Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the world

For several decades now, the American city of Las Vegas, in Nevada, has been welcoming gamblers from all over the world. Slot machines, table games, poker, sports betting: in the middle of the desert, the City of Vice was built around casinos and has become a city out of the ordinary. In this article, Lucky7Bonus invites you to discover Las Vegas, this city of excess, a world gambling paradise.

From the origins to nowadays

It was in the middle of the 19th century that the valley of what would become the city of Las Vegas was discovered by a convoy of Mexicans in charge of opening a trade route. It was therefore a Spanish name that was given to the place: Las Vegas, "the fertile valleys". It was not until 1864 that Las Vegas and its region became part of the United States: Nevada became the 36th American state following a war with Mexico. After half a century of wandering, the city of Las Vegas was officially founded in 1905. The first casino hotel was created the following year in the Downtown district, but an anti-gambling law was soon proclaimed in the whole state of Nevada in 1910.

The development of the city accelerated in the 1930s with the construction of the Hoover Dam and the legalization of gambling. Young, single workers flocked to Las Vegas in search of jobs related to the dam: this demographic situation pushed investors into the entertainment market with the creation of casino hotels and the production of adult entertainment. Casinos sprang up on Freemont Street, and with them organized crime figures. In 1938, California banned gambling, causing another massive influx of gamblers and promoters to Las Vegas. From the 1940s onwards, the mafia became particularly present and strengthened with the creation of the Flamingo in 1946 and the emergence of the Strip establishments after the war.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, the city grew rapidly and positioned itself as the entertainment capital of the world. The mafia was gradually eradicated and all that remained was exponential growth and mass tourism, which would take hold in the decades to come. The 1990s marked the advent of mega-hotels with the creation of modern resorts such as the Mirage, the Excalibur, the MGM Grand, the Bellagio, the Venetian, the Wynn and the Encore towers up to the Aria and the Cosmopolitan at the end of the 2000s.

A tourist destination

It is a mass tourism that emerged in the 1970s. Prior to the global pandemic of COVID-19, Las Vegas attracted between 35 and 40 million tourists a year and Mac Carran International Airport was one of the busiest in the world. While travellers from all over the world come to enjoy the city, the majority of visitors come from neighbouring US states, starting with the residents of Los Angeles and California. Over the decades, the Nevada desert city has become the City of Vice, where you can play all kinds of games at any time of the day or night, party at a pool party, nightclub or strip club, be entertained by the greatest shows or even get married in a matter of minutes!

The kingdom of casinos

From the Golden Gate Hotel opened in 1906 to the brand new Circa Resort inaugurated at the end of 2020, via the army of casinos in Downtown and on the Strip, Las Vegas is without doubt the city of casinos. The city has no less than 120 casinos and one of the highest hotel capacities in the world with nearly 150,000 hotel rooms. Although the casinos on Freemont Street have long been the most popular, it is the casinos on the Strip that now receive the most visitors. It must be said that these mega-hotels are real resorts housing restaurants, shops, theatres, etc.: a mini city within the city!

Gaming establishments are the economic lifeblood of the city and more than half of Las Vegas residents work in casino hotels. There are thousands of slot machines, roulette tables, blackjack tables, poker tables, etc. In addition to permanent concerts by the world's biggest stars (Mariah Carey, Céline Dion, etc.), the international troupe Cirque du Soleil has also set up shop in several of the city's major casinos and offers fixed shows throughout the year.

The home of the WSOP

Festivals, conventions, events of all kinds, Las Vegas is also known for its huge convention centres hosting different types of events all year round. And as the gambling capital of the world, it is only logical that the world's largest poker competition, the World Series of Poker, should be held here. The WSOP began in the 1970s at Binion's Horseshoe Casino in Downtown Vegas. Over the years, the event has grown from a simple cash-game gathering to a festival of tournaments, including an annual Main Event to crown the world poker champion. Since 2005, the WSOP has been held at the Rio All Suite Hotel&Casino, and each year it breaks a record for attendance with millions of dollars paid out to players from all over the world.

The city of all excesses

What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas: that's the city's motto. It has to be said that over several decades, the city nicknamed the City of Vice has done everything to live up to its name. Firstly by the recrudescence of places intended for adults with omnipresent casinos, risqué shows and strip clubs galore. Then by the development of huge resorts combining games, attractions, shops, restaurants, bars and nightclubs in the same place. Whether it's an express wedding, a stag and hen party or a simple trip with friends, Las Vegas has become the place of all possibilities, the kingdom of entertainment where time stands still for a few days. Before returning to normal life, stripped of a few dollars.