History of Las Vegas

1947- 1966 - The Strip Explodes as well as Nuclear Bombs

The Flamingo lost money and resulted in the death of Siegel, Organized Crime still saw the potential that gambling offered in Las Vegas. From 1952 to 1957, they built the Sahara, the Sands, the New Frontier, the Royal Nevada, The Showboat, The Riviera, The Fremont, Binion's Horseshoe (which was the Apache Hotel), and finally The Tropicana.

All these casinos were run by different organizations of Organized Crime, but Meyer Lansky was the guiding force. Even with the public knowledge of the dubious owners of these casino resorts by 1954, over 8 million people were visiting Las Vegas yearly pumping 200 million dollars into the casinos. Gambling was no longer the only attraction, accessibility to the biggest stars of film and music like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Abbott and Costello, Bing Crosby, Carol Channing, and others who perfomed in intimate settings. After coming to see these stars, the tourists would gamble some more then go and eat at the gourmet buffets that have become a staple of the casino industry.

While The Strip was booming, the Atomic Energy Commission on January 27, 1951 detonated the first of over a hundred atmospheric explosions at the Nevada Test Site. These atmospheric tests would continue until enactment of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963 when the tests moved underground. The last test explosion was in 1992. Despite the dangers and risks, greatly under estimated at the time, of radiation exposure from the fallout, Las Vegas advertised the explosions as another tourist attraction and offered Atomic Cocktails in Sky Rooms that offered a great view of the mushroom clouds.

The influx of government employees for the Atomic Energy Commission and from the Mormon controlled Bank of Las Vegas spear-headed by Parry Thomas during those years funded the growing boom in casinos. But Las Vegas was doing more then growing casinos. In 1948, McCarran Field was established for commercial air traffic. In 1957 The University of Las Vegas was established. In 1959 the Clark County Commission built the Las Vegas Convention Center, which would become a vital part of the area's economy. A new utility company, Southwest Gas exapnded into Las Vegas in 1954.

Continue to History of Las Vegas pg#5

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