Las Vegas is one of the most dynamic cities in the world. Known as “the entertainment capital of the world” and “the gaming capital of the world”, it is also a booming business community with a population that is expected to exceed two million by 2010. It is estimated that more than 5,000 people move to Las Vegas each month, making it one of the fastest growing cities in the country.
Las Vegas, Spanish for "the meadows," or "the Grasslands" is so much more than the glitter and lights it’s well known for. With an average of 320 days of sunshine a year, a progressive business environment , a multitude of jobs, world-class dining and shopping, fine art museums and galleries, more than 50 verdant golf courses, excellent tennis, rock climbing, and hiking, and even unforgettable white water rafting, Las Vegas is also a great place to raise a family, work, and relax!
Location and Geography
Las Vegas (often referred to simply as “Vegas”) is located at the southern tip of Nevada in the Great Basin, the western region between the Sierra Nevada and the Wasatch mountain ranges. The Spring Mountains lie to the west.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 131.3 square miles. The city is surrounded by mountains and a good deal of the landscape is rocky, with many beautiful trees, lush greenery, and lawns within the city proper.
Brief History
Las Vegas was discovered by Spanish explorers in 1829, having been home to Native Americans for thousands of years before. In 1855, the first settlement was established in Las Vegas by Mormon missionaries. In 1865, the first settlers moved into the area to stay. The great Las Vegas officially became a city in the year 1911.
In the early 20th century, as literally thousands of visitors came to the area to watch the building of Hoover Dam, the tourism industry began for real. Legalized casino gambling started in 1931, and the El Rancho Vegas was the first resort to open on what was to become the famous Las Vegas Strip.
After World War II, the gaming industry began to prosper and the city witnessed its steady growth into the 1980s. With the opening of the Mirage Resort in 1989, growth of resort properties on The Strip began to soar. Today, the Las Vegas Strip abounds in luxury mega-resorts, and there is no end to this growth in sight!
Local Economy
In Las Vegas, jobs are abundant, thanks to its booming economy.
Residents in Nevada enjoy tax advantages not often shared by residents in other states. These help to keep the cost of living down in the city. Corporate entities located in Nevada enjoy their own tax advantages as well. Here is a brief summary.
INDIVIDUALS
NO state income tax
NO state inheritance tax
NO state gift tax
NO state estate tax
CORPORATIONS
NO corporate state income tax
No state franchise tax on income
No state capital venues tax
No state inventory tax
No state unitary tax
In addition to the huge gaming and hospitality industry in Las Vegas, the city has a high concentration of technology companies in electronic gaming and telecommunications. Some of the technology companies that are presently in southern Nevada are Zappos, Bigelow Aerospace, Switch Communications, Datanamics, NAHETS, Petroglyph, Skywire, MediaWorld, and DocComm. Many technology companies are being created in Las Vegas or are being relocated to this ever-growing area.
Weather
Known as one of the sunniest cities in the U.S, with low humidity and an average year-round temperature of 80 degrees, Las Vegas is a great place to live four seasons a year!
In the winter, the average high during the day is between 50 and 60 degrees and it rarely drops below freezing, although it may fall as low as 33 degrees in the early mornings. At night, the lows are around 40 degrees. Although winter snow is usually visible from December to May on the mountain ranges that surround the city, it rarely snows in the city itself.
In the months of May, June, and September, the temperature is often 90 degrees F or more. In the summer months of July and August, while temperatures can often reach or exceed 100 degrees, the very low humidity makes these summer days comfortable and makes sailing, swimming, and water skiing most enjoyable.
The Las Vegas Strip
Word has it that “The Strip” was named by a police officer after his hometown's Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Also known as The Boulevard to local residents, The Strip is often what people mean when they say they are going to Las Vegas.
