History of Las Vegas
![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
The settlement of Las Vegas, Nevada was founded in 1905 after the opening of a railroad that linked Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The stopover attracted some farmers (mostly from Utah) to the area, and fresh water was piped in to the settlement. In 1911, the town was incorporated as part of the newly founded Clark County. Urbanization took off in 1931 when work started on the Boulder Dam (now the Hoover Dam), bringing a huge influx of young male workers, for whom theaters and casinos were built, largely by the Mafia. Electricity from the dam also enabled the building of many new hotels along the Strip. The arrival of Howard Hughes in 1966 did much to offset mob influence and helped turn Las Vegas into more of a family tourist center, now classified as a Mega resort.
The name Las Vegas—Spanish for “the meadows”—was given to the area in 1829 by Rafael Rivera, a member of the Spanish explorer
Prehistory
The
At some point in the valley's early
]Evidence of prehistoric life in Las Vegas Valley has been found at the
Native American (Paiute) history
1829–1905: Origins
A trade caravan of 60 men led by the Spanish merchant Antonio Armijo was charged with establishing a trade route to Los Angeles.[3][4][5][6][7][8] By following the Pike and Smith routes through a tributary of Colorado River they came upon the Las Vegas Valley, described by Smith as the best point to re-supply before going onto California. The travelers named the area Las Vegas, which is Spanish for the meadows,[citation needed] or 'fertile plains.'[a]
In 1855, William Bringhurst led a group of 29 Mormon missionaries from Utah to the Las Vegas Valley. The missionaries built a 150 foot square (46 m) adobe fort near a creek and used flood irrigation to water their crops. However, because of tensions rising among leaders of the small Mormon community, the summer heat and difficulty growing crops, the missionaries returned to Utah in 1857, abandoning the fort. (The remains of the fort are preserved in the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park.)
For the next few years, the area remained unoccupied by Americans except for travelers and traders. Then the U.S. Army, in an attempt to deceive
The property (increased to 1,800 acres (730 ha)), stayed with the family (despite Archibald Stewart's murder in July 1884) until it was purchased in 1902 by the
1905–1929: Birth, growth and crisis
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/StJoanofArcCatholicChurch_in_Las_Vegas_founded_1910.jpg/220px-StJoanofArcCatholicChurch_in_Las_Vegas_founded_1910.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Nevada_-_Las_Vegas_-_NARA_-_23942361_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Nevada_-_Las_Vegas_-_NARA_-_23942361_%28cropped%29.jpg)
By the early 20th century, wells piped water into the town, providing both a reliable source of fresh water and the means for additional growth. The increased availability of water in the area allowed Las Vegas to become a water stop, first for wagon trains and later railroads, on the trail between Los Angeles and points east such as Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The
Clark built another railroad branching off from Las Vegas to the boom town of Bullfrog called the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad. With the revenue coming down both railways that intersected there, the area of Las Vegas was quickly growing. On May 15, 1905, Las Vegas officially was founded as a city when 110 acres (45 ha), in what later became downtown, were auctioned to ready buyers. Las Vegas was the driving force in the creation of Clark County, Nevada in 1909, and the city was incorporated in 1911 as a part of the county. The first mayor of Las Vegas was Peter Buol, who served from 1911 to 1913.
Shortly after the city's incorporation, the State of Nevada reluctantly became the last western state to outlaw gambling. This occurred at midnight, October 1, 1910, when a strict anti-gambling law became effective in Nevada. It even forbade the western custom of flipping a coin for the price of a drink. Nonetheless, Las Vegas had a diversified economy and a stable and prosperous business community, and therefore continued to grow until 1917. In that year, a combination of economic influences and the redirection of resources by the federal government in support of the war effort forced the Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad to declare bankruptcy. Although William Clark sold the remains of the company to the Union Pacific Railroad, a nationwide strike in 1922 left Las Vegas in a desperate state.
