Page 104 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

LAS VEGAS  103

LAS VEGAS

Rising like a mirage out of Nevada’s beautiful southern
desert, Las Vegas is a glittering wonderland that promises
fun to all of its visitors. The city’s unique attraction is its
hotels with their fantastic architecture, re-creating such
cities as New York and Venice. At the heart of these palaces
lie the casinos, where the lure of life-changing jackpots
draws almost 43 million visitors each year.

Occupied by the Ancestral Puebloan Since the 1990s, numbers of ever more
peoples until around 1150 AD, the Las extravagant resorts have been built in
Vegas area later became the home of the city, including the impressive Bellagio,
several Native American tribes, including Venetian, and Cosmopolitan, and this
the Paiute, until Mexican traders arrived expansion shows few signs of slowing.
in the early 19th century. Mormon For those who can tear themselves
pioneers built a fort here in 1855, away from the city, the surrounding
establishing the beginnings of a country has much to offer. Lake Mead
settlement in the area, which gradually and the stunning rock formations of the
developed. Officially founded in 1905, Valley of Fire State Park provide a range
the city of Las Vegas expanded in of outdoor pleasures from horseback
the 1930s with the building of the riding to watersports.
Hoover Dam across the Colorado River, In 2006, Las Vegas was the fastest-
some 30 miles (48 km) away, and the growing city in the US, but the
legalization of gambling here in 1931. population has since stabilized at just
The influx of construction workers with over two million. Gaming and tourism
money to burn, and the electricity and remain the most successful industries –
water provided by the dam, paved the it has 12 of the 20 largest hotels in the
way for the casino-based growth that world – but it is also known for its
took place in the 1940s and 1950s. wedding chapels and entertainment.

Decorative stained-glass ceiling of Tropicana’s elegant casino
Replica Venice complete with canals and gondolas at The Venetian Resort

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