Many of the largest resort and casino properties in the world are located on The Strip, which consists of 4 miles of Las Vegas Boulevard South, from the Stratosphere at the northern end to Mandalay Bay on the southern end. McCarran Airport is also located at the southern end. Of the 4 miles, almost 3.5 miles are located in the township of Paradise, Nevada. Very little of the Las Vegas Strip is actually within Las Vegas city limits.
The first casino to be built on what is today's Strip was El Rancho Vegas, which opened on April 3, 1941 and was destroyed by fire in 1960. In 1989, with the opening of The Mirage, smaller casinos and hotels made way for grand mega-resorts that offered gambling as well as fine dining, entertainment, and lodging.
The Strip is also home to attractions like M&M World, Adventure dome, the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, the Fashion Show Mall, among others, as well as being a popular spot to celebrate New Year's Eve with one’s family and friends.
The Fremont Street Experience
The Fremont Street Experience is a pedestrian mall and major tourist attraction in downtown Fremont Street, Las Vegas. A barrel vault canopy, 90 feet high at the peak, covers four blocks, or approximately 1,500 feet. The underside of the canopy is covered with an LED display (referred to as "Viva Vision"), programmed to show sound-and-light presentations after dark. And while Las Vegas is known for never turning off casino lights, each show in this Experience begins by turning off outside lights on all buildings and casinos under the canopy!
Gambling
The Las Vegas Strip is home to the most famous of the Las Vegas casinos. There are many casinos in the city's downtown area as well, and several large casinos are located in the county around the city. In the Las Vegas metro area, gambling opportunities are found everywhere—even in small supermarkets!
Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip
Aztec Inn Casino and Hotel
Bally's
Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon
Bellagio
Casino Royale
Caesars Palace
Circus Circus
Excalibur
Four Seasons
Flamingo
Harrah's
Hooters Casino Hotel (Formerly the San Remo)
Imperial Palace
Las Vegas Hilton
Luxor
Mandalay Bay
MGM Grand
The Mirage
Monte Carlo
New Frontier Hotel and Casino
New York-New York
O'Shea's
Planet Hollywood
Paris
Sahara
Slots-A-Fun
Stratosphere
The Hotel
Treasure Island
Tropicana
Venetian
Westward Ho (closed 2006)
Wynn Las Vegas
Casinos in Downtown Las Vegas
Binion's Horseshoe
California Hotel and Casino
El Cortez
Fitzgeralds Las Vegas
Four Queens
Fremont Hotel and Casino
Gold Spike
Golden Gate Casino
Golden Nugget Las Vegas
Lady Luck Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas Club
Main Street Station Hotel and Casino and Brewery
Mermaids Casino
Plaza Hotel & Casino
The Western
Casinos in Clark County
Arizona Charlie's Boulder
Arizona Charlie's Decatur
Boulder Station
The Cannery
Ellis Island Casino & Brewery
Gold Coast (Strip Vicinity)
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Klondike Hotel & Casino (closed 2006)
Nevada Palace Hotel & Casino
The Orleans Hotel and Casino
Palace Station
The Palms (Strip Vicinity)
Rampart Casino (Summerliin)
Red Rock Resort Spa and Casino (Summerlin)
Rio (Strip Vicinity)
Sam's Town Hotel and Gambling Hall
Silverton
Suncoast
South Point
Terrible's Hotel Casino
Tuscany Hotel and Casino
Westin Causarina Las Vegas Hotel, Casino & Spa
Wildfire Casino
Wild Wild West
Points of Interest
Lake Mead National Recreation Area is the largest man-made lake in the world, extending 110 miles up from Hoover Dam. The area is about 1.5 million acres, and it attracts over 8 million visitors a year for boating, fishing, swimming, and camping.
Hoover Dam, located 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas on U.S. 93, was built in the 1930s. It turned the waters of the Colorado River into the still waters of Lake Mead. Go on a guided tour any day of the year!
