Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip, which is also known simply as The Strip, covers an area of approximately 4 miles and is the location of the largest number of gambling casinos in the United States. Here you will find many of the world’s largest hotels and resort properties. Of the 25 largest hotels by room count, Las Vegas has 18 of them. On the Las Vegas Strip alone you will find over 67,000 rooms.
One of the most noticeable aspects of the Las Vegas Strip is the dramatic themes that are associated with the casinos. Everywhere you look you will find brilliant neon lights that light up the strip at night. This is considered to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States, if not the world.
The first casino that was built along Highway 91 was the Pair-o-Dice Club which was built in 1931. The first to open on the strip as it is known today was the El Rancho Vegas which opened in April of 1941. It offered guests a total of 63 rooms and was in operation for almost 20 years before it was destroyed by fire. The success of this hotel led to another hotel called the Hotel Last Frontier. In 1946 the now famous Flamingo Hotel opened its doors.
In 1969 the International Hotel opened with an astounding 1,512 rooms and became the largest hotel in the world. The International used the Flamingo to train their future employees. Today the International is known as the Las Vegas Hilton.
With the fever of the strip catching on, MGM Grand Hotel and Casino opened in 1973 with 2,084 rooms, jumping to first place as the world’s largest hotel. In 1980 the MGM Grand suffered the worst fire in the history of Las Vegas and took the lives of 87 people. The hotel reopened 8 months later but in 1986 sold out to Bally’s.
The Mirage opened in 1989 and this set the stage for a whole new level of the Las Vegas experience. Smaller hotels and casinos were falling away as the larger, mega resorts began to take center stage. The mega resorts offered a wide variety of entertainment, dining, gambling, and lodging all under one roof. This change had a large impact on the smaller casinos and hotels that are historically well known such as the Dunes, the Sands, and the Stardust.
When Dean Martin passed away in 1995 the lights along the strip were dimmed to show their respect for the long time Las Vegas Strip entertainer. Later a section of road was renamed Dean Martin Drive in honor of the legendary singer.
Many of the resorts tried to put forth efforts to attract families instead of just adults. These efforts met with resistance and soon failed. The main attraction of the Las Vegas Strip is the brilliantly lit gambling casinos where many people attempt to win their life fortune.
Downtown Las Vegas has suffered greatly from the businesses which are located on the strip. They have attempted to add security to the downtown area and have also added some new attractions that offer movie theaters but the strip still continues to draw the most visitors. Sometimes people who are traveling on a budget will stay in the downtown area and visit the strip area for entertainment. Staying in the downtown area is a cheaper alternative to the large resort hotels located on the strip. It also has its disadvantages in that you must travel from the casino to the hotel either by foot or by automobile. Many people consume alcoholic beverages while they are gambling and this can present a problem when they attempt to return to their downtown hotel.
In 2004 MGM announced their plans to build a 66 acre multi-use project city center which will cost in excess of $7 billion. Plans are to build a hotel, casino, condo, retail, restaurant, and other uses on this one site. When this project is completed it will be the largest of its kind in the world. Construction on the project began in 2006 and the first phase of the project is projected to open in 2009.
|