1930–1941: Hoover Dam and the first casinos
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/05/Adams_Boulder_Dam_1942.jpg/220px-Adams_Boulder_Dam_1942.jpg)
On July 3, 1930, President Herbert Hoover signed the appropriation bill for the Boulder Dam. The dam was renamed the Hoover Dam during the Truman administration. Work started on the dam in 1931 and Las Vegas' population swelled from around 5,000 citizens to 25,000, with most of the newcomers looking for a job building the dam. However, the demographic of the work force consisting of males from across the country with no attachment to the area created a market for large-scale entertainment. A combination of local Las Vegas business owners and Mafia crime lords helped develop the casinos and showgirl theaters to entertain the largely male dam construction workers.[11]
Despite the influx of known crime figures, the local business community tried to cast Las Vegas in a respectable light when the Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur visited in 1929 to inspect the dam site. However a worker was found with alcohol on his breath (this was during the time of Prohibition) after a visit to Block 16 in Las Vegas. The government ultimately decided that a federally controlled town, Boulder City, would be erected for the dam workers.
Realizing that gambling would be profitable for local business, the Nevada state legislature legalized gambling at the local level in 1931. Las Vegas, with a small but already well-established illegal gambling industry, was poised to begin its rise as the gaming capital of the world. The county issued the first gambling license in 1931 to the
In reply, the federal government restricted movement of the dam workers to Las Vegas. Smuggling and circuitous routes then were developed. In 1934, to curtail these activities and the resulting growth of criminal figures in the gambling industry, the city's leading figures purged gambling dens and started an effort to stem the flow of workers from the dam. This only emboldened some dam workers who still contrived to visit Las Vegas. A celebration of this era has become known as Helldorado Days.[13]
Although the suppression efforts resulted in declines at gambling venues and resulted in a business downturn, the city was recharged—both literally and figuratively—when the dam was completed in 1935. In 1937,
In 1940,
1941–1945: War years
On January 25, 1941, the U.S. Army established a
On April 3, 1941, hotel owner Thomas Hull opened the
Although ethnic organized crime figures had been involved in some of the operations at the hotels, the Mafia bosses never owned or controlled the hotels and clubs that remained monopolized by hard-bitten local Las Vegas families unwilling to cede ground to the crime bosses and proved strong enough to push back. This changed in post-war Las Vegas when gangster Bugsy Siegel, with help from friend and fellow mob boss Meyer Lansky, poured money through locally owned banks for cover of legitimacy and built The Flamingo in 1946. Siegel modeled his enterprises on the long-running gambling empire in Galveston, Texas, which had pioneered the high-class casino concepts that became mainstays on the Strip.[16]
1946–1955: Postwar boom
Casinos backers get funding
The Flamingo initially lost money and
Even with the general knowledge that some of the owners of these casino resorts had dubious backgrounds, by 1954, over 8 million people were visiting Las Vegas yearly pumping $200 million into casinos. Gambling was no longer the only attraction; the biggest stars of films and music like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Andy Williams, Liberace, Bing Crosby, Carol Channing, and others performed in intimate settings. After coming to see these stars, the tourists would resume gambling, and then eat at the gourmet buffets that have become a staple of the casino industry.[citation needed]
On November 15, 1950, the
The hearing concluded that money from organized crime incontrovertibly was tied to the Las Vegas casinos and was becoming the controlling interest in the city, earning the organized crime groups vast amounts of income, strengthening their influence in the country. This led to a proposal by the Senate to institute federal gambling control. Nevada's Senator Pat McCarran was instrumental in defeating the measure in committee.[citation needed]
Along with their connections in Hollywood and New York City, these interests in Las Vegas were able to use publicity provided by these media capitals to steer the rapid growth of tourism into Las Vegas, thereby dooming Galveston, Texas; Hot Springs, Arkansas; and other illegal gaming centers around the nation.[21] Nevada's legal gaming as well as the paradoxical increased scrutiny by local and federal law enforcement in these other locales during the 1950s made their demise inevitable.
Atomic testing
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/Atomic_test_seen_from_Las_Vegas.jpg/220px-Atomic_test_seen_from_Las_Vegas.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Exercise_Desert_Rock_I_%28Buster-Jangle_Dog%29_002.jpg/220px-Exercise_Desert_Rock_I_%28Buster-Jangle_Dog%29_002.jpg)
While the Strip was booming, bombs were too. On January 27, 1951 the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission detonated the first of over a hundred atmospheric explosions at the Nevada Test Site. Despite the dangers and risks of radiation exposure from the fallout, which were greatly underestimated at the time, Las Vegas advertised the explosions as another tourist attraction[22][page needed][23] and offered Atomic Cocktails in the Sky Room restaurant at the Desert Inn that provided the highest view of the mushroom clouds. During this time, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce successfully pushed for Vegas to become nicknamed the Atomic City.[24] Several Miss Atomic pageants were held to help display the city's modernity and to continue spinning messages on the nearby testing to tourists.
