the title of “Divorce Capital of the World.”
  • 1963: Wayne Newton performs first show at the Flamingo.
  • Aug. 21, 1964: The Beatles perform at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
  • 1967: Siegfried & Roy debut at the Tropicana.
  • Dec. 31, 1999: Barbra Streisand’s New Year’s Eve concert at the MGM Grand becomes Vegas’ highest grossing concert ever.
* GAMBLING: Nevada was the first state to legalize casino-style gambling
  • Illegal but accepted gambling flourished until 1931.
  • Legalized gambling returned to Nevada during the Great Depression.
  • 1938: California authorities crack down on illegal gambling, causing many gamblers to move to Las Vegas.
  • March 30, 1959: Nevada creates the Gaming Commission.
* HOTEL / CASINO INDUSTRY:

Siegal By far the most celebrated of the early resorts was the Flamingo Hotel, built by mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, a member of the Meyer Lansky crime organization.

  • Dec. 26, 1946: Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel opens the Flamingo Hotel.
  • June 20, 1947: Six months later, Siegel was murdered by an unknown gunman who fired a shotgun blast as Siegel sat in the living room of the Beverly Hills, Calif., home of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill.

WORLD-FAMOUS STRIP STARTS... Starting from early 1950's Resort buildings and Casino's continued to accelerate Las Vegas unparallel explosion of glamorous, glitzy, stunning, sophisticated buildings housing world most famous Casino's, Hotels, and plenty of its classic glamour. In addition to the iconic Las Vegas entertainment staples, the destination offers a lineup of award-winning magicians, Broadway-caliber productions, world-renowned concert headliners and unique-to-Las Vegas production shows. Las Vegas is back on the map and hipper than ever.

Las Vegas came long way from the first casino-Hotel - The Last Frontier - on Oct. 30, 1942 to a $8 billion, City Center on the Strip ( most expensive private development in history )

That's the Story of!... That's the Glory of!... The Story Behind Sin City!

The Last Frontier

  
Frontier Las Vegas  

City Center

  
 

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Posted Friday May 30