Las Vegas: Sin City, Casino Country

Las Vegas - commonly referred as the Entertainment Capital of the World - is a name synonymous with the words casino and gambling. Here you will find the most extravagant and luxurious casino resorts which are conveniently placed right next to each other in the popular Las Vegas Strip. A number of large casinos also dots the county area around the city and in Las Vegas' downtown area itself.

Vegas (an abbreviation of Las Vegas) is also called Sin City, which is a result of the prevalence of legalized gambling, different varieties of adult entertainment and the availability of alcoholic drinks any time of the day. A lot of people consider this as a prime factor in the fact that Las Vegas is one of the leading cities in the United States who has the highest suicide and divorce rates.

Living up to its reputation as the gambling center of the US, Las Vegas is home to some of the world's most enormous casinos. Some of the more popular casinos include Four Queens, Fremont Casino, Golden Nugget and Las Vegas Club. All of these are located on downtown in a place called the Freemont Street Experience.

Downtown Las Vegas used to be the center of gambling in the city during its early years. A boom in casino construction in what is now the Las Vegas Strip, led to the decline of the gambling and tourism industry within the downtown area itself. Major efforts of redevelopment in the downtown area, such as the construction of the Freemont Street Experience, eventually led to the renewed growth of the gambling and tourism industries.

Gambling was legalized in Vegas during 1931. As a result, it became more organized and regulated. The very first gambling license was issued to the Northern Club, and this was soon followed by other licenses such as those given to the Apache Hotel and the Las Vegas Club (the very first casino to use neon lights). Construction of these casinos were all undertaken on Fremont Street which later took on the nickname Glitter Gulch. This was due to the fact that the street's electricity was supplied by the Hoover Dam.

Many people saw gambling in Las Vegas as a potential cash cow. Even those involved in organized crime wanted to join in on the gambling craze. One of the more prominent mobsters who ran a casino in Vegas was Meyer Lansky. The infamy associated with organized crime which was then gaining ground in the Vegas gambling industry did not stop people from visiting Sin City. By 1954, an estimated 8 million people were going to Vegas. This influx of visitors were churning out 200 million dollars in casinos every year.

The increase of tourists in the city was directly proportional with the increase of casinos that were constructed in Las Vegas. No less than 10 massive casinos were built in the city from 1952 to 1957. It was becoming clear that gambling does pay, and boy did it pay.

As of today, the number of casinos in Vegas are likely to increase due to ever growing popularity of gambling. There has never been a better time to visit Las Vegas, unless of course you aren't happy with how things work in Sin City.