The influx of government employees for the Atomic Energy Commission and from the Mormon-controlled Bank of Las Vegas spearheaded by
These atmospheric tests would continue until enactment of the
1956–1969: The beginning of modern Las Vegas
Howard Hughes
In 1966, Howard Hughes, the eccentric hero of the American aviation industry, and noted American entrepreneurial financier with vast connections to long established networks in the country, moved to Las Vegas. Initially staying in the Desert Inn, he refused to vacate his room and instead decided to purchase the entire hotel. Hughes extended his financial empire to include Las Vegas real estate, hotels and media outlets, spending an estimated $300 million and using his considerable powers to take over many of the well-known hotels, especially the venues connected with organized crime, and he quickly became one of the more powerful men in Las Vegas. He was instrumental in changing the image of Las Vegas from its Wild West roots toward a cosmopolitan city.[citation needed]
Hank Greenspun
The local newspaper Las Vegas Sun and its editor Hank Greenspun led a crusade in those days to expose all the criminal ties, activities, and government corruption in Las Vegas. His investigative reporting and editorials led to the exposure of Clark County Sheriff Glen Jones' ownership of a brothel and the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Clifford A. Jones as the state's national committeeman for the Democratic Party. Before his death in 1989, Hank Greenspun founded The Greenspun Corporation to manage his family's assets, and it remains a major influence in Las Vegas, with media holdings in print, television and the Internet; substantial real estate holdings; and ownership stakes in a number of casinos.[citation needed]
Local government
One problem for the City of Las Vegas was that the Strip did not reside in Las Vegas. Because of this, the city lost tax revenue. There was a push to annex the Strip by the City of Las Vegas, but The Syndicate used the Clark County Commissioners to pull a legal maneuver by organizing the Las Vegas Strip properties into an unincorporated township named Paradise. Under Nevada Law, an incorporated town, Las Vegas, cannot annex an unincorporated township. To this day, virtually all of the Strip remains outside the City of Las Vegas.[citation needed]
Desegregation
Much like in other American settled counties and towns throughout the United States, entertainment venues were segregated between black- and white-owned businesses. With almost all of the businesses owned and operated by whites,
Organized crime-owned businesses saw an opportunity in not dividing their clientele by race, and despite property deeds and city and county codes barring such activities, made several attempts at
Many sources have credited Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack as a significant driving force behind desegregation in the casinos.[25][page needed] One famous story tells of Sinatra's refusal to perform at the Sands Hotel unless the hotel provided Sammy Davis Jr. with a room.[26] The famed performing group made similar demands at other venues, forcing owners to amend their policies over time.[27]
However, it took political action for racial desegregation to occur. In 1960, the NAACP threatened a protest of the city's casinos for their policies. A meeting among the
Aside from seeing no business advantage to excluding non-white customers from casinos and clubs, the organized crime groups were composed of people of ethnicities (Jewish and Italian) that faced discrimination from
Another big force for equality was Mayor
Local legislation kept up with the national legislation, and integration was finally established. The only violence came as a result of school integration, with violent riots and fights occurring in Clark High School when black gangs and youths began attacking the whites. Integration sparked white flight from the school district from 1965 to 1971.[citation needed]
1970–1988: Explosive growth
On a percentage basis, Las Vegas and Clark County experienced incredibly high growth rates starting in the 1930s and lasting until the
During this period of time, American author and journalist
On November 21, 1980, the
1989–2007: The megaresort era
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Las_Vegas_89.jpg/300px-Las_Vegas_89.jpg)
The "Mafia/Rat Pack" Las Vegas of the mid-20th century came to a gradual end in the 1980s with the aging out of the World War II generation, the decline of organized crime elements, and the rise of baby boomer entrepreneurs who began a new chapter in the city's history, the so-called
- 1990: Rio and Excalibur
- 1993: MGM Grand, Treasure Island, and Luxor,
- 1996: Monte Carlo
- 1997: New York-New York
- 1998: Bellagio
- 1999: Venetian, and Paris
- 2000: Planet Hollywood(Formerly Aladdin)
- 2001: Palms
- 2005: Wynn Resorts Limitedopened its new flagship, the constructed at a cost of US$2.7 billion.)
