the first modern casino resort opened in 1941 on the las vegas strip was the

In the years that followed, pioneering settlers heading West, purchased these government maps and, in turn, included “Las Vegas” as a place to camp along the way when going through this desolate region. Photo courtesy of François Dejon, Vintage Lost Vegas.įremont made note of this, and when he returned to Washington, D.C., he put it on his map of this area. During one of his five expeditions, he camped one night by a spring that the natives called “Las Vegas.”Ĭlark’s original 1905 land sale map.

One could say Las Vegas was actually the result of a chance encounter by early explorer, John Charles Fremont, who was charting the Wild West for the U.S. Las Vegas has a long and rich history of unique individuals – from an early explorer and a notorious gangster to an array of super-successful visionary entrepreneurs – that all left their mark on today’s gambling capital of the world. They are the visionaries, pioneers and modern-day success stories of those who gambled on Las Vegas itself, rather than the tables.Īmong the couple of million stories in Vegas today, here and there, are the legendary tales of the real Mega-High Rollers – those who put it all on the line and won – and these are some of them. They are catered to, pampered and showered with comps… until the money runs out. By definition, they are the ones who gamble for high stakes, spending money lavishly and often recklessly – fondly referred to in the casino world as whales.

Some arrive with hundreds or thousands of dollars in hand prepared to tempt Lady Luck with hopeful wagers. Today, an estimated 40 million people a year come to stay and play in Sin City. One could make an equally dramatic comment about Las Vegas. There was a popular black and white TV series in the late 1950’s called “Naked City.” As a semi-documentary drama about New York, each dramatic episode opened and closed with a narrator’s riveting and iconic line: “There are eight million stories in the Naked City… and this is one of them.”

The first modern casino resort opened in 1941 on the las vegas strip was the