A date in history.

The Las Vegas Centennial is upon is, in just a few short days. How this city has grown. It is absolutely amazing. From the first scout to find water here in 1829 (Rafael Rivera) to John Fremont's expedition in 1844, the natural oasis became known as Las Vegas, or the meadows, in Spanish. The city was virtually untouched by the sorrows caused by the Great Depression, what with legalized gambling, and plentiful work offered by the Union Pacific Railroad and the nearby Hoover Dam project. Las Vegas High School's first graduating class was thirty-two students, a far cry from the thousands that graduate every year presently, from over 30 high schools citywide. A mob scene (popularized by such films as Casino and Bugsy) which lasted for decades kept violent crime in check...while not an advocate of organized crime, the syndicate did much to help the city prosper. And, when once Las Vegas was once a city with no limits--no state tax, no speed limit, no gambling regulation, no wait for marriage license, no cover, and no minimum--one now must be content with no wait for a marriage license, though some casinos still employ a "no cover charge" rule. The table games of roulette, baccarat, blackjack and poker are largely unchanged, though slot machines are usually fully automated, can accept credit cards, and pay in the form of redeemable paper tickets, rather than in cash or tokens. The birth of a "family-friendly Vegas" ushered in the age of Megaresorts. These megaresorts were built either as additions to existing resorts, such as with Caesar's Palace, or on the ground of older, imploded casinos, such as the Wynn on site of the Desert Inn. Such resorts have everything: clubs, museums, arcades, cinema, dining, showrooms, theatre, concert halls, even churches...much more than a gaming floor. High-rise luxury condominium space is also something very sought-after, of late: prospective buyers are waiting in line days in advance to place their claim on million-dollar suites high above the Las Vegas Strip. There is also a rebuilding of Downtown, with the Fremont Street Experience, malls, and corporate office buildings. Downtown Las Vegas is resplendent in history: Fremont Street was the first road paved, and the first with a traffic light. The first gambling hall to recieve a gaming license, the first to install carpet and the first to install and elevator, and the first to build a highrise were all Downtown.

As much as I sometimes despise this place for being petty, cheap, lying, twisted, spiteful and vindictive...it is interesting, in a historical sense. I only with I had the means and knowledge to properly delve into it at this time.