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UK
Casino Times
> The Story Of Vegas
09 September
2005
Las Vegas History. The Story Of
Vegas (Part 1)
As
every online gambling fan knows, Vegas is the ultimate
gambling experience, the capital of world punting. As
Las
Vegas
celebrates its 100th birthday, we look at how a tiny desert
town turned into the ultimate gambling Mecca.
Putting Vegas On The
Map
With its glittering strip
and non-stop nightlife, it's now hard to believe that the
name Las Vegas means "The Meadows" in Spanish.
The city of Las Vegas was
christened in 1829 by a Santa Fe merchant called Antonio
Armijo. He was leading a party of Spaniards from Texas to
Los Angeles when he stopped for refreshment at the valley's
artesian springs. Even then, the area proved itself useful
for trade, shortening the so-called Spanish trail to Los
Angeles by providing travellers with a convenient
stopping-off point.
Mormons and
Indians
At this point, Paiute
Indians were the only people who lived in the Las Vegas
valley. In 1855, however, Brigham Young, head of the Mormon
church and founder of the Mormon colony in Utah, assigned 30
of his missionaries to build a fort in the area. This was
abandoned a few years later, however, once the Indians had
made it clear that they were less than impressed with the
missionaries' teachings.
More new settlers
eventually moved in towards the end of the 19th century. As
minerals were discovered in the area, mining and agriculture
became established, and sections of land were bought up for
the farming which would dominate the valley for the next 20
years or so.
Arrival Of The
Railway
In the 1900s, the valley's
springs, combined with the completion of the new railway
linking California with Utah, prompted the birth of Las
Vegas as a city in a desert setting. The springs were piped
into town to provide a source of fresh water, making the
town a stopping-off point for railways and wagon trains
linking Albuquerque, Los Angeles and Salt Lake
City.
The town was officially
founded in 1905, when 110 acres of land were auctioned off.
But even by the time it became an incorporated city in 1911,
Las Vegas had a population of just 800.
Initially, Las Vegas may
not have seemed like a hopeful setting for gambling. Strict
anti-gambling laws, which prohibited even tossing a coin,
were passed by the Nevada state legislature in 1910.
However, the spirit of Las Vegas was already evident in the
way that these were quickly bypassed by speakeasy gambling
operations.
Gambling & Divorce
Capital
In 1931, things changed.
Gambling became legal in the state of Nevada and six
gambling licences were issued in the city. Nevada also
introduced liberal divorce laws, which made it possible to
end a marriage provided one had been resident in the state
for six weeks. People seeking these 'quickie' divorces lived
in so-called "dude ranches", which preceded the strip's
hotels.
The valley's economy and
population continued to grow with the construction of the
Hoover Dam in 1931, and its isolated location made it an
ideal home for defence-related industries during the Second
World War. Many residents of the valley are still employed
in these industries.
It was during the 1940s
that the Las Vegas we know today began to take shape, with
developers beginning to build big hotels with casinos in
them. After the Second World War, Las Vegas's reputation as
the gambling capital of the world would really begin to get
established.
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The story of
Las Vegas, part 1: key dates
1829
Las Vegas (The Meadows) gets its name from a Santa
Fe merchant called Antonio Armijo, en route from
Texas to LA.
1855
30 Mormon missionaries build a fort in the area,
but fail to win over the local Indians to their
beliefs.
1905
Official founding of Las Vegas as a town, now
supplied with water piped in from the local springs
and part of the country's embryonic rail
network.
1911
Las Vegas is officially incorporated as a city,
population 800.
1931
Gambling becomes legal in the state of Nevada. The
first gambling licences were issued in Las Vegas,
which was now also becoming a centre for quickie
divorces.
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Las
Vegas History. The Story Of Vegas - Part
2
Las
Vegas History. The Story Of Vegas - Part 3
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