Mister Webster’s definition of reinvent is “to change something so much that it appears to be entirely new.”
From a dusty railroad water-stop and the beginning of the City of Las Vegas in 1905… to the spectacular lavish mega-resorts that line the 4.2 miles of today’s world-famous neon-drenched Strip… there have been many versions of Las Vegas over the years.
The most heard comment of anyone who hasn’t visited for a time is “I hardly recognize the place!” and – like the three blind men who know that an elephant is a wall, a tree or a snake… depending on where they are (side, trunk or tail) – one’s recollection, impression and image of Las Vegas depends when they were here over the years.
Like the winds that continually reshape the desert landscape, the sands of time bring change as well… and decade after decade, where legendary iconic names once stood, innovation and change has continually reinvented a new and even more exciting “Entertainment Capital of the World.”
Vintage Vegas
While a number of early gaming pioneers gained fame and fortune in the 1930’s downtown, it was when a businessman’s car broke down on the corner of what was then San Francisco Avenue and Highway 91, that a simple idea was the genesis of today’s Las Vegas.
Thomas Hull owned a number of hotels in California and was looking to expand to Nevada. Sitting on the side of the road, he noticed all of the out-of-state license plates whizzing by and thought, “this is a great place for a resort hotel and casino.”
He quickly gathered investors and purchased the southwest corner of what is now Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue. In 1941, they built and opened the El Rancho Vegas Hotel and Casino – the first (but not last) major resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
Many others – including a host of notorious mobsters– also discovered the potential of an unfettered, wide-open, legal 24/7 gambling mecca surrounded by the privacy of a vast and desolate desert. It was perfect.
In short order, a number of traditional non-themed resort hotel and casinos began to appear up and down the Boulevard. The first was Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo (1946), followed by Desert Inn (1950), Sahara and Sands (1952), Dunes and Riviera (1955), Hacienda (1956), Tropicana (1957) and the Stardust (1958).
Throughout the 1950s, and 60s, the one-of-a-kind Las Vegas Strip – predominately owned, operated and influenced by organized crime – was “the” Entertainment Capital of the World… with iconic entertainers like Elvis, Liberace, Sinatra and the Rat Pack (and quickie divorces) adding to the draw. The Mob knew how to take care of their guests and for many, Vintage Vegas continues to reign as the one-and-only best era ever.
Vegas 2.0
In the decades that followed a different style of Mega-High Rollers were drawn to Las Vegas. Howard Hughes arrived in 1966 – and like a real-life game of Monopoly – soon bought the Desert Inn, Castaways, New Frontier, Landmark and the Sands.
Others, like Kirk Kerkorian – known as the “Father of Mega-Resorts” – ushered in new trend-setting luxurious concepts, like the Roman Empire-themed Caesars Palace and the expansive MGM Grand.
A young newcomer from the East Coast, named Steve Wynn, also came to town. He envisioned a new level of billion-dollar world class super-resorts and began purchasing famous aging properties with a “plan” and in 1993, he introduced “implosions” as the latest form of entertainment on Las Vegas Boulevard.
First to go was the iconic Dunes Hotel and Casino, imploded with great fanfare on October 27, 1993. In its place, Wynn built the lavishly-themed $1.6 billion Bellagio mega-resort.
Next to go was the Howard Hughes Landmark Hotel and Casino in 1995 that today is the site of the original Las Vegas Convention Center. The Sands was imploded one year later, in 1996, making way for the luxurious Italian-themed Venetian. Later that year, the Hacienda was demolished for today’s Mandalay Bay.
Each spectacular implosion furthered the “out with the old and in with the new” trend – with bigger-and-better, distinctly-themed, mega-resort hotels and casinos taking their place – that exists to this day… and for many, this is the critical turning point that created today’s super-Vegas, making this a city like no other and the best era ever.
Vegas 3.0
Common wisdom says “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” but somewhere during the 1990s and the debut of exorbitantly-themed properties – like the Venetian with its winding canals and gondoliers, the Eiffel Tower of Paris, the Caesars Palace Forum and the Luxor Egyptian Pyramid – the idea of a “family-friendly” Vegas was conjured up.
