Las Vegas Strip History

Important events that shaped the Las Vegas Strip from the discovery of Las Vegas through today.

1829 - The valley is discovered by Spanish travellers. Rafael Rivera is the first non-Native American to set foot in the Las Vegas Valley. Because of its spring water Las Vegas becomes known as a watering whole for people travelling west.
1905 - Town Of Las Vegas established. Las Vegas will later become the largest city in the United States that was established after 1900.
1909 - Clark County formed from southern part of Lincoln County. Much of what is commonly referred to as Las Vegas, including almost all of the Las Vegas Strip, is located in Clark County and not in the City of Las Vegas.
1911 - City Of Las Vegas is incorporated.
1931 - Construction begins on Hoover Dam. The importance of this event cannot be overstated. This brings money and jobs to the area during the Depression, and also provides water and electricity. It seems impossible that Las Vegas would be a major city without Hoover Dam. Also in 1931 gambling is legalized,although it had always flourished in Nevada.

1941 - The first hotel casino to be located on the Las Vegas Strip, the El Rancho Vegas opens.
1942 - The second hotel casino, the Last Frontier, opens.
1946 - The Flamingo opens.
1948 - The Thunderbird opens.

1950 - Desert Inn opens.
1952 Sahara and the Sands open.
1955 - Three hotel casinos open on the Strip little more than a month apart as the Royal Nevada, Riviera, and Dunes open. The Royal Nevada becomes a Las Vegas Strip rarity, a hotel that fails quickly. It soon becomes part of the Stardust.
1956 - Hacienda opens, over a mile from the nearest hotel on the Strip, at the south end.
1957 - Tropicana opens.
1958 - Stardust opens.
1959 - Las Vegas Convention Center opens.

1986 - Tony Spilotro, reputed mob boss in Las Vegas, found murdered in an Indiana cornfield. Organized crime's influence in Las Vegas seems to have died with him. In 1988 his cohort, Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal is banned from all Nevada casinos forever.
1989 - After a full decade in which no hotel casinos have been built, the Mirage opens. Funded by "junk" bonds, the Mirage raises the level of comfort and sophistication for the Las Vegas Strip forever, and ushers in the era of opulent hotels being built by large corporations.

1990 - Excalibur opens.
1993 - Mirage buys the Dunes and implodes it. The land on which the Dunes and its golf course sat will eventually be the home to Bellagio, Monte Carlo, New York - New York, the Cosmopolitan, and CityCenter. Also in 1993, Luxor, Treasure Island, and MGM Grand open, making 1993 arguably the most import year to date in Las Vegas Strip history.
1996 - Stratosphere Tower opens. Monte Carlo opens. The Sands closes and is later imploded. Hacienda, now owned by Circus Circus, is imploded to make way for Mandalay Bay.
1997 - New York - New York opens. Aladdin closes and is imploded the next year.
1998 - Bellagio opens. Las Vegas Convention Center expands. Hilton splits company, gaming half becomes Park Place.
1999 - MGM Grand buys Primmadonna Resorts, including New York - New York. Mandalay Bay opens. Venetian opens. Paris opens. The las Vegas Strip garners much attention on New Years Eve, and solidifies its standing as a rival to New York's Time Square as the place to be on New Years Eve.

2000 - Another historic year as MGM buys Mirage and Park Place buys Caesars World, including Caesars Palace.
2004 - Mergers become bigger, as MGM-Mirage buy Mandalay Resort Group, and Harrah's Entertainment purchases Caesars Entertainment. These two corporations now control much of the Las Vegas Strip. Also, the Las Vegas Monorail opens.
2005 - Wynn Las Vegas opens.
2007 - Stardust is imploded, making way for Echelon Place. Frontier is imploded, making way for The Plaza Hotel.
2008 - The Palazzo opens.