The History Of Las Vegas Casinos
The History Of Las Vegas Casinos
Blog Article
Today, Las Vegas is a mass of gigantic resort complexes and blinding lights. As the spiritual capital of casino gambling, this is to be expected.
After all, it is this very same industry that transformed this once sleepy town into a bustling city with a population of nearly three million people.
Ever since the first Las Vegas casino opened back in 1906 the city has seen not only growth, but also a never-ending process of evolution that has caused many famous casinos to come and go.
And while most have long been destroyed, their legacy continues to shape Sin City today.
Las Vegas was first founded in May 1905, when 110 acres of land was sold by the Los Angeles and Salt Lake railroad company.
It only took a year for the very first casino to open, Golden Gate, a hotel-casino which was located at 1 Fremont Street.
Back in these early days you could get both room and board for a single dollar.
Las Vegas, which was still just a railroad town at this time, voted to become incorporated on June 1, 1911.
For 20 years Las Vegas remained a relatively quiet place. But then, in 1931, two things kickstarted its transformation into the busy city we all know today.
First among these were changes to the area’s divorce laws. This meant that anyone who had been a resident of Las Vegas for six weeks could file for divorce, which led to many “divorce tourists” visiting the city.
1931 also saw the construction of the Hoover Dam beginning 온라인카지노사이트 just east of Las Vegas.
This attracted thousands of workers to the city and led to casinos and other entertainment venues opening along the length of Fremont Street.
Many of these establishments, such as Northern Club, were known for illegally selling alcohol during the Prohibition Era, as well as offering gambling.
Fortunately, the ban on gambling was lifted in 1931 and Northern Club was the very first establishment in Las Vegas to receive a gambling license in March of that year.
After the end of Prohibition in 1933, both alcohol and gambling began to bring big money into Las Vegas. Aware of this fact, The Mob began to establish themselves in the city at the beginning of the 40s.
By 1941, infamous mobster Bugsy Siegel was operating the Northern Club.
By the 1940s casinos had been operating both legally and illegally in Las Vegas for decades, most notably on Fremont Street.
However, it was only in 1941 that the iconic Las Vegas Strip was born.
The very first casino built on the Strip, which was just outside the city’s jurisdiction, was El Rancho Vegas, opened by Thomas Hull.
The casino part of the development was seen as an afterthought on this project, Hull’s focus being mainly to provide a motel for tired drivers.