Mount Charleston is located 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas, among 300,000 acres of forestland in the Las Vegas Ranger District. Here you will find 52 miles of hiking trails, 160 picnic spots, and 150 campsites, horseback riding, and skiing.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area provides incredible hiking and rock climbing opportunities—some of the best climbing in America. Red Rock Canyon is located on the western edge of the Las Vegas city limits, and because of the area’s great weather, climbing is possible year around. Beautiful rock formations and scenery attract thousands of bicycle enthusiasts to the 13-mile loop road that winds along the western border of the Las Vegas Valley. The area is home to the historic Spring Mountain Ranch, a 520-acre oasis. There is also a scenic drive through Red Rock canyon, which takes about 30 minutes to complete.
Valley of Fire State Park is a 56,000-acre wilderness area that features extraordinary rock formations and Native American petroglyphs. A great place to camp.
Death Valley National Park, the lowest elevation point in the Western Hemisphere, offers breathtaking landscapes.
Golf
Blue skies, scenic mountain views, hardly any rainfall, and over 50 golf courses to choose from make Las Vegas the ideal spot for a great game of golf! In addition, world celebrities such as Nicklaus, Palmer, Casper, Rodriguez, Miller, and Zoeller have all designed courses for Las Vegas. Angel Park Golf Club, hailed as the “world’s most complete golf experience,” has two courses designed by Arnold Palmer and exquisite views of Red Rock Canyon and the entire Las Vegas Valley. The Badlands Golf Club has courses designed by Chi Chi Rodriguez and Johnny Miller. Two of these courses have been described as being some of the most difficult in Las Vegas. Another fine club is the Silverstone Golf Club, located on the extreme northwest side of Las Vegas. Here, a special 28th hole can decide bets. Silverstone is also the site of the only Golf Digest School in Nevada, and it hosted the National Public Links Qualifying Tournament. Some other Las Vegas golf best bets to check out:
Bali Hai Golf Course
Canyon Gate Country Club
Citation at Stallion Mountain Country Club
Desert Pines Golf Course
Desert Rose Golf Course
Eagle Crest Golf Club
Highland Falls Golf Club
Las Vegas Country Club
Las Vegas Golf Club
Las Vegas National Golf Club
Las Vegas Paiute Resort Sun Mountain & Snow Mountain Courses
Los Prados Golf Course
Man O' War at Stallion Mountain Country Club
Painted Desert Golf Club
Red Rock Country Club
Rhodes Ranch Golf Club
Royal Links Golf Club
Secretariat at Stallion Mountain Country Club
Shadow Creek Golf Club
Siena Golf Club
Southern Highlands Golf Club
Spanish Trail Country Club
Sunrise Vista Golf Club
TPC at Summerlin
TPC at the Canyons
For Kids
Yes, the Entertainment Capital of the World even has a museum for children! The Lied Children's Discovery Museum is a great place for your young ones, with two floors full of activities to hold their attention for hours. There are a hundred hands-on exhibits about science, the arts, and the humanities that teach them as well as entertain them. There’s an everyday living section, a science tower, a weather station, and Desert Discovery—an exciting exhibit for your toddlers!
The Las Vegas Natural History Museum has five different galleries: Dinosaurs and Fossils, Marine Life, Africa Exhibit, Nevada Wildlife, and World Wildlife. There is also a "Hand's-On" Discovery Room with interactive displays and live tarantulas, turtles, snakes, and scorpions. This museum is great for children of any age.
Siegfried and Roy Dolphin Encounter and Secret Garden at the Mirage Hotel and Casino are much-loved spots. At the Dolphin Encounter you can see bottle-nosed dolphins interacting with their trainers. There is also a viewing area that gives you a great way to watch the dolphins underwater.
At the Secret Garden you can see wild cats roaming about or lounging blissfully in their enclosure. These fabulous cats include white lions, white tigers, snow leopards, and black panthers, and the Garden also houses an Asian elephant. The main purpose behind the Secret Garden is to protect and preserve these animals, and to also educate us about them.
If you want your kids to see more lions, bring them to the King of the Beasts at the Lion Habitat inside the MGM Grand Hotel. The Lion Habitat is a showcase for public education and appreciation, featuring up to six adult lions daily.
Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay is another must-see for you and your kids. Shark Reef features one of North America's largest displays of sharks--there are more than 1,200 different species on display! Shark Reef also displays golden crocodiles. There are two walk-through glass tunnels where you are surrounded by aquatic life.
Lots of fun!
Fine Art in Las Vegas
The Italian-inspired Bellagio resort has its own Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, where each year two world-class art exhibitions drawn from internationally acclaimed museums and private collections are elegantly presented. Some past exhibitions include Alexander Calder: The Art of Invention; Claude Monet: Masterworks from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston; Andy Warhol: The Celebrity Portraits; and The Nature of Impressionism.
The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum offers a broad spectrum of exhibitions drawn from collections around the world. Located adjacent to the main lobby of the Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, the 7,600 square-foot museum holds exhibitions that change approximately twice each year. This is truly a jewel along the Las Vegas Strip.
Shopping
If you're looking to do some great high-end shopping, Via Bellagio at the Bellagio Hotel-Casino is the place to go. Here, luxury is an understatement! Visit Tiffany & Co., Hermes, Chanel, Moschino, Giorgio Armani, and Prada are must see’s, if only for the window shopping!
Fashion Show Mall is located at 3200 Las Vegas Boulevard South on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada (an unincorporated town in the Las Vegas area). With over 200 stores, it is one of the largest enclosed malls in the world.
The Grand Canal Shoppes is a shopping mall adjacent to the Venetian Hotel and Casino. The mall has a Venetian theme, and has indoor canals where gondolas will take you around the mall. There are many designer and upscale shops.
Desert Passage is an enclosed 1.2-mile shopping mall on the Las Vegas Strip that has a Moroccan theme to match the Aladdin Hotel that adjoins it. It has about 140 stores and features an hourly indoor thunderstorm!
The Forum Shops at Caesars located adjacent to Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas boasts a unique atmosphere that simulates ancient Rome, including fountains and realistic-looking stone statues. It features more than 160 shops and luxury boutiques as well as many restaurants and specialty food shops.
Fashion Outlets of Las Vegas is a shopping mall located in Primm, Nevada. The mall offers more than 100 shops and restaurants including Versace, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Neiman Marcus, and others. The outlet operates shuttles from the New York-New York and the MGM Grand hotels with three daily departures each. Call 888-424-6898 for reservations, round-trip fare is $12.99 per person and includes a discount card. Hours: 10 am to 9pm Monday to Saturday; 10am to 8pm Sunday. Hours may vary on holidays.
Dining
There are an almost unlimited variety of dining options in Las Vegas—from buffets—the staple of Las Vegas dining—to world-class restaurants. Almost everywhere you look there are bistros, cafes, steakhouses, haute cuisine by such world-famous chefs as Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Legasse, Todd English, Alex Stratta, and Michael Mina, as well as a multitude of upscale international fare that make your tastebuds tingle!
The Chinatown of Las Vegas is a series of large shopping centers with ethnic businesses on Spring Mountain Road. Here you can find authentic Chinese and diverse Asian cuisines.
In Las Vegas, you will never EVER go hungry! There are so many different restaurants in town. Here are some to whet your appetite:
Bradley Ogden at Caesars Palace
Le Cirque at the Bellagio
Todd's Unique Dining
Prime Steakhouse at Bellagio
Le Cirque at the Bellagio
The Capital Grille
Andre's @ The Monte Carlo
Del Frisco's
N9NE Steak House at Palms
Top of the World Restaurant at the Stratosphere
Eiffel Tower Experience at Paris Las Vegas
Steakhouse 46
Bally's Sterling Brunch
Center Stage Restaurant
Embers
GP's
Alize
Aureole
Picasso
Pietro's
Pullman Bar and Grille
Red Square
Great Moments Room
Hugo's Cellar
Restaurant Guy Savoy
Bon Appetit!
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