LAS VEGAS 100th
WORDS BY HAL MORRIS
Celebrate the century-long transformation of Las Vegas from desert into the Entertainment Capital of the World.
Looking down at the glittering Las Vegas skyline when flying into McCarran International Airport brings into view one of the wonders of the modern world: a sparkling metropolis of 1.6 million people with a centerpiece of neon-splashed, towering casinos on what was boundless, parched desert dotted with wind-blown tumbleweed just 100 years ago.
On May 15, 1905, a small group of hardy pioneers gathered in the depot of what is now the downtown area of Las Vegas, freshly connected to the world via the new Los Angeles to Salt Lake City railroad. Dusty parcels of land were auctioned, leading to the creation of a town site that soon sprouted boarding houses, shops and saloons.
Among them was Charles Pember Squires, considered the founding father of Las Vegas. He quickly established a bank, a lumber yard, a hotel and a real-estate operation. An early believer in diversification, he later set up Las Vegas’ first power company and bought a local newspaper.
No one at the time could have envisioned that the community would mushroom into the gambling mecca and Entertainment Capital of the World that it has become.
“Las Vegas has become a pop culture icon with a history so colorful and rich that it sets us apart from any city anywhere,” beams Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.
The 24-hour city estimates its “win big” lifestyle will draw 40 million visitors this year. The year-long centennial celebrations began with a giant fireworks show along the four-mile Las Vegas Strip on New Year’s Eve.
It was in 1931, when gambling was legalized in the state of Nevada, that the seeds were sewn for the Las Vegas we know and love today. Also completed in that year, the Hoover Dam brought a reliable water supply, cheap electricity and thousands of construction workers into the city, kick-starting its economy.
While many link mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and his Flamingo Hotel to the founding of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, the credit should actually go to Tommy Hull, who opened the western- themed El Rancho Vegas (on a site opposite the current Sahara), the area’s first resort hotel, in April 1941.
The two-lane road out front evolved into today’s Strip, bringing in a steady flow of patrons from Los Angeles. El Rancho consisted of a small casino, 65 guest cottages and a corral-style showroom/dining room with a dancefloor that showcased entertainers of the era. Sadly, fire destroyed the property in 1960, and it was never rebuilt.
The next Strip hotel casino was the Last (now New) Frontier, which opened in 1942 as World War II brought military training and war- linked manufacturing to the area.
When funds ran out for the Flamingo’s creator, Billy Wilkerson (a Hollywood nightclub owner and founder of the Hollywood Reporter trade paper), Siegel, bankrolled by mob friends, entered the scene. To attract the Hollywood crowd, Siegel built what he called a “carpet joint” (as opposed to a down-at-heel “sawdust joint”), modeled after plush Miami resorts.
For the four-story, 200-room hotel casino, Siegel hauled in palm trees, put in a large swimming pool along with tennis courts and riding stables, planted a giant pink neon sign by the road and sprinkled models of flamingos leading to the entrance of the hotel for the December 1946 opening. Today’s Flamingo Hilton, on the same site, boasts 3,565 rooms.
”Las Vegas has become a pop culture icon with a history so colorful and rich that it sets it apart from any city anywhere. ”
Las Vegas resort-building accelerated during the “Fabulous ’50s”, when the Desert Inn, Sahara, Riviera, Tropicana, Stardust and Sands were unveiled. Sands, where The Venetian now stands, gained fame as the showroom and playground for music legend Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack. Both the Desert Inn and Sands have since been destroyed to make way for vast new hotel casinos.
Meanwhile, hip-gyrating singer Elvis Presley made his Vegas debut in 1956 at the New Frontier. Over the years he became a major Sin City attraction. He regarded Las Vegas so highly that in 1967 he married Priscilla Beaulieu at the original Aladdin (which was destroyed in 1998). Visitors today frequently claim to spot Elvis—or at least one of his many impersonators—somewhere in town.
The next decade brought a Roman flavor to Las Vegas, with the 1966 opening of Caesars Palace. Two years later, the circus came to town (and stayed) under the big top at Circus Circus. That period also ushered in the Howard Hughes era.
Hughes moved into the upper floor of the Desert Inn in 1966. Soon after, he bought the place and then gobbled up the New Frontier across the street along with several other nearby properties. He also brought tough corporate management to a town known for eccentric, free-wheeling entrepreneurs.
The ’70s and ’80s were relatively quiet in terms of construction—if not custom. The Clark County annual gaming revenue cracked the $1 billion mark in 1977 (and currently reaches three quarters of a billion dollars a month). Visitor volume stood at 12 million in 1980, and had jumped to 18 million by 1989 when The Mirage opened.
The debut of the Excalibur and off-strip Rio in 1990 led that decade’s parade of mega-resorts. The boom year of 1993 introduced the Luxor, Treasure Island (now simply called TI) and the MGM Grand (billed as the world’s largest hotel with over 5,000 rooms and suites). The race to outdo the others continued with the debuts of the Monte Carlo and the Stratosphere Tower in 1996, New York-New York a year later and the Bellagio in 1998. Joining the Strip in 1999 were Mandalay Bay, The Venetian and Paris, complete with a scaled- down Eiffel Tower.
The new Aladdin, which opened with 2,567 rooms in 2000, is expected to be renamed Planet Hollywood after renovation under new ownership. The latest unveiling is the $2.6 billion Wynn Las Vegas, a 50-story, 2,716-room mega-resort on the site of the former Desert Inn. Its April 28 opening boosts the number of Las Vegas hotel rooms to 131,700, and is seen as the forerunner of a new wave of high-end properties.
Among its features luring visitors along the Strip are a five-story waterfall cascading down from a man-made mountain, a 2,087-seat domed showroom, 19 restaurants, a 111,000-square foot casino, an 18-hole golf course, a full-service Ferrari-Maserati car dealership and an art gallery showcasing works by Picasso, Van Gogh and others.
At 100 years young, a sprightly Las Vegas retains its glitzy, exuberant charm with constant activity and an ever-changing skyline. High-stakes fun is sure to make Vegas timeless choice for centuries to come.
Among the special events marking Las Vegas’ centennial celebration are:
APRIL
23: The International Food and Folklife Festival celebrates cultural diversity, combining entertainment and food, at Clark County Government Center, downtown Las Vegas.
MAY
7: The Centennial Fly-by Air Show features more than 100 vintage aircraft flying over the Las Vegas Strip.
10-15: Helldorado Days-Western Village recreates old Las Vegas complete with livery stable and a general store, along with daily entertainment and food vendors, staged at downtown’s Main St. Station parking lot.
14: The Return of the Helldorado Days Parade heralds the biggest parade ever held in Las Vegas, heading along downtown’s 4th St. and Fremont St.
15: Happy Birthday Las Vegas! at Main St. Station parking lot recreates the 1905 land auction that started the city. Ogle the world’s largest birthday cake—registered with the Guinness Book of World Records to break the current record—weighing in at over 130,000 pounds, served to everyone after the cake-cutting ceremony.
JUNE
9: Once Upon 100 Weddings sees 100 couples getting hitched at the same time at the Fremont Street Experience mall.
10-18: Cinevegas Film Festival-100 Years of Film features five top films that were made in Las Vegas. Screenings are at the off-Strip Palms Hotel and Casino.
JULY
2: The Centennial Birthday Bash spotlights big-name performers at what is being hailed as the biggest-ever birthday bash. (Full details and location pending.)
NOVEMBER
10-12: Aviation Nation Air Show grabs worldwide attention at nearby Nellis Air Force Base. The event, also hosted by the Department of Defense in conjunction with World of Wings, is expected to attract 500,000 visitors.