How the Dazzling Las Vegas Strip Rose Up From the Desert | History

In 1829, a group of explorers led by Spanish trader Antonio Armijo advanced west toward Alta California through the arid Mojave Desert, the ancestral lands of the Southern Paiute people. A young explorer named Rafael Rivera discovered a particularly green area full of grasslands watered by a natural spring; This exuberance soon inspired the name of the place: “The Meadows” or “Las Vegas.” Although a couple dozen Mormon missionaries arrived here in 1855 (largely failing to convert the Paiute population), the oasis remained secret until four years later, when seekers arrived in the valley. They found gold and silver, and the ensuing rush sparked a population boom, with miners arriving in droves to dig during the day before risking their new fortunes in the taverns and brothels at night.

In the early 20th century, the oasis city became a rest stop for caravans and a stop on the new railroad connecting Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. This railroad was completed in 1905 and in 1911 Las Vegas was incorporated as an American city. Although at first gambling was prohibited, clandestine casinos opened their doors. Then, in 1931, everything changed when Nevada became the first state to legalize gambling, as well as the first to offer quick divorces. From then on, the Silver State was synonymous with American excess. Around the same time, construction began on the Hoover Dam, which would provide water and power to the valley. This monumental project attracted an influx of construction workers to the city of Las Vegas, and local businessmen wasted no time in opening casinos to relieve these men of their extra money. This distinctively American mix of courage, corruption and speculation turned a dusty desert highway into the entertainment capital of the world, a 4.2-mile stretch that would eventually become known as the Las Vegas Strip.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Strip attracted shady characters from the beginning. In 1939, a police officer named Guy McAfee arrived in Las Vegas after fleeing Los Angeles under accusations of corruption. He quickly put down roots, purchasing and developing the Pair O’ Dice Club and several others. Inspired by his beloved Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, McAfee also gave the indelible name to Las Vegas’ main street. Shortly after, in 1941, the Californian businessman Thomas Hull founded the first luxury complex in the area, El Rancho Vegas, with flowered gardens and a large swimming pool. This new adult playground caught the attention of the New York mafia, who saw opportunities in both legal gambling and less legal money theft. In 1945, infamous gangster Bugsy Siegel broke into the development of the luxurious Flamingo resort, creating a model for super casinos to come. Until then, Las Vegas casinos often featured rustic, Wild West themes, but Siegel ushered in an era of unbridled opulence.

Towards the end of World War II, piano sensation Liberace pioneered the residency concept, where venues dedicate their stages exclusively to individual superstars, often for years. In his own subsequent residencies at the Copa Room at the Sands, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack helped establish the glitzy late-night revelry for which Las Vegas has become famous. Beginning in the late 1960s, Elvis Presley was a Las Vegas fixture. With musicians, magicians, comedians, blue men and white Bengal tigers 24 hours a day, the Strip became the world’s leading destination not only for unseemly gambling, but also for family entertainment.

In the 1990s, Las Vegas developers began to think even harder, and the arrival of the grand pyramid of the Luxor Hotel and Casino in 1993 began a splashy decade of international icons arriving in scaled-down sizes along the Strip. that new casinos were looking to become the next big thing. . Where else can you find the Eiffel Tower, Venetian canals, and New York skyscrapers within walking distance? However, perhaps nothing draws more attention than the spectacular cutting-edge technology of the Sphere, the largest spherical structure on the planet, which opened as a concert venue in Las Vegas last year. Such grandeur, often with a flashy twist, defines the Strip.

It’s not just the gamblers who take risks in Las Vegas. The Strip has been the extreme sports capital of the world since December 1967, when a little-known stuntman named Evel Knievel He attempted to jump over the fountains at the newly opened Caesars Palace, but fell short and crashed into several broken bones and a 29-day coma. The city is also recognized as the undisputed home of boxing since the iconic fight between George Foreman and Ron Lyle at Caesars Palace in 1976. Last November, the eyes of millions of people were fixed on the city for the inauguration. Las Vegas Grand Prix. The first Formula 1 night race in Sin City turned the area into a high-speed street circuit, with the Strip naturally taking center stage as the homestretch.

Always seductive, the Strip continues to tempt visitors with its incomparable luxuries: make a fortune in dirty money, fall in love next to the Bellagio fountains, marry Elvis or get a quick divorce. Tastes may change, but it’s the thrill of the ephemeral that makes Vegas, Vegas.

Raising the bet

An incomplete collection of some of the strangest bets in history.
By Teddy Brokaw

hard dice

Roman Emperor Nero gambled extravagantly during his 1st century AD reign. C., often in games with four dice. According to Suetonius, Nero would bet 400,000 sesterces (approximately $1.6 million today) on each point of a shot, risking losing up to 9.6 million sesterces.

king exchange

During a card game in the early 16th century, Henry VII challenged his courtier Juan de Lepe: if the Spaniard could beat his hand, he would be king of England for a day. De Lepe prevailed and throughout the kingdom he was praised by his new and very temporary subjects.

Joking

While playing cards in an English tavern in 1735, Henry and John Trotter bet the son of James and Elizabeth Leesh for a bet of four shillings. When the bet was lost, the Leeshes handed over the child, whose fate we do not know.

Jiminy Cricket!

Cricket wrestling has been a popular bet in China for more than 1,000 years. During the Song dynasty, chancellor Jia Sidao gambled so much that he was unable to prevent a Mongol invasion in 1267; the dynasty fell.

Alpha Mail

In the mid-1970s, FedEx was deeply in debt, so founder Fred Smith risked the company’s last $5,000 on a game of blackjack in Las Vegas. He won $27,000, which bought FedEx valuable time with its creditors, allowing it to grow into the $63 billion company it is today.