The Helldorado Days festival was resumed in 2005 for the City of Las Vegas' centennial celebration.[13]
Since 2007: Downturn and recovery
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2024) |
The home
Nevertheless, new landmark hotels and resorts were still to rise, including:
- 2007: Palazzo
- 2008: Encore
- 2009: CityCenter (now Aria Campus)
- 2010: The Cosmopolitan
- 2014: The Linq
- 2016: Ahern Hotel
- 2020: Circa Resort & Casino
- 2021: Resorts World Las Vegas
- 2021: Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
- 2023: Fontainebleau
In the 2010s, multiple analysts agreed that the Las Vegas economy was recovering, with improving conditions in tourism and the housing market for 2013.[32][33] Prices are rising and there has been a large increase in the million dollar home market, with many new custom homes being built. January 2013 marked the 19th consecutive month with home sales higher than the same month in the previous year.[34] In addition, Las Vegas was named America's Top Turn Around Market for 2012 by Trulia.[35]
In the wake of a 2002 drought,
During the late evening of October 1, 2017, Las Vegas became the scene of the deadliest mass shooting committed by a single gunman in the history of the United States. A gunman opened fire on Route 91 Harvest festival-goers from the Mandalay Bay resort, killing 60 and injuring 867.[37][38][39][40]
The Alpine Motel Apartments fire occurred in downtown Las Vegas in December 2019, killing six people. It is the deadliest fire to occur in city limits.[41][42]
In 2019,
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/New_York_New_York_-_2020-05-24.jpg/220px-New_York_New_York_-_2020-05-24.jpg)
The COVID-19 pandemic reached the city in March 2020, having various effects such as business closures. Mass cancellation of events and festivals ensued.[44]
Las Vegas continues to evolve and be reshaped by new construction, with the city opening more largely high-end retail areas. Tourists from around the world continue to flock to the gambling capital. Buildings erected during the 2020s include Area15, Circa and Resorts World, all of which are unique to Las Vegas. It will continue the urban sprawl of Las Vegas and its county.[citation needed]
On April 2, 2024, Tropicana Las Vegas closed after 67 years of operation. It is set to be demolished and replaced by New Las Vegas Stadium which will be the home of the Oakland Athletics after they relocate to Las Vegas. [46]
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Springer, Kathleen B.; Pigati, Jeffrey S. (Spring 2019). "Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument – a Pleistocene treasure trove". Park Paleontology News. 11 (1).
- ^ Moehring & Green 2005, p. 2.
- ^ "History of Las Vegas". LVOL. 27 December 2021.
- ^ McCracken 1997, p. 7.
- ^ Lake, Richard (December 17, 2008). "Road Warrior Q&A: Foliage removed for widening". Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
- ^ Land & Land 2004, p. 4.
- ^ Ponce, Victor M. "Las Vegas, how did Las Vegas get its name, groundwater depletion, Victor Miguel Ponce". ponce.sdsu.edu. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ "Clark County, NV – FAQs/History". Retrieved December 4, 2008.
- ^ Calvert 1958, p. 262.
- ^ Chung 2005, p. 36.
- ^ "Las Vegas Made Safe". Time. June 1, 1931. Archived from the original on December 15, 2008.
- ^ "Fremont Street History". Retrieved 9 December 2008.
- ^ a b Koch, Ed (2005-01-08). "A history of change". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
- ^ Koch, Ed; Manning, Mary; Toplikar, Dave (May 15, 2008). "Showtime: How Sin City evolved into 'The Entertainment Capital of the World'". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- ^ "Las Vegas: An Unconventional History". American Experience. Retrieved 2007-06-07.
- ^ Collins 2002, p. 294.
