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Las Vegas: profile


Only 100 years ago, this city of mythic proportion and impossible illusion was no more than a dusty railroad stop in the middle of an unforgiving desert valley. Dramatic changes occurred in the valley throughout the 20th century to create this fantasy, known today as the ‘Entertainment Capital of the World.’



Las Vegas: an isolated outpost

Initially settled in the mid 1800s, Las Vegas struggled as an isolated outpost for much of its early existence. The site was only declared a town in 1905. That year, on May 15, officials from the San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad auctioned 1,200 parcels of land mapping 40 square blocks in the desert dust. Within a year, the city’s population had grown to 1,500 brave pioneers.

Las Vegas: a landmark of the modern world

Today’s visitors are greeted by the fastest-growing, most rapidly changing city in the American West. They mingle and play among iconic landmarks of the world’s great cities. Replicas of the Eiffel Tower, the skyscrapers of Manhattan, the palaces of ancient Rome, and an Egyptian pyramid loom to entrance and entice.

Glittering moments

Las Vegas’s transformations – from a watering hole, via a gambling way-station to a desert retreat for Hollywood heavyweights, and now, to an international resort city – have all been whistle-stops on the city’s journey of evolution. This city, with its eyes always firmly on the future, is never dull, and it continues to attract tourists in their millions who want to sample the glamorous Las Vegas lifestyle, if only for a few non-stop moments.