Land Based Casinos in Vegas

Added On: June 30, 2009 at 12:27PM

Category: Land Based Casinos

Author: Elliot Shmitt

Comments (0) E-Mail Print

For many years Las Vegas, Nevada has been indelibly linked with the gaming industry with hundreds of land-based casinos based in this magnificent city. This trend began in the early 1900s when on March 19th, 1931 gambling was legalized in the city. 15 years later in 1946, Bugsy Siegel started the Flamingo Hotel in Paradise. This began the gambling revolution in the city; however the resort casinos weren’t invented until much later in 1989 when The Mirage opened to public on the 22nd of November. This started a new era in the history of Las Vegas casinos. Now, not only could people come there to gamble, but they could also experience every kind of luxury in the city.

Most of the casinos in Las Vegas are located in the “Las Vegas Strip” which is a 6km portion of the Las Vegas Boulevard South. Despite the popular belief, most of “The Strip” is not in Las Vegas, but in the areas of Winchester and Paradise which are unincorporated. Of the 25 largest hotels in the world, 19 of them are located in the Strip, and all these hotels have at least one casino floor. The Strip has a stunning skyline with some very dramatic architecture. From the pyramids of Egypt to the Eiffel Tower, and even the Taj Mahal, you can find everything at the Strip in Las Vegas.

Since the setting up of the Flamingo in 1946 (later renamed the Flamingo Hilton), the Strip has gone from strength to strength. Though, the original building was destroyed, it is still in existence. In 1952, the Sahara Casino and Hotel was opened up. It is also a very popular casino in Las Vegas, and has over 1500 rooms for residents. After the Sahara, the Riviera was built in the April of 1955 with 2100 rooms. Following that, in 1957, the Tropicana opened its doors to gamblers.

After the opening of the Tropicana, there was a little lull in business in Las Vegas, and it wasn’t till 1966 that the next big casino was opened. This would soon become one of the most popular casinos in the world, and remain so till today. The name of this casino is the Caesar’s Palace which opened on the 5th of August, 1966. Two years later came the Circus Circus Casino and then the Bally’s Casino & Hotel in 1973 which was initially called the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.

The year 1973 also saw the opening of another casino called the Holiday Casino. From the start this casino saw much popularity among the players, especially those who enjoyed poker. Now of course, this very same casino is known commonly as the Harrah’s Las Vegas with the famous address of 3475, Las Vegas Boulevard South. The next casino that was built on The Strip was the Casino Royale which opened its doors to the public in 1979, but in those days, it used to be known as Nob Hill. It acquired its present name in the year 1992. In the same year, Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall and Saloon was also opened, and the Imperial Palace opened a year later.

The turning point in Land Based Casinos in Las Vegas came in 1989 with the building of the Mirage. Following that there has been a boom in the number of casinos that are to be found in the city. These casinos include famous names like Treasure Island, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood and the Palazzo.