Soon roller-coasters and kid-friendly shows were popping up everywhere. Treasure Island featured a huge pirate ship spectacular along the Strip, Mirage staged animal shows and a Wet-and-Wild water-park next to Sahara were but a few.
At the time, a number of diametrically-opposed staunch critics also stood their ground and, as for dedicating construction dollars and design energy for children, Steve Wynn for one was reported to have said: “Nope, I’m not, ain’t gonna, not interested… I’m after Mom and Dad.”
Soon, the ill-fated drive for a family-friendly Vegas began to taper off, and in 2003, with the introduction of a brilliant catch-phrase that proclaimed “What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas”… a booming Sin City re-emerged and adult entertainment was back again as the primary draw.
As light-hearted family movies like the “Griswold Vegas Vacation” gave way to hip movies like “Oceans 11” and the excessive debauchery of “Hangover I, II and III” – and names like Treasure Island and the Stratosphere were updated to TI and the STRAT – it signaled that good ‘ol Vegas was back. It was again fun without reservation… and for many, even more so, this was the best era ever.
Vegas 4.0
Then there is the “business” side of Las Vegas, with its vast meeting and convention venues – Las Vegas Convention Center, Venetian Expo and Mandalay Convention Center – and those at Caesars, MGM Grand, World Market Center and others, totaling millions of feet of exhibit space, that bring in major trade shows and over 25,000 smaller meetings and conventions annually.
With over six million convention attendees arriving every year, spending billions of dollars to stay in 150,000 hotel rooms nearby, Vegas is a city like no other and for 26-years, it has reigned as the undisputed number one destination in the United States for trade shows and meetings of all size.
And while today’s Vegas means business, like the informercials say, “but wait…there’s more,” as Las Vegas always has something new and exciting to add to the mix.
While it’s hard to come up with another dynamite “something” to enhance all that is today’s Vegas, along comes… sports… once the third-rail “no-no” of professional teams and owners.
With the addition of massive venues like T-Mobile Arena and Allegiant Stadium, franchises like the Golden Knights and the Raiders have introduced a totally new vibe.
Today, hockey, football and soccer have opened the door to Pro Basketball, Major League Baseball and almost every form of sports imaginable, including Formula 1 Racing, making Las Vegas the new “Sports Capital of the World” as well. For many, this is the all-time greatest era ever… and what today’s mega-Vegas is all about.
Vegas Ad Infinitum
“I remember driving over Railroad Pass in 1964 and seeing a tumbleweed blow across the highway and some twinkling lights off in the distance that was Las Vegas,” notes Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman. “Our city has certainly come a long way since then.”
Today, the North End of the Strip is coming alive with new properties like Resorts World and Fontainebleau… and there’s a “cutting-edge” vibe in play as well… with everything from monorails up above and Musk’s Vegas Loop tunnels down below… along with the mind-bending Area 15 experience and the first-of-its-kind Sphere lighting up the night.
With the recent implosion of the iconic Tropicana making way for a new A’s Baseball Stadium and the Las Vegas Athletics coming to town… and closing of Mirage to become Hard Rock’s 36-story signature guitar-shaped hotel… the ever-present “out with the old and in with the new” beat goes on – and there’s no end in sight.
“Las Vegas is like a chameleon, constantly reinventing itself over the decades, and we have stayed at the top of the list of destinations that people want to visit,” says Mayor Goodman. “We are constantly evolving to provide the best experience for our visitors, to keep them coming back… and to enjoy the excitement of everything our city has to offer.”
Back in 1947 and the heyday of vintage Vegas, mobsters Bugsy Siegel and friends “never-in-a-million-years” could have dreamed what their wide-open gambling and Sin City discovery… built in an arid Nevada desert… would, become.
Over the last 77-years, Vegas used Webster’s reinvent definition… “to change something so much that it appears to be entirely new” – again and again.
Looking back…. and looking ahead… seems Mister Webster had it right.
Vegas, ad infinitum… the Everything Capital of the World.
Don Logay is an award-winning journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of three national magazines. Today he writes luxury lifestyle articles for numerous publications. He can be reached at (949) 240-4444 or [email protected].
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