- ^ "Las Vegas Strip: The First Boom | ONE". Nevada Online. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ German, Jeff (March 9, 2014). "From Siegel to Spilotro, Mafia influenced gambling, regulation in Las Vegas". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
- ^ "Mob Museum promoted on 60th anniversary of Kefauver hearing". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "On This Day in 1950: Kefauver Committee Hearings held in Las Vegas | Free day for locals, buy-one-get-one for non-locals today". The Mob Museum. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Marshall 2007, pp. 217–218
Waldron 2006, p. 294
Dombrink & Thompson 1990, pp. 138–139 - ^ Denton & Morris 2002.
- ^ Bliss, Laura (8 August 2014). "Atomic tests were a tourist draw in 1950s Las Vegas". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ "Who Are You Miss Atomic Bomb". Popular Mechanics. 26 April 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
- ^ Davis 1980.
- ^ "Sammy Davis Jr". Nevada Humanities.
- ^ "The Best Bet: Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas". Frank Sinatra Enterprises. Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
- ^ "City of Las Vegas History". Archived from the original on 2005-07-27. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- ^ "Vegas Building Boom Goes Bust". Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- ^ "Downturn douses Nevada's population-growth streak". USA Today. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- ^ Benston, Liz (5 April 2010). "Empty lots hurt nearby casinos on the Strip's north end". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ Banning, Doresa (March 1, 2013). "Housing Market: Honing in on Homes". Nevada Business.
- ^ Green, Steve (March 19, 2012). "Moody's analysts: 'The Las Vegas recovery is under way' - VEGAS INC". Las Vegas Sun.
- ^ Brennan, Brian (February 18, 2013). "High-End Home Market Improving - 8 News NOW". Archived from the original on 2013-03-25. Retrieved 2013-04-16.
- ^ Trulia (January 3, 2013). "2012's Top Turnaround Housing Markets: Las Vegas and Seattle". Forbes.
- ^ Madison Park (20 June 2017). "How hot is it in the West? Let us count the ways". CNN.
- ^ "At least 59 killed in Las Vegas shooting rampage, more than 500 others injured". Washington Post.
- ^ Torres-Cortez, Ricardo (January 19, 2018). "Sheriff: Person of interest part of Strip shooting probe; Paddock had child porn". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ Lacanlale, Rio (August 24, 2020). "California woman declared 59th victim of 2017 massacre in Las Vegas". The Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Lacanlale, Rio (September 17, 2020). "Las Vegas woman becomes 60th victim of October 2017 mass shooting". The Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ McCurdy, Christen (December 21, 2019). "Las Vegas apartment fire kills 6, injures 13, displaces more than 30". UPI. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ^ Hauck, Grace (December 21, 2019). "6 dead and 13 injured in Las Vegas apartment fire, the 'worst' blaze officials have ever seen". USA Today. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
- ^ Bliss, Laura. "Elon Musk's $49 Million Las Vegas Loop Makes Perfect Sense — for Las Vegas". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
- ^ "Las Vegas coronavirus impact, closings and cancellations". 5 March 2020.
- ^ "How the Las Vegas Strip will Look Different in 2020". Thrillist. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
- ^ https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/indy-gaming-saying-farewell-to-one-of-the-strips-last-rat-pack-era-resorts
Works cited
- Calvert, G.H. (1958). Handy Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary. David McKay Publications.
- Chung, Su Kim (2005). Las Vegas Then and Now. San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press. p. 36. ISBN 1-59223-734-7.
- Collins, Marion (2002). Without a Trace: Inside the Robert Durst Case. Macmillan. p. 294. ISBN 9781466820012.
- Davis, Sammy (1980). Hollywood in a Suitcase. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-0-246-11099-2.
- Denton, Sally; Morris, Roger (7 May 2002). The Money and the Power. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-375-41444-2.
- Land, Barbara; Land, Myrick (March 2004). A Short History of Las Vegas. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 978-0-87417-564-6.
- Marshall, Utley Robert (2007). Lone Star Lawmen. Oxford. pp. 217–218. ISBN 9780198035169.
- McCracken, Robert D. (1997). Las Vegas: The Great American Playground. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 978-0-87417-301-7.
- Moehring, Eugene P.; Green, Michael S. (16 March 2005). Las Vegas: A Centennial History. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 978-0-87417-647-6.
