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#4
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