- Waldron, Lamar (17 October 2006). Ultimate Sacrifice: John and Robert Kennedy, the Plan for a Coup in Cuba, and the Murder of JFK. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0-7867-1832-0.
- Dombrink, John; Thompson, William Norman (1990). The Last Resort: Success and Failure in Campaigns for Casinos. University of Nevada Press. ISBN 978-0-87417-140-2.
General references
- Ainlay, Thomas; Gabaldon, Judy Dixon (2003). Las Vegas: The Fabulous First Century. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-2416-0.
- Paher, Stanley W. (1971). Las Vegas: as it Began--as it Grew. Nevada Publications. ISBN 978-0-913814-01-7.
Further reading
![]() | This 'further reading' section may need cleanup. (March 2024) |
- Bégout, Bruce. Zeropolis: the experience of Las Vegas (Reaktion Books, 2003).
- Bernhard, Bo J., Michael S. Green, and Anthony F. Lucas. "From maverick to mafia to MBA: Gaming industry leadership in Las Vegas from 1931 through 2007." Cornell Hospitality Quarterly 49.2 (2008): 177-190. online
- Brigham, Jay. "Reno, Las Vegas, and the Strip: A Tale of Three Cities." Western Historical Quarterly 46.4 (2015): 529–530.
- Bybee, Shannon. "History, development, and legislation of Las Vegas casino gaming." in Legalized Casino Gaming in the United States (Routledge, 2014) pp. 3-24.
- Culver, Lawrence. "Sin City or Suburban Crucible? Searching for Meanings in the New Las Vegas" Journal of Urban History 35.7 (2009): 1052-1058; historiography.
- Douglass, William A., and Pauliina Raento. "The tradition of invention: conceiving Las Vegas." Annals of Tourism Research 31.1 (2004): 7-23. online
- Foster, Jonathan. Stigma Cities: The Reputation and History of Birmingham, San Francisco, and Las Vegas (University of Oklahoma Press, 2018) online.
- Goodwin, Joanne L. "Mojave mirages: gender and performance in Las Vegas." Women's History Review 11.1 (2002): 115-132.
- Gragg, Larry D. Becoming America's Playground: Las Vegas in the 1950s (University of Oklahoma Press, 2019).
- Jones, Karen. "The Old West in Modern Splendor: Frontier folklore and the selling of Las Vegas." European Journal of American Culture 29.2 (2010): 93-110.
- Luke, Timothy W. "Gaming space: casinopolitan globalism from Las Vegas to Macau." in Global Ideologies and Urban Landscapes (Routledge, 2013) pp. 77-87.
- Moehring, Eugene P. Resort City in the Sunbelt: Las Vegas, 1930–2000 (2000).
- Moehring, Eugene P., and Michael S. Green. Las Vegas: A centennial history (University of Nevada Press, 2005).
- Moehring, Eugene, "The Urban Impact: Towns and Cities in Nevada's History," Nevada Historical Society Quarterly 57 (2014): 177–200.
- Papa, Paul W. It Happened in Las Vegas: Remarkable Events that Shaped History (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009).
- Rowley, Rex J. Everyday Las Vegas: Local Life in a Tourist Town (2013)
- Scriven, Michael. "The philosophical foundations of Las Vegas." Journal of gambling studies 11.1 (1995): 61-75.
- Simich, Jerry L., and Thomas C. Wright, eds. The peoples of Las Vegas: One city, many faces (University of Nevada Press, 2005).
- Stierli, Martino. Las Vegas in the Rearview Mirror: The City in Theory, Photography, and Film, Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2013), ISBN 978-1-60606-137-4
- Thompson, Hunter S. Fear and loathing in Las Vegas: A savage journey to the heart of the American dream (Vintage, 1998) online.
- Venturi, Robert. ISBN 978-0-26272-006-9
- Weaver, David B. "Contemporary tourism heritage as heritage tourism: Evidence from Las Vegas and Gold Coast." Annals of tourism research 38.1 (2011): 249-267. compares to Australia.
- Zoglin, Richard. Elvis in Vegas: How the King Reinvented the Las Vegas Show (Simon & Schuster, 2020).
- Zook, Lynn M., Allen Sandquist, and Carey Burke. Las Vegas, 1905-1965 (Arcadia Publishing, 2009).